January Gardening Tips

There’s always something to be doing in the garden, whether it’s pruning, tidying or sowing, so we’ve put together our top gardening tasks for January.
Prune your Wisteria plant now, cutting back summer side-shoots to 2 or 3 buds.

Plant spring flowering bulbs with Pansies and Violas in containers for spring colour. If your bulbs are being raided by hungary mice cover pots in fine wire mesh.

Prune rose bushes now whilst they are dormant. Cut back to just above a bud and remove any crossing or dead branches. You can plant roses now in a sunny position for spectacular summer colour.

Start chitting (sprouting) early potatoes – stand them on end in a module tray or egg box and place in a bright cool frost-free place. You can start growing potatoes in containers under cover for a very early crop (Charlotte potatoes are a good variety for this). Potato Patio Planters are ideal for growing early potatoes in small spaces.

If you’d like to grow early peas, place a cloche over the soil to let it warm up for a few weeks prior to sowing.

Begin pruning your apple trees and pear trees if you haven’t done so already – this is best done whilst they are dormant. Leave plums, cherries and apricots unpruned until the summer as pruning these fruit trees now will make them susceptible to silver leaf infections.

Cut back herbaceous perennials in borders when they ground is dry
From the comfort of your armchair it is time to plan what seeds you want to sow and plan your vegetable plot for this year to ensure good crop rotation and prevent pests and diseases building up in the soil.