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December officially signals the start of winter and with it, the shortest day of the year and some of the years coldest weather so you’ll need to wrap up and work hard to keep warm!
There is still plenty to do to keep your garden going through the winter, make sure your plants and crops are protected, your greenhouse heaters are working and that you have already or are planning ahead for next years growing efforts.
To help group your December tasks into easy to manage lists or to allow you to avoid jobs which may not be relevant to you, our gardening guide has been split into four categories:
Your hard work this year should have paid off with you having enjoyed a great spring, summer and autumn.
Now winter is here you can complete these few maintenance tasks to keep your outdoor space in great condition ready for next year and aim to repeat or improve on your success!
We typically recommend looking to complete the maintenance tasks before moving on to the rest of this month’s gardening jobs
Begin to order your summer-flowering bulbs such as lilies and gladioli
Every day during frosty weather be sure to put out fresh water for birds
Winter is the perfect time to clear your shed, clean & organise your tools
To allow any pondlife to escape, scoop fallen leaves and debris from the pond then add to the compost bin
To dig in over winter or for worms to take down into the soil, order well-rotted manure or mushroom compost
Until its time to bring indoors, stand your Christmas tree in a bucket of water in a sheltered spot outdoors
Check your tree ties and stakes are firm enough to stand up to winter storms
Once dormant, prune blackcurrants and remove about a quarter of the old stems
Work off Christmas excesses by digging over bare areas of ground, incorporating garden compost
So they don’t freeze and split, bring all watering equipment indoors, including hoses and sprinklers
A greenhouse is a gardener’s best friend and now winter is here, it will prove its worth all over again.
Ensure you keep your growing space clean, allow as much light in as possible and keep it warm! By doing these 3 things your growing opportunities will continue to be much better than the outside weather would allow.
Follow the steps below to ensure your growing efforts are timed perfectly and your growing efforts will more than come to fruition:
To get as much light as possible during the shorter days, move houseplants onto a sunny windowsill over the winter
For plants overwintering in the greenhouse such as pelargonium, pick faded leaves and dead flowers regularly
To prolong flowering, deadhead indoor azaleas, water regularly and provide cool conditions away from radiators
To encourage more blooms, water florists’ cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) from below and deadhead regularly
Keep the greenhouse as dry as possible by watering plants sparingly which should reduce outbreaks of disease
To ensure heaters are working efficiently, monitor your greenhouse temperatures with a max-min thermometer
Bring hyacinths growing in the greenhouse into your home to flower, placing in a cool, bright spot
Check overwintering plants in the greenhouse for red spider mite and other pests, and treat if necessary
Sow cacti seeds into moist, loam-based compost and place in a propagator or on a warm windowsill
Whilst they are dormant you should now prune greenhouse grapevines
To encourage bushier growth, pinch out the tips of autumn-sown sweet peas
To force an early crop of sweet stems pot up a clump of rhubarb and place under a large bin
To achieve spectacular flowers in about eight weeks, plant hippeastrum (amaryllis) bulbs
Obviously, with the cold weather and shorter days, your flower and planting opportunities are limited but there is still work to be done.
There is plenty of planning, pruning and protecting to do this month to ensure your garden bursts with colour arrives and that pests or the weather do not destroy your flowers.
All of the tasks below may not be relevant to your growing space or efforts, so browse the jobs and complete the ones that are applicable to you.
Between now and February be sure to prune your climbing roses
While they’re dormant, hard prune overgrown shrubs and hedges
Regularly check your stored bulbs and corms for any signs of rot
Rake up accumulated fallen leaves in your borders that could be harbouring pests such as slugs
To attract hungry birds that will also pick off any overwintering pests, hang bird feeders near roses
December is the time to plant bare-root roses and other deciduous shrubs, plus ornamental trees
If conditions turn very cold, move plants in pots to a sheltered spot as their roots are more exposed to the elements
Protect terracotta pots from cracking in freezing weather by bringing them indoors or wrapping in bubble polythene
To protect your tender shrubs and climbers from the falling temperatures, pile straw or bracken around their bases
Plant fragrant winter shrubs in pots on the doorsteps, including chimonanthus, sarcococca and Daphne odora
For some festive decorations, cut the stems of berried winter shrubs, seasonal flowers and evergreen leaves
December is a much quieter month for growing fruit and vegetables but that doesn’t mean there is nothing to do this month.
There is some regular care and maintenance to carry out on existing crops to ensure they don’t fall victim to the cold or pests. You can also still plant out some hardy vegetables that can survive and even thrive in the cold weather we will experience.
Browse all of December’s growing tasks below:
So fungal diseases such as grey mould and downy mildew don’t take hold, remove yellowed leaves on brassicas
Tie to a cane for support and earth up the stems to make sure Brussels sprouts don’t topple over in strong winds
Lift and divide large clumps of rhubarb, replanting the outer sections into soil enriched with well-rotted manure
Weed and mulch with compost, then tie new stems to support wires to tidy up raspberry and blackberry beds
To protect them from hungry pigeons, keep kale, winter cabbages and other brassicas covered with netting
To prevent the soil freezing place straw around the base of parsnips as freezing can make harvesting difficult
For easy pickings of large, sweet, juicy fruits, plant thornless blackberries, such as ‘Loch Ness’
To control their shape and size, and to increase their productivity, winter prune large fruit trees
Finish clearing old crops and debris from the veg plot, but only add healthy material to compost
December is the perfect time to begin planning next year’s crops and ordering seeds
To make good use of limited space, plant fruit trees trained as cordons, fans or espaliers
Prune grapevines by cutting back side-branches to one or two buds from the main stem
