February garden advice

February garden advice and maintenance

february-advice

General gardening

  • Prune back Buddleja and Sambucus (elderflower) plants hard; down to just 18 inches or 50cm if wished
  • Start sowing vegetables but make sure you keep them under cover
  • Protect blossom on apricots, nectarines and peaches
  • Prune winter-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering
  • Divide bulbs such as snowdrops when they have finished flowering
  • Prune Wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds
  • Prune hardy evergreen hedges and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges
  • Cut back deciduous grasses, ready for new growth in Spring
  • Prick out seedlings and pot them on as soon as they are large enough
  • Prune back Roses and Clematis that flowered late summer and Autumn
  • If you suffered from peach leaf curl on your peaches or nectarines last year spray now with a copper based fungicide before bud burst.

In the greenhouse

  • Do not over water your plants, water only when the compost is dry
  • Plant new Grape vines, or prune established vines
  • Sow Sweet Peas for planting out later
  • Check the glass is not loose after high winds over the winter

Wildlife gardening

  • Put up nesting boxes for birds
  • Keep bird feeders topped up and put out food on the ground and bird table
  • Avoid foods that could cause choking in young fledglings i.e. whole peanuts
  • Keep the bird bath topped up
  • Regularly clean the bird bath and table to cut down the risk of disease
  • Put out food for hedgehogs – dog food is a good option, do not give them bread and milk
  • Plant new berrying trees and shrubs
  • Put out log and/or rock piles to create areas of shelter for wildlife
  • Build a compost bin