A View From The Potting Shed

What a wicked winter we are enduring with COVID-19 continuing to command our lives, but it isn’t all gloom and doom. February is the last month of winter and days start to lengthen as spring beckons. A crisp, sunny, February day is certainly an invitation into the garden, to survey any winter damage and do those jobs that are recommended for the month, but beware of working on wet soil, where you will do more harm than good. Despite the cold there are flowers to be found in the February garden. Early Camellias will be showing a few blooms, and some winter-flowering shrubs are still going strong, but it is the early bulbs that are providing drifts of colour, ideally planted under trees or shrubs, or naturalized in grass. In a sheltered garden you might see daffodills in flower, you will certainly see snowdrops Clematis can be a pruning puzzle and my tip on this subject is to keep your clematis plants labelled, so that you will be able to identify the correct pruning group. The key to pruning clematis is flowering time; the earlier a clematis comes into bloom the less pruning it will need. The following advice has been gleaned from the RHS website and other experts. Group 1 early vigorous spring flowering varieties e.g. Clematis species alpina and montana, flower on short shoots from growth produced the previous summer. These need no regular pruning but if necessary prune immediately after flowering when all danger of frost is passed. They should be given ample space on a house wall or through a tree to suit their rampant growth. Group 2 large flowered hybrids that flower May to June on the previous year’s wood – some will flower again in late summer on new growth. This group includes popular varieties like ‘Nelly Moser’ and ‘The President.’ Light prune in late winter, removing tangly top growth just as far as a plump bud or growing shoot. Aim to retain a framework of old wood whilst stimulating new shoots to maximise flowering throughout the season. Group 3 late flowering clematis that flower on new growth made from the base each year e.g. C. texensis ‘Princess Diana.’ Cut back hard, typically in February, just as buds are starting to emerge. Cut all old stems to the lowest pair of healthy buds 15-30cm above soil level.

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3 Finish pruning apple and pear trees before the sap rises. 3 Pot dahlia tubers, bringing them into growth on a windowsill or in the greenhouse to provide cuttings from new shoots. 3 Hard prune buddleia to encourage new wood for showier flowers. Also wisteria, dogwood and overgrown mahonia. 3 In the veg plot cover prepared seed beds with clear polythene to warm the soil before spring sowing.

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(Galanthus) nodding their white flower-heads, colourful early crocus, golden winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), and the lovely blue and yellow Iris Reticulata towards the end of the month. Add a few herbaceous Hellebores and your February garden will be blooming lovely.

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