WARMTH MEANS TIME TO PLANT.

Byline: JANE GATES Gardening

SANTA CLARITA - Due to the extraordinary heat in January, many fruit trees already are well into bloom and a number of bulbs are displaying their flowers very early.

Speaking of bulbs, corms and the like, a new influx of tuberous roots should be arriving at the nurseries and garden centers. So if you missed the autumn planting and the last of the winter bulbs, a fresh new choice should be available by the end of this month.

Pop 'em in the ground to get them into growth. And don't forget to plant them deeply enough. The general rule of thumb is to plant a bulb at a depth three times its size. I also recommend protecting them with hardware cloth or half-inch chicken wire beneath to discourage the ravenous gophers, who are busy having young now to add more voracious mouths to the subterranean landscape.

If you form a bit of a basket around the bulbs with this metal barricade, roots can penetrate below, but rodents are discouraged. These rodents do love bulbs and corms if they can get at them.

There will be lots of annuals and edibles flooding the nurseries and home stores this month. If you live in a warmer microclimate, you can risk starting tomatoes in your garden. Wait a bit for the more tender crops like beans, squashes, eggplant, peppers and melons. You can start these from seed indoors for a jump on the season. Carrots, beets, radishes and other root crops can be seeded directly in the vegetable garden.

Lots of annuals make their appearance in flats and six packs this month. Feel free to decorate all the bare patches you want in your garden. They will bloom like crazy until they wear themselves out. But, remember, even though annuals bloom more than perennials, because they don't have to save any strength for next year's growth, they, too, have a limited blooming time.

I understand people often hope to find a plant that will bloom all year 'round, but, like people, even plants need to have a rest. Or if they don't, like most annuals, they have a very short life span.

You can usually extend the flowering period of many annuals by ``deadheading'' - removing flowers that have finished blooming. Usually the plant will try to bloom some more in hopes of replacing the seed that was removed by deadheading. But even so, the plant only has a limited amount of energy. Still, these annuals will create a colorful fill between the slowly awakening perennials.

Mixing annuals and perennials will give you areas of flowers that can shift throughout your garden as the year goes on. This is one good reason to plan your garden ahead of time. You can synchronize colors or areas to play in your garden like the different instruments in an orchestra. Don't hesitate to seek professional help if you need some technical or artistic input.

Next month should be busy with soil care and planting, so this is your last chance to save yourself the frustration, mistakes and expense that may come if you are unprepared.

As frosty nights become less frequent, planting perennials becomes easier. Stay away from the more delicate plants such as hibiscus or citrus until things warm up a bit more.

You can finish planting California natives and drought-tolerant plants this month, too. These will enjoy sending their roots out into the still- moist and cool soil, establishing themselves for the big growth spurt with warm weather.