Gardening in January

Help garden wildlife to survive the freezing months. Put out regular food supplies for wild birds such as high energy winter seed mixes, fat balls, peanuts and mealworms, these food supplies will all help feathered friends to survive when their natural supplies of food become scarce. Check and regularly top-up bird baths with clean water. Coldwater fish in garden ponds are tough survivors, but aquatic wildlife still needs oxygen. If your pond has frozen over, melt the ice by placing a saucepan of hot water on it, then remove the pan and place a football on the surface – this will prevent it from completely freezing over again as the ball moves about in the wind.

A blanket of snow is one of the most beautiful sights in the garden, but heavy snow has the potential to cause damage.

• Use a broom to brush snow off evergreens, hedges and conifers before the weight causes branches to snap. 
• Fruit cages and polytunnels can groan under heavy snow, too, so brush it off before the weight results in cages collapsing or polytunnels splitting. 
• Stock up on grit ready to put down on icy garden paths – and keep off decking when it’s frozen or frosty, as icy timber can be extremely slippery.

Many gardeners will have been given amaryllis as Christmas gifts, while garden centres are clearing the last of this season’s bulbs from shelves. If you have bought a bulb, be sure to plant it without delay.

• Find a pot that’s slightly bigger than the bulb and fill with multi-purpose or John Innes No2 compost. 
• Plant the bulb so that two-thirds is below the compost, with the neck clearly visible (never bury it). 
• Water lightly, then place in a warm, bright position indoors and it’ll soon develop spectacular flower spikes. 
• The spikes may need to be staked if plants become top-heavy so keep an eye on them once they have sprouted.

First-early potatoes are planted from February to April and can be ready to harvest from June – but there’s a trick you can carry out in January to give crops a head start. Chitting is a process that encourages seed potatoes to sprout prior to planting, and first-earlies can be chitted from late January. But how exactly do you ‘chit’ a potato? Just stand seed potatoes in a tray (or old egg carton) with their blunt ends facing upwards, in a light position. They’ll then develop shoots ready for planting out next month. Good first-early varieties include ‘Swift,’ ‘Pentland Javelin’ and ‘Rocket’.

Containers of winter flowers need little maintenance, but a few minutes of care will keep plants blooming, even in freezing conditions.

• Dead-head winter bedding, such as universal pansies and polyanthus, to encourage more flowers to follow. 
• Outdoor cyclamen can be prone to rot in cold, wet conditions, so inspect plants and remove any spent flower stems and leaves that are succumbing to mould. 
• Winter containers should be watered sparingly, and avoid watering if extreme cold is forecast. 
• If compost feels too soggy, stand containers on pot feet to raise them up above the ground, as this will assist drainage. Never stand pots in saucers of water over the winter months or roots will be at risk of rotting.

If lawns are dry and the weather is mild, leaves and debris can be raked off or cleared away using a garden blower. Remove worm casts (those small lumps of muddy soil that appear on the surface of the lawn) from grass using a stiff brush before they become trodden in and form muddy patches. But if the lawn is wet or frozen keep off! If you have to move wheelbarrows across lawns during cold, wet weather, lay planks of wood to make a temporary path, to avoid damaging grass, then remove the timber promptly afterwards.

Learn more about winter lawn care >

For gardeners who are planning to grow vegetables this season, it’s worth devising a crop rotation. Growing the same crops in the same place every year encourages a build-up of soil-borne pests and diseases that thrive on your chosen veg. Instead, divide crops into three groups and move each group to a different section of the veg plot very year:

• Group 1 – tomatoes and potatoes. 
• Group 2 – onions (including garlic and leeks), root veg (carrots, parsnips and beetroot), and legumes (runner, French and broad beans, and peas).
• Group 3 should comprise brassicas (cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and radish).

Cleaning out the greenhouse is a great winter workout and helps to eradicate overwintering pests and diseases.

• Empty the greenhouse and wash all pots and trays in a trug filled with warm water and general-purpose disinfectant. 
• Wash glazing to increase light transmission (essential for seedlings and young plants) and remove debris from gutters.  The STIHL RCA 20 handheld pressure washer is ideal for this, especially as you can use it away from a mains water source.
• It’s a good time to maintain tools in sheds and garages, too. Clean and sharpen mower blades, ready for the new season, and check cables of electric mowers for damage. Hand tools can be cleaned and oiled.

