Monty Don's urgent gardening tasks to be completed by end of January
Monty Don's urgent gardening tasks to be completed by end of January
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In his blog, Monty Don shared the essential gardening tasks for January. "It is not too late to plant tulips, but you really do need to get on with it," he advised, suggesting gardeners plant them "as deeply as you can". Tulips should be planted at least four inches deep and require good drainage if in a container to avoid root rot.
Now is also the time to sow chillies, which can be slow to germinate; ideally on a heated bench or windowsill above a radiator. Monty wrote: "I tend to sow them in seed trays... and then transplant them to plugs as soon as the seedlings develop true leaves, potting them on again in March and then to their final terracotta pots in May.".
A weekly feed of high-nitrogen fertiliser is recommended until the first flower buds appear in June. One of Monty's "big January jobs" is winter pruning of fruit trees, which needs to be "finished by the end of the month". However, he warned against over-pruning, which could harm the trees. If your hedges need rejuvenating, "this is the best time to do it", according to Monty.
He explained: "If you cut hedges now they will regrow with extra vigour so it is the best time to cut back a weak hedge." Monty Don has issued guidance for garden enthusiasts, saying that a severely overgrown deciduous hedge can be cut back to the ground to allow fresh, thicker, and denser growth. He specified: "This does not work for many evergreen hedges other than yew, box and holly.".
