Gardening Tips in January

January is a month where you often hear that inner voice saying don’t be stupid it’s bloody freezing out there and it’s bound to rain. Sound familiar? Even though it is usually the coldest month of the year - you must fight this inner demon and get out there! For surprisingly enough January is a great time to be in the garden. This is the time to really appreciate plants that are crazy enough to flower, that have great bark or interesting foliage. It is also a joy to marvel upon the beautiful silhouettes of bare trees and the solid forms of evergreens. It’s also a great time to spot those holes that need filling for the coming seasons.

Preparation

With the new seed catalogues out for next spring, now is a best time to sit down with a cup of tea and decide what you want to grow next year. Order it as soon as possible before their seed banks are depleted. Start planning what summer bulbs you would like.

Propagation

Towards the end of this month you can start sowing some early crops like pelargoniums, snapdragons, sweet peas, lobelias and begonias but they will have to have a heated greenhouse or propagator.

Sow the seeds of berrying trees and shrubs such as cotoneaster, sorbus etc but they will need a period of cold to break their dormancy.

Sow some small quantities of lettuce, summer cabbages and cauliflowers, radishes, carrots, spinach, salad onions, turnips, peas and broad beans. You can start with all these on the windowsill then growing them on somewhere in good light.

You still have time to take hardwood cuttings of trees and shrubs.

Pruning

Towards the end of the month winter prune deciduous trees and shrubs including fruit trees and bushes.

Mulch around all fruit trees and shrubs that have been pruned.

Prune trees and shrubs to shape. This involves thinning out unwanted branches and lifting crowns slightly.

If you any over grown climbers like wisteria or ornamental vines cut them back as needed to prevent them taking over.