Tips for January 2024

Sow sweet peas for flowering in early summer, in a frost free greenhouse. Use deep pots or old toilet rolls. Keep them moist but not wet.

Trees, hedges and hardy shrubs that flower in late summer can all be pruned now. However do not prune Prunus species.

Seed potatoes can be chitted from now onwards. Place in egg boxes, store in a light, cool, frost free spot.

You can winter prune Wisteria this month or next, shortening shoots that were pruned last summer to two or three buds from older wood.

For early crops, sow onions, leeks, cauliflowers and lettuce under cover now.

Inspect stored tubers, such as Canna and Dahlia for signs of rot. Throw out soft or unhealthy ones.

Look out for black spot on Pansies. Remove infected leaves and disposing of badly affected plants.

Continue to cover trained forms of peaches and nectarines with polythene to protect new shoots from rain borne fungal disease peach leaf curl.

Hyacinths and daffodils grown for indoor displays can be reused in the garden. Plant out in Spring. Remove spent flowerheads.

If you have had a problem with fruit aphids, spray trees and bushes with a plant oil winter wash.