February Gardening Tips & Advice

If you have Virginia creeper and Boston ivy growing on house walls they can be cut back now to help keep them clear of gutters and windows.

Early potatoes can be chitted now, stand them in a tray or egg box on end in a cool light frost free place.

Check tree ties to make sure they are not too tight which could damage the tree.

Knock any heavy snowfalls off trees and shrubs to prevent them getting damaged by the weight of the snow.

Trim back winter flowering Heathers once the flowers have gone over to maintain a compact plant.

Keep any seedlings in a bright position in the greenhouse to prevent them becoming week and leggy.

At the end of the month prune late flowering Clematis (Group3) down to a strong pair of buds around 20-30cm above ground level.

Compost for seed sowing should be put in the greenhouse to warm through for a few days before using.

At the end of the month prune back late flowering Clematis to around 20-30cm from the ground just above a pair of strong buds, the plants can then be given a feed and mulch to give them good start to the growing season.

If well rooted the cuttings of tender perennials taken in the autumn can be potted on now ready for planting out in spring.

Deciduous grasses such as Miscanthus can be cut back at the end of the month before new shoots start to emerge, a few such as Pennisetum are slower to get started so with these leave the old stems to protect the crown from cold weather until the end of next month

Fruit trees can be given a feed of sulphate of potash now to give them a boost at the start of the season, apply to just beyond the reach of the branches.

Finish pruning or trimming hedges early in the month before birds start nesting.

Use cloches or polythene to warm up the soil for early sowings of crops such as Broad beans, peas and parsnips.

At the end of the month the colourful stems of Cornus and Salix can be cut back hard to just above the previous year’s stubs this will ensure more colourful stems next winter.

Root cuttings can be taken now from any fleshy rooted perennials such as Oriental Poppies, Acanthus, Japanese Anemone and even shrubs such as Tetrapanax papyrifer.

The best time to lift and divide Snowdrops and Aconites is after the flowers fade and they are still in the green, replant singly or in small clumps at their original depth.