Gardening in January: What to worry about now

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Gardener Tips
Cutting, feeding, caring for: the six most important gardening tasks in January

January is one of the months in which allotment gardeners can relax without feeling guilty. However, the garden cannot survive entirely without care. The six most important works in January.

Temperatures around or even below freezing are not good arguments for a trip to the allotment garden. Nevertheless, allotment gardeners should check their plots every now and then, even in January. And not only that: there are also some small (and important) jobs that should be done during the cold season. You can find out what these are and what you need in the following article.

Gardening in January: The most important things in brief

1. Cut off root runners

Especially in the ornamental garden, work can and should be done in the first month of the year. Some trees thrive even at low temperatures. For example, roots of lilac, willow or sea buckthorn tend to protrude from the ground. To ensure that these trees do not multiply uncontrollably, they should be treated with a classic gardener’s spade (here a model from Fiskars) must be cut off and disposed of properly.

2. Caring for strawberries

Strawberry plants are robust. However, they also need some care in January. If possible, remove all diseased and dead leaves; especially from plants planted in late summer. Frost can also push the root balls out of the ground. In this case, it should be carefully pressed back into the ground so that the roots are protected from the next frost.

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3. Cut pome fruit

Unlike other trees and shrubs, pome fruit can be cut at temperatures as low as -5 degrees Celsius (°C). Important: It should be dry so that pathogens do not penetrate the open cuts and damage the tree. For the same reason, be sure to use a sharp and clean one when cutting pome fruit secateurs.

4. Feed birds

It may not be a classic gardening task, but the local birds in particular have a hard time in winter. And when looking for berries, Meise & Co. can only find them in a few allotments. That’s exactly why you should help and for example Scatter food lay out or nutrient-rich Fat balls Place in bushes or trees.

5. Propagate gooseberries and currants

They are one of the most popular types of fruit among allotment gardeners. And gooseberries and currants are also looking forward to the valued attention of their owners in January. Specifically, it’s about multiplying the sweet berries. For this purpose, one-year-old canes are used with sharp secateurs (here a model from Fiskars) cut into 20 to 30 centimeter long pieces and placed (without leaves) in a pot filled with sandy soil.

6. Sow cold germinators

Some ornamental plants love the cold. So-called cold germinators such as monkshood or the popular Christmas rose can be sown safely in January. The temperatures when sowing should be between 4 and -4 °C. In some cases, the seeds should be placed on the windowsill at home in a moist place potting soil soak before letting them outside.

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