I feel like we’ve really turned a corner into this month. The weather has thankfully warmed up a bit, the river’s level has come right down again and the songbirds have started singing for their territories. Snowdrops and hellebores are flowering left right and centre and it won't be long before all the spring bulbs are cheering us through the first months of the year.
Towards the end of the month, I will be sowing my sweet peas (see which varieties I’ve gone for in my January Midwinter Seed Sorting blog), but before then there’s plenty to be getting on with in the garden and allotment.
It’s time, whilst the trees are dormant and all is still quiet, to prune your fruit trees. Apples and pairs should be pruned every winter to keep them productive and healthy, and to maintain the shape and size you want. By taking out a bit of old wood every year, you stimulate new growth and therefore fruiting branches. Fruit forms best on wood less than 4 years old, so it’s a clever idea to just take out a bit each year (between 10-20% of the canopy), to ensure a steady supply of delicious apples or pears. The general aim is to establish an open goblet shaped tree, with a few main branches coming from the trunk. This ensures plenty of light and air can get to the ripening fruits.
Top tips:
Remove any crossing or rubbing branches, keeping the outward growing one
Leave young side shoots (known as laterals) unpruned, so they can develop into fruit producers next year
Remove any shoots or branches growing towards the centre of the tree, or growing downwards
All pruning should be done just after an outward facing bud
Make sure the secateurs and pruning saw are sharp and clean. Using a blade which isn’t as sharp as it should be can result in raggedy cuts which are an easy way for infection to enter the tree.
Remember though that it’s still too early to prune stone fruit trees such as apricots and cherries. Winter pruning of these trees can increase their susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infection. Best wait until early summer.
I recently got a hold of some woodchip. I’m using it spread thickly here on my allotment (which sadly got so hit by the hard frosts, only a few straggly leeks remain), to create paths and suppress the inevitable weeds. The ground has become so churned up in recent weeks as it’s been really flooded/frozen/muddy (take your pick!), so it’s important to get some chippings down to prevent more damage to the soil. Spread as thickly as 15-20cm for ultimate weed suppression duties.
It’s also about time for the winter wisteria prune. To keep your beautiful plant under control and producing abundant gorgeous purple racemes of scented flowers in the spring, it’s important to give the wisteria a prune at this time of year. I started mine last month, but I needed help with a tall ladder, so the rest has had to wait for February. This is fine - we’re basically reducing the amount of whippy growth from the previous autumn as wisteria flowers best from short flowering spurs. It needs to be done at this time of year, while the plant is dormant and not covered in leaves. Cut the spurs back to two or three healthy looking buds from the start of the stem to tidy up the climber and ensure maximum floral display come May.
Finally on my to do list this month is to order some seed potatoes. Once they arrive, I will ‘chit’ them - place the tubers in egg boxes where they receive plenty of light (but not too much heat, a cool windowsill is ideal). This stimulates the growth of knobbly little shoots, from which the plant will grow once they hit the soil. Hold off putting them in the ground until late March though (depending on the variety) as the soil is still too cold. They can be stored after chitting until you’re ready to use them.
I have a dedicated clematis pruning blog coming out next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that! All of this should keep me busy and keep my itching hands away from the seed sowing for a little bit longer…
Have a great time pottering and pruning,
Eleanor & Ishka
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