Hello again. How's it hanging?
We're officially in the year 2025. It's time to get back out into the garden.
Our head horticulturist, Cory, has provided us with a list of essential gardening maintenance tasks for you to complete this month. Follow these steps, and your garden will continue to flourish despite the harsher Winter weather.
So let's get down to it.
#1
Continue to plant roses, shrubs, and hedging, as well as both ornamental and fruit trees, as long as the ground isn't frozen. Add compost and mycorrhizal fungi to the planting hole to help new roots establish quickly, and be sure to stake tall trees to prevent the roots from rocking in high winds.
#2
Establish new colonies of snowdrops and bluebells by buying clumps ‘in the green’, as they’re far more likely to establish this way rather than from dry bulbs. Choose hellebores by buying plants in flower, so you can have the prettiest blooms and be certain they are the colours you’re looking for.
#3
Clear away soggy, collapsed stems of perennials and compost them. Cut down stems of deciduous grasses such as miscanthus and panicum, ready for the new shoots to appear later in Spring.
#4
Take hardwood cuttings from deciduous shrubs, such as forsythia, willow, and viburnum. Keep them somewhere cold, but protected from excessive wet and heavy snow (a cold frame or unheated greenhouse would be ideal).
Be sure to compost soggy, collapsed stems of perennials.
#5
Remove hellebore foliage so the beautiful flowers can be appreciated fully.
#6
If you have leftover mistletoe, press the berries into the bark of apple trees to propagate new plants.
Removing hellebore foliage will enable beautiful flowers to be fully appreciated.
#7
Check that small alpines and early bulbs, such as Iris, aren’t buried under debris and leaves. Clear this away to appreciate the blooms and to prevent rotting. If growing in pots, a layer of sharp grit helps drainage.
#8
Deadhead Winter pansies and other bedding regularly. Check for any mildewed stems and leaves too, removing them immediately.
#9
If the ground is not frozen, any shrubs you wish to move can be moved now while dormant. Be sure to take as much root with the plant as possible and replant it in its new spot immediately, adding compost and mycorrhizal fungi to help re-establishment. Water well on planting.
#10
Check stored tubers of plants such as dahlia and canna, removing any with signs of disease or rot.
#11
Seed sowing indoors or in a heated greenhouse can start in January, with things like sweet peas, pelargoniums, and antirrhinums. Edibles such as lettuce, spinach, and spring onions can also be sown now.
Remove any signs of disease or rot from stored tubers of plants such as dahlia and canna.
#12
Purchase seed potatoes in January for the growing season ahead. First early potatoes can be ‘chitted’ ready for planting. Stand them on their ends in modules or egg cartons and keep them in a cool, frost-free place until shoots appear.
#13
Rose pruning can continue into January. Remove any Winter-damaged shoots and cut tall stems back to strong buds. Climbing roses can be trained, with last year's long growths being tied in to a support and any old or damaged stems removed. A thick mulch of well-rotted manure can also be applied now to help protect roots from frost but also feed the plants ahead of the growing season.
#14
On cold and frosty days, plan the gardening year ahead from your sofa with a hot cup of tea!
And that's everything for this week, folks.
Should you need any more advice, be sure to pop into Langton Greenhouse and Garden Centre, where our horticultural team will be more than happy to help.
See you again soon!