February Gardening Tips

Now that we can put what always feels like the longest month of the year behind us, we can settle into February. In fact, as I write this, there is a distinct feeling of spring in the air and we are already seeing small signs, with the lighter evenings and snowdrops popping up here and there. While it certainly does feel like the weather is beginning to turn, we need to be careful not to get too ahead of ourselves. Frosts are still very much on the agenda, so keep tender plants under cover and don’t be too surprised if a few cold, rainy and windy spells still hit us – sorry! However, there are still jobs to be getting on with and before you know it, the lovely warmth of spring will officially be upon us.

1. Stakes and supports: Take stock of all your plant supports and replace any that have broken. Ensure you are adding new supports if you have increased your plant stock.
2. Raspberries: Prune down your autumn fruiting raspberries and tie in the summer fruiting raspberries to their canes. If the raspberry canes are taller than the wire support, you can prune them back by cutting down the cane to one bud above the wire support.
3. Prune woody plants: Any woody shrubs that flower on new wood in late summer can be pruned now.
4. Pruning shrubs: Get all of the pruning done on the deciduous hedges and trees if you need to. Birds will be looking for nesting opportunities so make sure you get the necessary pruning done before they settle in so that you are not disturbing them during their nesting season.
5. Apply organic-based fertiliser to your borders. Organic fertilisers release their nutrients slower than inorganic feeds so the plants will have the complex feed they need in the soil when they start to grow in the spring.
6. Keep off very wet soil and lawns: February can still be a cold, damp month so it’s best to keep out of the borders if the soil is waterlogged and off the lawns if you have flooding. Working in waterlogged soil can compress it which can lead to the soil becoming anaerobic. Oxygen is vital in healthy soil and healthy soil is vital for plant growth, so protecting your soil with the simple act of not compressing it at this time of year is quite important for long-term soil health. If you must walk on the lawn and it’s waterlogged, use a plank to even out the weight a little and reduce compression.
7. Sow early vegetable crops such as lettuce, beetroot and peas. 
8. The soil will soon start warming up, so make sure you plant up your bare root plants this month. Do not plant if the soil is frozen or waterlogged though – wait a little for the frost to pass, the water to clear and then plant up a storm.
9. Winter flowering Jasmine: When the flowers have gone over, prune back your winter flowering Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum). First, prune out any dead, damaged and diseased wood. Select the stems you would like to use and tie those onto your framework. Then, cut back the side growth to around 5cm from the main stems and finish off by feeding and mulching.
10. Sow your sweet peas outside: To help speed up germination, you can put a cloche over them. This will help to protect the seedlings too when they emerge.