The Flower Garden
- Take cuttings from delphiniums using strong young shoots, and root them in free-draining compost
- Wash off greenfly from shoot tips with soapy water
- Feed rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris and camellias with ericaceous (acidic) plant food
- Several shrubs with low-growing stems can be propagated by layering, such as honeysuckle, mock orange (Philadelphus), rhododendron, magnolia and forsythia
- Dig up and divide clumps of winter aconites
- Plant new shrubs and hardy perennials
- Cut away old foliage on Christmas roses to prevent hellebore leaf spot spreading
- Pick off developing seed heads on daffodils and spring bulbs
- Sprinkle fertiliser over flower beds and around shrubs and roses
In The Fruit and Vegetable Garden
- Cover rows of strawberries with cloches to encourage early fruiting
- Plant early potatoes outside in rows, or in large pots of compost
- Spray fruit trees and bushes with fungicide to prevent powdery mildew disease attacking them
- Pick off faded and yellowing leaves from Brussels sprouts to stop disease spreading
- Sow seeds the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots, beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflowers, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed salad and stir fry leaves, radish, turnip, peas and Swiss chard
In the Greenhouse
- Plant bulbs, corms and tubers like achimenes, begonias, gloxinias in pots
- Sow coleus and other houseplants
- Watch out for pests, like whitefly and red spider mite, and treat at once
- Put a mouse trap in your greenhouse if you find seeds and plants being eaten
- Sow seeds of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other greenhouse crops in a heated propagator
- Pot up begonias individually once new leaves have developed
- Take cuttings from houseplants including African violets
Around and About
- Move plants from greenhouse to cold frame, to acclimatise to cooler temperatures before planting out
- Dig out new ponds and water features
- Clean and sharpen secateurs and garden knives
- Buy summer-flowering bulbs now, while the best choice of varieties and colours are available
- Treat emerging shoots of perennial weeds like ground elder with glyphosate-based weedkiller
- Repot succulents that have overgrown their containers
- Continue sowing seeds of summer bedding plants in the greenhouse or on windowsills including marigolds, tagetes, verbena, zinnia, nicotiana and dahlias
Don’t forget that you can get more gardening information at www.babicz.com
Happy Gardening
