Brrr it’s cold

Plants currently flowering

Actively growing plants such as winter Pansies and other winter bedding should be fed a multi-purpose liquid feed as they are doing a lot of work for you producing non stop flowers. This will encourage further flowers and healthy plant development.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

General maintenance in January

This is a good time to do a little maintenance on garden structures such as trellis, obelisks and arches. Clear away old entwined growth to allow for maintenance. Timber structures should be cleaned up and repaired (where coral fungus can be seen on timber, treat with a suitable fungicide). Treat with a wood preservative or timber paint ready for the next season. Metal structures can be scrubbed down and re-painted with a suitable metal paint. Trim back Ivy and other climbers away from windows and guttering. Prune back a little further than necessary to allow for re-growth which can be trimmed later in the year allowing for more dense growth. Clean out gutters if you haven’t already and clean the windows to make your winter views of the garden a little brighter. If the weather isn’t too good spend some time in the greenhouse, shed or conservatory cleaning pots. Some warm water, with an appropriate sterilising fluid (available from Garden Centres) and a brush are all you need to prevent pots from spreading diseases from one year to the next. Poor pot and tray hygiene can increase the risk of damping off on seedlings and wipe out all your hard work.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

Bulbs that have finished flowering

Feed any bulbs that have just finished flowering with a high Potash feed to encourage development of next years flowers and healthy bulb development. Forced bulbs such as indoor Hyacinths and Paperwhites will have used up a lot of energy and will need a good feed. Once these have finished flowering, place them outdoors in a sheltered spot so they get plenty of light and give them a high Potash liquid feed. Make sure the containers they are in are free draining as the bulbs will rot if they become water logged. If you have bulbs and tubers lifted for the winter, give them the once over and check for any signs of rot. Remove any that are severely affected and dust the remaining with Sulphur and ensure that they are not being affected by either, moisture, poor air circulation or to much heat.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

Planting and moving

Providing the ground isn’t too cold and hard, new shrubs and Roses can be planted out now ensuring you incorporate plenty of well rotted manure or compost in the planting hole first and a handful of blood fish and bone will give them a good start when Spring comes. Dormant shrubs and smallish trees can be moved at this time if they need to be re-located. Ensure the new planting hole is enriched with well rotted manure or compost and either blood, fish and bone or a slow release fertilizer. Don’t forget that shrubs and trees will have drained a lot of nutrients from there original location, so you should incorporate plenty of organic matter and feed to improve the quality of the soil. When choosing a feed for this time of year for dormant plants you should look for one with a low Nitrogen content.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

Sowing seeds this month

If you’ve an unheated greenhouse you can start off some hardy annuals over the next month. They will germinate when they are ready but will be ahead of those sown direct into the garden. Now is also a good time to pick berries if you wish to grow them from seed. Pick berries that are becoming soft and squeeze out the seeds into a sieve or tea leaf strainer, rinsing under the tap to clean off residue. Sow the cleansed seeds in a pot of free draining compost in either an unheated greenhouse, coldframe or in a sheltered spot in the garden. Ensure they do not dry out and cover outdoor pots with a piece of gauze to protect the seeds from hungry birds.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

Plants of interest in Garden Centres during January

• Winter flowering Pansies (flowers)
• Polyanthus (flowers)
• Iris reticulata/unguicularis (flowers)
• Galanthus (Snowdrop) (flowers)
• Hyacinth (flowers)
• Narcissus (daffodil)FLOWERS
• Crocus (smaller varieties)FLOWERS
• Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)FLOWERS
• Eranthis (Winter Aconite)FLOWERS
• CyclamenFLOWERS
• Cornus (DogWood)STRUCTURE
• Salix (Willow)STRUCTURE
• Jasminum nudiflorumFLOWERS
• ChimonanthusFLOWERS
• Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) FLOWERS
• DaphneFLOWERS
• ViburnumFLOWERS
• Ruscus aculeatus BERRIES
• Ilex (Holly)BERRIES

Do bare in mind that most bulbs will have been brought on early for sale and so will flower slightly later in following years in their natural environment.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

A general spruce up

If you like your garden to look tidy, clear your borders of old leaves before spring bulbs start to appear and put them on the compost heap. I personally think they give a little extra protection to the soil and new shoots and tend to leave them to rot down naturally. A top dressing of well rotted manure or spent compost on flower beds would be good at this time. If you haven’t already cut back the old stems of the large Sedums, do so and store them in the shed as they make good canes, as do Helianthus stems. Perennials such as Phlox and Asters would benefit from being cut back at this time to save damaging the new growth later in the season, but hold off on cutting grasses until the spring as this can do more harm than good.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/04 | Permalink to this article

Whats available this month

You should be in possession of seed catalogues now and it is time to start ordering as some of your choices for this year can be sown from January onwards. Take some time to look through the catalogues and start planning your summer displays and vegetable garden. Though catalogues are convenient and full of choice it is still well worth visiting your local garden centre. Good garden centres will offer you the same choice per supplier as brochures. If the seeds you are looking for are not in their range they should be able to request them in for you at no extra cost. Whilst your there, you can look around as during January there are usually a lot of offers on as it is a quiet time. They should be preparing for the new seasons stock and so many plants get reduced to clear, especially perennials as they look like a pot of old compost. Don’t be afraid to buy dormant herbaceous perennials as they can be a good buy. To check the plant is good gently work a finger into the soil and try to feel the plant roots and crown. If it feels firm then there is more than likely a promising plant there for next summer. However, if you feel nothing or mush, then its most likely to have rotted away and it is very unlikely it will come to anything. Also look at shrubs as these may be reduced because they have been damaged during the summer by handling. They are very easily restored to glory with a little light prune back into shape, fresh compost and a little TLC. You will also find lots of colour for the garden available with primroses, potted bulbs and Cyclamens, which can easily be made into a nice pot for the front door with a grass or small evergreen shrub. Make sure you buy the right Cyclamens as there are indoor and outdoor available and sometimes they are not clearly marked. Generally the outdoor are the smaller leaved and are fine to plant outside, whereas the indoor are much larger leaved and showy and will turn up their toes if introduced to the outside elements. Ensure that indoor Cyclamens are kept in a cool bright place such as a window sill with plenty of air around them. This way they will give you a long show of colour and be less likely to be affected with fungal problems. Ensure you keep them on the dryer side of damp and remove any yellowing leaves from the base. As with most plants, including your winter bedding, keep on top of deadheading to encourage continual flowering. You will also find by the second week in January that most Garden Centres will be taking in deliveries of potatoes. Some varieties will be later arriving than others and again they should be able to check when a specific variety is due for delivery. Personally I would buy them as soon as they come in as most Garden Centres are unable to provide the right conditions to store and display them in and so they can dry out and start to sprout profusely. Whilst this growth can be simply picked off and removed, the potato will have wasted a lot of energy producing it and this can affect its development.

Written by Day Lily on 2006/01/03 | Permalink to this article