Christine Fowler | ChristineFowler

Gardening jobs for February

Start chatting seed potatoes from the end of February.
Renovate deciduous hedges such as Beech and Hawthorn. Hard prune only the top or one side this winter.
Delay turning your compost heap until later in the spring as hibernating wildlife such as grass snakes and hedgehogs may be over wintering there.
Trim deciduous grasses such as Molinias and Miscanthus.
Buy asparagus plants.
Cut back autumn fruiting raspberries to the ground and then apply a thick layer of mulch, such as homemade compost.

Prune deciduous shrubs.
sow sweet peas.
Compost leftover cardboard.
Remove algae from paths with a stiff broom.
Resist the desire to tidy up every part of your garden.Fallen leaves and stems of herbaceous perennials provide homes for ladybirds and other beneficial insects.
Clean bird feeders with a dilute solution of disinfectant to prevent the spread of diseases such as avian flu.
Give houseplants the occasional water.
Keep off the soil to avoid compaction, if you must walk on it use a plank to spread your weight.
Cut off old leaves of Hellebores to control leaf spot disease and to show off the flowers.
Clean and sharpen tools.
Add winter flowering shrubs such as Mahonias, Daphnes and Winter Box( Sarcococcus).
Plant fruit as long as the ground isn’t water logged or frozen, Trees, fruit bushes and raspberry canes.
Move deciduous trees and shrubs.

Add rainwater storage. Install water butts to collect water from roofs, garages and sheds. Rainwater is better for all plants, particularly acid-loving plants and in hard water areas.
Keep ice off ponds. Float a ball or half filled milk bottle to ensure that the surface doesn’t ice over completely.
Plant rhubarb. Buy as dormant ‘crowns’ and plant from now until mid-spring.Dig in with plenty of well rotted manure. Plant so the crown tip is just below the surface.
Prune Acers and Birches. Avoid pruning where possible, but if a branch is damaged it is better to do it sooner rather than later.
Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs.
Check and water outdoor containers. Winter winds are often drying and rainfall can be low for weeks at a time, pots close to the house can be in a rain shadow.
Deadhead winter bedding plants.
Replenish bird baths.
Knock any snow off plants with a broom or shake the plant gently.
Plant winter interest plants such as Daphnes, Hardy Cyclamen and Hellebores.
Harvest Vegetables.

Consider winter protection as the weather gets colder and frosts become likely.

Prune roses to prevent wind-rock.
Plant tulips for next spring.
Plant bare root roses.
Remove black spot on roses. Collect and dispose of fallen leaves infected with black spot, then mulch with well rotted compost or manure.
Raise up pots to avoid water logging.
Avoid disturbing ladybirds as they will eat aphids your garden next spring.
Tie in climbers.
Protect any swedes left in the ground with a 15cm layer of straw.
Stake Brussel Sprouts.
Plant Garlic.
Introduce new fruit bushes as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged.
Keep hungry birds fed and watered.
Check Brassica nets are secure.
Harvest winter Cauliflowers.
Prune Apple and Pear trees.
Remove unecessary fruit cages.
Create a mini pond.
Clean up your greenhouse.
Save your pumpkin seeds.

Move evergreen shrubs. Take a rootball as large as possible. Replant in a new position and water in thoroughly.
Make use of fallen leaves, either by leaving them in flower beds where they will provide a habitat for for wildlife, or collect them up and make into leaf mould.
Leave windfall fruit for birds and insects. If it looks unsightly, throw to the back of the border.
Lift herbaceous perennials and divide them.
Take hardwood rose cuttings. Make cuttings from healthy shoots, first removing the soft tip. Cut into 15 – 30 cm sections, making a cut above a budget the top and just below a bud at the bottom. Insert the cuttings into the soil leaving a quarter visible.
Remove fallen leaves and debris from around alpines.
Clear away spent vegetable crops.
Start winter onion sets. Gently push into loose soil or plant into prepared rows.Delay planting until Spring on heavy clay soils.
Leave sunflowers and teasels. Their seed packed heads make feeding stations for the birds.
Mulch or sow green manure. This protects the soil from winter weathering.
Plant garlic now.
Delay cutting back herbaceous perennials. Leave some stems standing until February or March to provide shelter for invertebrates.
Plant out Spring cabbages.
Move citrus plants under cover well before the first frosts arrive.
Clean bird boxes. Use a brush and boiling water, not chemicals.Dry them afterwards.
Reduce mowing frequency.
Divide established rhubarb plants.
Store the last main crop potatoes.