Tips for December 2024

Keep flowering Azaleas, Cyclamen and Hyacinths in cool conditions 10-15 deg. C. to prolong flowering. Place the pots in good light and away from draughts. Allow the compost to dry out between waterings.

Check to see grease bands or barrier glues are still sticky and protecting fruit trees from winter moth.

Purchase seed potatoes at the end of the month. It may seem early but tubers will store well in a cool, frost free place and can be ready for chitting in January.

Float a ball or half filled milk bottle in your pond to ensure that the surface does not ice over completely this benefits fish and other wildlife in the water.

Prune established black currants this month. They fruit best on younger wood, so remove up to a third of older branches at the base.

Bare rooted fruit trees and bushes can be planted now as long as the soil is not frozen or waterlogged. Dig in plenty of manure or compost.

Prune Birches (Betula) Japanese Acers (Acer Palmatum) and ornamental edible grapevines this month. They are prone to bleed from pruning cuts in the months after Christmas.

Sow mustard cress, coriander or pea shoots in pots on a warm window sill to use in winter salads or garnishes.

Start forcing rhubarb for the first tender young stems in spring. Exclude light with a terracotta forcing pot, or upturned dustbin.

Tidy and dead head winter bedding containers and hanging baskets regularly. Cut off spent flowerheads of pansies, violas, primroses and cyclamen to keep them tidy, prevent disease and more blooms.