Things to do in the garden this month by Ian Clemens
- Finish cutting back any dead foliage left on your perennials and ornamental grasses to make way for new growth.
- Prune overwintered fuchsias back to one or two buds on each shoot.
- Deadhead daffodils as the flowers finish and let the foliage die back naturally.
- Dead-head Hydrangeas before new growth appears.
- Cut off the old leaves of Hellebores to remove any foliar diseases and make the spring flowers more visible.
- Towards the end of the month plant your chitted early potatoes outside in the ground.
- Plant onions, shallots and garlic provided the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged. Alternatively plant into individual pots for transplanting outdoors later on when soil conditions are more favourable.
- Start to sow vegetable seeds such as carrots, radishes and lettuce in greenhouse borders or outside under cloches.
- Plant fruit trees and raspberry canes now.
- Cut autumn-fruiting raspberry canes to the ground to stimulate new cane growth. Cut the tips of summer-fruiting raspberry canes that have grown beyond the top of their supports; cut just above a bud.
- Protect the blossoms of apricots, peaches and nectarines from frost with horticultural fleece.
- Mulch rhubarb with a thick layer of well-rotted manure to keep it healthy and reduce moisture loss through the soil. Take care not to cover the crown. You can also plant fresh rhubarb crowns now.
- Covering your strawberries with a cloche will encourage earlier fruiting.
