Jobs to do in February

Flower/Plants

• Take root cuttings from perennials
• Move shrubs growing in the wrong place
• Spread a mulch over your borders
• Pot up containers with bedding displays for spring

Fruit/Vegetables

• Force Rhubarb
• Check fruits in store, removing any that show signs of rot
• Prune apples and pears to remove damaged or diseased branches
• Cover soil with polythene to protect it from rain
• Plant new fruit trees, cane fruits and bushes
• Sprout (chit) potato tubers

Greenhouse

• Clean greenhouses
• Sow onions in a heated propagator
• Prune conservatory climbers
• Bring in strawberries for early flowering and fruiting
• Take cuttings of chrysanthemums

General

• Sprinkle gritty compost over your lawn
• Wash flowerpots and seed trays
• Order seedlings and young plants for pots and bedding displays
• Net fruit trees and bushes
• Send petrol mowers for a service

Related Articles

In the Flower Garden: Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs Prune standard roses Take hardwood cuttings from shrubs Remove dead stems and leaves from perennials Tidy grasses

In the Vegetable Garden: Fork over empty beds and mix in compost Plant fruit trees Prune Gooseberry bushes Warm up beds for early crops Tie raspberry and blackberry canes [...]

I have chosen six plants which you should be able to easily find in your local garden centre and that are easy to grow. Most need little attention throughout the year but keep the Dogwoods well pruned to maintain the lovely coloured stems and prune the winter flowering jasmineafter flowering to ensure flowers for the following year.

Try to rest the lawn as much as possible during winter. If practical keep off when wet or frosty, as the grass plants are not actively growing; they will not repair themselves if damaged until the spring.

Mowing
Only mow the lawn if necessary; this will depend upon weather conditions and temperatures at the time. Do not [...]

Now is the time to take hardwood cuttings.

Hardwood cuttings should be successful from most deciduous trees and shrubs, try buddleja, forsythia, philadelphus, ribes and roses.

The best time to take the cuttings is during early and mid winter but don’t take them if frost is forecast.

Take a good look at your chosen tree or shrub and select a branch/shoot which is [...]