Gardening Jobs for January: What to Do in the Garden in January

Bare-root planting

You can plant bare-root roses, shrubs, hedging, and ornamental trees now, provided the ground isn’t frozen. This is the ideal time as plants are dormant and ready to establish roots.

Prune climbing roses and wisteria

While dormant, prune climbing roses to remove old, diseased, or crossing branches. Wisteria can also be pruned in January or February to encourage strong growth.

Take root cuttings

Try taking root cuttings from fleshy-rooted perennials such as oriental poppies and delphiniums to multiply your plants.

Establish snowdrops and hellebores

Plant these lovely winter-flowering perennials in clumps to create beautiful colonies.

1. Remove any soggy, collapsed stems from perennials and compost them to keep your borders tidy.
2. For hellebores showing black blotches, remove affected leaves to prevent leaf spot disease.
3. Regularly deadhead winter pansies and other bedding plants struggling with downy mildew to encourage more blooms.

Sowing seeds in January requires warmth and light, so use a heated propagator or a warm indoor spot.

Sweet peas

Sow under cover in deep pots or root trainers, cover with newspaper to retain moisture, and protect from mice. Early sowing means earlier, more abundant flowers.

Hardy annuals

Start sowing cerinthe, calendulas, nigella, and half-hardy annuals like antirrhinums indoors.

Iceland poppies and cobaea

Sow these indoors for a wonderful summer display.

Vegetable seeds

Sow leeks, onions, broad beans, hardy peas, spinach, carrots, and Swiss chard undercover. Use cloches or a greenhouse to warm the soil for early sowing.

Greenhouse tomatoes

Start sowing these indoors for an early harvest.

Chitting early potatoes

Place seed potatoes in a cool, light spot to encourage shoots about 2.5cm long before planting.

1. Sow hardy annual and biennial herbs like chervil, parsley, and coriander indoors. For parsley, soak and dry seeds overnight to speed up germination.
2. Pot up mint roots to encourage fresh shoots.
3. Start perennial herbs such as French sorrel, chives, lovage, and leaf fennel indoors with some bottom heat if possible.

Even in winter, you can enjoy fresh produce:

• Harvest brassicas like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale.
• Dig up root vegetables such as Jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, and salsify.
• Pick fresh leeks, celery stems, and leafy greens including chard and perpetual spinach.
• Add fresh flavour with herbs like parsley, coriander, rosemary, sage, and bay.
• Create vibrant salads from chicory, endive, hardy lettuces, mizuna, salad rocket, and mustards.

- Keep bird baths topped up and provide high-energy food to help wildlife through the cold.
- Repair wobbly fences and treat wooden structures with preservative.
- Service your lawn mower or arrange a professional tune-up.
- Clean bird feeders and put up bird boxes to encourage feathered friends.
- Clear paths, patios, and decking to prevent slips and remove debris.
- Dig over borders carefully, weed where you can, and prepare pots and trays for upcoming sowing.
- Protect tender plants from frost with mulch or move indoors if possible.
- Insulate outdoor taps to prevent freezing.
- Prune hedges and tame overgrown climbers on milder days.
- Add hard edges or paths to lawn borders to make mowing easier.
- Plan for winter-scented plants along paths for a lovely sensory experience.
- Clean shed and greenhouse gutters to prepare for winter rains.
- Avoid walking on frozen grass to prevent damage and yellow patches.
- Collect fallen leaves in a chicken wire cage to create nourishing leaf mould for spring.