Get more expert tool care tips >

If you love the sweet taste of rhubarb in crumbles and pies, there’s a clever way to encourage earlier crops, and it’s called forcing rhubarb. It’s a simple process where you cover the crowns of established plants with a large bucket or upturned pot (or use a traditional forcing jar) to block out all light. When stems reach the top of the container, usually within a couple of months, they should be ready for harvesting.

Flicking through seed catalogues is a great source of garden inspiration, especially when the weather is still cold and dark outside. It’s also worth placing seed orders now, as supplies can run low when the gardening season gets under way. If you’re planning on growing flowers and veg from seed, send off for catalogues from leading seed houses such as Thompson & Morgan, Mr Fothergill’s, Suttons, Plants of Distinction, Kings Seeds, Unwins, Marshalls Seeds, DT Brown, Dobies and Chiltern Seeds.

No winter garden should be without a witch hazel, the ultimate mid-winter pick-me-up to combat the January blues. The good news is that you don’t need a qualification in horticulture to successfully grow one of these winter wonders, as witch hazels have an enviable reputation for being largely maintenance-free. It’s worth making a beeline for varieties that hold a coveted Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM), a quality assurance mark that proves it has performed well in trials and will thrive in UK gardens.

Witch hazels are sun-lovers, and although plants will tolerate partial shade, they have a tendency to sulk and become lanky if planted in areas that are deprived of natural light. Plants love getting their roots down into well-drained, neutral or acidic soil – but don’t worry if your soil is unsuitable, as witch hazels can successfully be grown in large containers or plant pots.

So, which varieties should you be on the lookout for at the garden centre?

• Gardeners are spoilt for choice. Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ (AGM) is a favourite, with clusters of sulphur-yellow, sweetly scented flowers breaking out from its bare stems, while plants are noted for their fiery autumn leaf colours, too.
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ (AGM), with its copper-red blooms, is perfect for gardeners seeking a stand-out winter shrub with wow factor. The blooms of ‘Diane’ aren’t its only party trick though, as plants put on a spectacular show in autumn, with oval leaves displaying brilliant shades of reds and yellows before they fall. 
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Aphrodite’ (AGM) with its deep-orange flowers, 
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Barmstedt Gold’ (AGM), the bare twigs of which are smothered with curly, golden-yellow flowers in late winter.

Witch hazels bought in plant pots are best planted between autumn and April, as long as the soil isn’t waterlogged or frozen. Although they are easy to keep, young plants require regular watering until fully settled into their new homes, so keep plants irrigated during dry spells for the first couple of years. That includes winter, too, as bone-dry soil can cause flowers to drop prematurely and spoil the show. Get the watering right and you’re in for a special mid-winter treat.

January is too early for planting seed potatoes in the ground, but it’s the best month for snapping-up seed potatoes while supplies are plentiful. Leave it too late and the choice of varieties on offer diminishes, fast.

The ones to look out for will be labelled as first early potatoes, which are planted from March until the end of May and should be ready to harvest around 10 weeks after planting. Buying seed potatoes in January has another advantage: you’ll be able to chit them indoors during February – a process that encourages them to sprout prior to planting, speeding-up establishment. Simply place seed potatoes on their ends with buds facing upwards in an old egg box or seed tray lined with newspaper, positioned in a warm, dry, light position, and shoots will quickly emerge.

The choice of seed potatoes at garden centres in January can be overwhelming, so here’s our pick of the best first early potatoes.

• ‘Swift’ is a high-yielding early cropper and one of the fastest first earlies to mature, with white-fleshed baby new potatoes ready between May and June
• ‘Rocket potatoes’ are a popular choice for uniform, waxy textured, disease-resistant potatoes that can be dug-up between June and July.
• ‘Red Duke of York’ is a winner with its attractive crimson skins and superbly flavoured yellow flesh that’s ready by May or June. 
• Looking for the perfect salad or new potato? Try ‘Arran Pilot’, a firm favourite for flavour with good resistance to scab that’s ready to harvest by May or June.

If you’re keen to inject a touch of drama to your winter garden, look no further than the Tibetan cherry tree (Prunus serrula). It is unbeatable as a mid-winter focal point with its magnificent, glossy, mahogany-coloured bark.

For maximum effect, plant it in a bright spot, where rays of winter sun will illuminate its polished bark, or grow in contrast to a bright backdrop that will intensify its glowing coppery tones. These deciduous trees bear small clusters of white flowers in late-April, while leaves put on a dramatic show of yellow in autumn. With a mature height of up to 12m, the Tibetan cherry tree is a must for any medium or large garden – a marvel of nature that’s at its prime in the depths of winter.