FINISH YOUR WINTER PRUNING
There’s nonetheless time to finish any unfinished winter pruning duties. Woody vegetation are dormant now, so you’ll be able to lower them with out inflicting any hurt. With apples or pears, skinny out overcrowded branches and outdated fruiting spurs.
If in case you have but to prune outside grape vines, put these on the entrance of the queue. If left a lot later, there’s hazard that the lower vines would possibly bleed.
With blackcurrants, skinny crowded bushes by eradicating a few of the older stems. Minimize these to floor degree. Then take away any stems which cross or rub collectively.
Roses, whether or not climbers or bush varieties, may be pruned between now and March.
Nigel Colborn says there’s nonetheless time to finish any unfinished winter pruning duties and woody vegetation are dormant now, so you’ll be able to lower them with out inflicting any hurt
Bear in mind, varieties that flower solely as soon as every year may have produced dormant buds already. In case you prune branches from these, the flowers will go, too.
If in case you have summerflowering climbers or wall vegetation equivalent to Japanese honeysuckles and summer time jasmine, they can be pruned now or tidied up.
They are going to flower on new development in the course of the coming summer time. However should you prune springflowering honeysuckles or winter jasmine now, flowers might be misplaced.
Go away late-flowering summer time shrubs untouched for an additional month. July-blooming buddlejas and shrubby hypericums are higher if reduce in late February.
In case you’re undecided about whether or not or when to prune any of your vegetation, search steering from varied on-line sources.
The Royal Horticultural Society web site (rhs.org.uk) has useful info, a lot of it accessible to nonmembers. Higher nonetheless, grow to be a member.
REMOVE ALL OLD HELLEBORE LEAVES
In case you develop oriental hellebores, they’ll be coming into full flower fairly quickly and can look pretty for a number of months. For a greater present and to stop ailments, it’s finest to take away all final 12 months’s leaves. If in case you have any aged hellebore vegetation with badly contaminated leaves, take away them. Seedlings may be troublesome too, so preserve solely what you want
BIG GARDEN BIRD WATCH APPEAL
Covid lockdowns precipitated a surge of curiosity in nature. In case you love having birds in your backyard you’ll be able to assist organisations such because the RSPB by becoming a member of their Large Backyard Chook Watch. Chances are you’ll be stunned at what number of completely different species are available to your backyard.
The following large watch is from January 28 to 30. To participate, join at rspb.org.uk.
PLANT OF THE WEEK: CORONILLA VALENTINA VAR. GLAUCA ‘CITRINA’
Nigel selected Coronilla Valentina Var. Glauca ‘Citrina’ as this week’s plant
All winter flowering shrubs are to be treasured, however this one has particular allure. An ample, thin-stemmed shrub, it thrives in rocky terrains of Mediterranean coastal areas. The compound leaves have fairly, rounded leaflets, making a sexy foil to the rounded clusters of buttercup-yellow flowers. Within the sub-species glauca the leaves have a sexy blue-grey tone. Prettier nonetheless, flowers within the selection Citrina are pale lemon.
Develop towards a heat, southfacing wall. Even within the weakest winter sunshine, your coronilla will open new flowers virtually daily.
READER’S QUESTION
Buds on my Magnolia x soulangeana expanded in the course of the Christmas heat spell. Now it seems to be virtually able to flower and I am afraid frost will smash the blossom. What are the tree’s probabilities for an excellent spring present?
Mrs H. Riley, through e-mail
Magnolias are significantly susceptible to late frosts and M. x soulangeana responds quickly to delicate climate. However these swollen buds should still be frost-proof. If the petals are tightly furled and inside their protecting sepals, they need to be fantastic. The actual hazard comes when the protecting sepals open and fall, leaving bare petal buds.
However spring is all the time dangerous, particularly now when the climate appears a lot extra unstable. So preserve your fingers crossed.