Jobs for February
Garden Tips by Salvia Hotlips
Pruning
It’s a good time to get any pruning of large shrubs and trees out of the way before the birds
start looking for nesting sites.
Overgrown or misshapen deciduous trees ca all be pruned to improve their health and shape
for the growing season to come.
Fully hardy evergreens can ben pruned and cutting back to well within the outline of the
plant should bring good results.
Roses can also be pruned at this time of year, cutting down to an outside bud and leaving the
centre as clear as possible to allow free movement of air within the plant.
Prune summer flowering Jasmines can be pruned but you will need to take out one or two
main stems back to the ground. If you just prune side stems you will end up with a tangled
mess in the summer.
Weeding & Digging
Complete weeding over existing borders and dig out new areas for planting.
Incorporate some organic matter into freshly dug and weeded areas.
Planting
It’s a good time to prepared over wintered Dahlias by either potting them up singly or in
groups in trays. Put them in good light and spray occasionally with water to encourage
growth.
Divide and plant snowdrops after flowering and work in some leafmould or compost to help
them get established in the year ahead.
Time to start sowing hardy annuals in trays to give them a head start when the ground
warms up.
Top dress pots and containers by carefully scraping of the top layer of old compost, about
25mm is a good depth and replacing with new multipurpose compost, this will reinvigorate
and give the plants a kick start for the growing season ahead.