Gardening Advice and Helpful Tips
Your gardening advice for January.
Will Clark
Plant Area Manager
Will Clark shares his top ten festive gardening tips for January.
1. Bright Start
Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean we can’t have colour. Witch hazels, winter jasmines and Sarcococca are at their best right now. Mahonia media bears bright yellow, eye-catching flowers from now until spring, and the glowing red stems of Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ will brighten up any border.
2. Cut Back
It’s time to prune your apple and pear trees. A sharp pair of secateurs will make all the difference. Aim to take between 10-20% of the overall canopy off in any one winter. Focus on areas where the growth seems more crowded and think about opening up the middle to let light in.
3. Best Spuds
Seed potatoes are available now in the garden centres. Choose your first earlies, second earlies and main crop. Place the seed potatoes in a light frost-free place, upright in an egg box or seed tray to sprout, known as chitting. Short dark sprouts form getting the potatoes off to a good start ready for planting out, come March and April.
4. Sweet Scents
Scented winter shrubs are a wonderful way to lift the senses gloomiest of winter days. Chimonanthus praecox, Mahonia japonica and Lonicera fragrantissima all pack a punch of floral fragrance.
6. Keep Off The Grass
When the cold weather sets in, avoid walking on a frosty lawn, as this can damage the blades of grass, which go brittle in the cold. It can even leave brown footprints, which can take ages to disappear.
7. Seeds Of Survival
Keep bird feeding stations topped up as they’re likely to have eaten all the available berries by now and check on bird baths to make sure they’ve not frozen over. Little and often is a key tip to feeding the birds.
8. Winter Wellbeing
There’s no better way to banish the January blues than by getting outside and connecting with nature. Winter can be tough, so dedicating a little time to spend in your garden each week is an excellent boost!
9. Sharpest Tools
On colder and wetter days, spend time in the shed tidying up and servicing your tools. Clean, sharp tools perform better, making the work easier. Plus, a tidy shed means less time searching and more time working when the busy season starts.
9. Pots of Colour
For instant impact, Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’ which, being evergreen, bushy and small, is ideal for pots. Panicles of red buds standing on lush and glossy evergreen leaves will brighten up the coldest of days.
10. New Year’s Resolutions
While your garden is stripped back to the bareness of frozen winter, it’s a good time to write down some improvements you’d like to make in the coming year. From planting a new tree to building a gazebo, it’s a great way to motivate for what I hope is going to be a great gardening year for us all!
Feature plant: Primroses
One of my favourite varieties is Primrose ‘Everlast’. Its soft yellow flowers with golden centres add a promise of spring to your winter garden. Everlast is extremely hardy so will survive the frosts still to come and will also return year after year. Once they’ve finished flowering for the season, plant out in the border ready for next year.
More Advice?
Ruth McNamee
Greenhouse Senior
October on the Veg Plot...
October is a great month to get ahead in the veg patch, writes Ruth McNamee.
Choose a sunny sheltered spot to sow broad beans. The variety Aquadulce Claudia does well from autumn sowing. Sow a double row with seeds 20cm apart. These plants should germinate, stand over winter and quickly establish when the weather warms. The crop can be enjoyed a couple of weeks earlier than spring sown seeds.
You can start to plant out garlic this month 15cm apart in rows 30cm apart. This can be left to next month if preferred. And there is still time to plant out overwintering onions. Make a shallow drill and place the sets pointy end up 15cms apart in rows 30cms apart. Onions are ready to harvest early next summer. Try onion and garlic in big pots and keep in a sheltered spot for the best results.
October is a great month to get your permanent planting done. It’s a good time to establish your fruit and asparagus beds while the soil is still warm from the summer heat. Rhubarb and asparagus crowns will now be available in the garden centre. Prepare the beds by removing all weeds. These crops will be in these beds for many years so it helps to give them a good start.
May is the month where strawberries flower so mulch plants with straw.
Prune early flowering shrubs such as the Forsynthia and Weigela.
Direct sow basil next to tomato seedlings to help draw white fly away.
Veg seeds that can be sown outdoors include courgette, beetroot and sprouts.
Lift and divide your spring bulbs and plant where you want for next year.
Check all foliage for lily beetle and greenfly and dispose of any found.
Gardening Jobs for January
Buy seeds to be sown in January or February.
Buy seed potatoes, onion sets and garlic.
Appraise the garden for form and structure, and plan alterations and additions.
Plant window boxes and containers for seasonal colour.
Protect vulnerable plants from frost and wind damage.
Firm in any autumn-planted shrubs and border plants lifted by frost.
Knock snow off branches, especially on conifers and hedges, if they are bending under the weight.
Check stakes and ties on newly planted trees.
Remember the birds in the garden and put out food for them, especially when it’s frosty.
