WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
:: Pinch out rhododendron and azalea buds damaged by frost to prevent the spread of disease.
:: Cut out broken, diseased, dead or rubbing branches on established trees and shrubs except Prunus.
:: Wash and disinfect seed trays and pots, ready for early spring sowing and planting.
:: Make any necessary repairs to structures supporting plants such as trellises, pergolas and arches while the plants are dormant.
:: Give perennial vegetables such as asparagus, artichoke, rhubarb and seakale a dressing of general fertiliser, which will wash down to their roots ready for the new growing season.
:: Give struggling hedges a boost with a dressing of general fertiliser or a mulch of well rotted manure over the area of root run.
:: Apply lime to any ground that needs it, particularly the vegetable plot. Soil enriched with manure in the autumn can now be treated.
:: Check that cloches haven’t moved out of alignment, or unwanted cold air may fi nd its way to your crops.
:: If a cold spell threatens, crops such as spring cabbage can be protected by spreading straw around them.
Winter aconite (Eranthus hyemalis)
BEST OF THE BUNCH - Winter aconite (Eranthus hyemalis)
This clump-forming, tuberous perennial produces stemless, cup-shaped, bright yellow buttercup-like fl owers on a ruff of light green leaves. It makes a good ground cover plant from late winter to early spring and is ideal for naturalising in dappled shade beneath deciduous trees and large shrubs, especially in chalky soils. Bulbs should be planted in autumn in fertile, moist but well-drained soil. Winter aconites spread rapidly to form colonies, which can be divided after fl owering. L
Carol Kliens book Grow Your Own Fruit is in shops now.
:: Refresh pot plants which are not to be repotted by removing some of the surface soil and replacing it with fresh compost.
:: Continue to top up food and water supplies for the birds.
:: Prune summer-fl owering shrubs that fl ower on new wood.
:: Cut back overgrown shrubs and hedges before the nesting season starts.
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:: Tend celery seedling that have been under glass from April. Aim to produce plants for late May or early June.
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