As we welcome in the start of 2024, the days are short but slowly getting longer. Now is the time to prune trees and climbers to encourage blooms later in the season and to clear the Winter debris away ready for Spring. Here's my top 5 gardening jobs for January.
Winter prune Wisteria
Prune the wispy shoots pruned in July back to 2/3 buds. This will encourage the cascading lilac flowers in the late Spring.
2. Prune Apple & Pear trees
Remove the 3ds (dead, diseased and damaged) and prune out any inward growing branches. Prune any too long branches back to the trunk or to a lower outward facing branch but be careful not to pruned out more than 20% of the canopy.
3. Remove Hellebore leaves
Hellebores bring some welcome colour to the garden at this time of year but removing lower leaves now helps prevent black spot.
4. Add fragrant Winter flowering plants
Now that the bare bones of the garden is exposed, it's a great time to add some fragrant Winter shrubs such Sarcococca confusa (above), Viburnum bodnatense 'Dawn' or Lonicera fragrantissima.
5. Clean out bird baths and ponds
Give the birds a treat and clean out bird baths or ponds to improve the quality of the water within.
Enjoy your January time in the garden!