By Alicia Paaso - Gardenscape Sales Team/RHS Level 2 Horticulturalist
January is here, bringing the start of a new year. Although January can feel gloomy after all the festive celebrations are over, I like to see this month as an exciting time for planning and setting new goals.
It is the perfect time for reflecting over the past year’s gardening; what was successful, and what might need to be done differently this year. There are still many cold days and dark nights ahead, but it won’t be long until snowdrops start to appear, making spring seem just a little bit less further away.
As we are expecting cold and frosty days in January, it is important to keep protecting plants susceptible to frost. Plants in pots are prone to root damage if the growing media freezes. You can prevent this issue by moving the pots into a more sheltered place in your garden, such as your greenhouse or by a wall. Damaged herbaceous plants might not look very promising but leave any damaged foliage until spring as they might recover with new growth from the roots. Any frost damaged woody growth should also be left until spring, as cutting back now might cause further damage. Tender plants might need more protection in forms of covering with fleece, and young plants put in a cold frame.
In late January you can start sowing sweet peas in pots or seed trays. Sow the seeds 2-3 cm deep, and place in a bright spot indoors as sweet peas prefer sunny growing conditions. Some other flowers that you can sow in January are geraniums, dahlias, and begonias. These all require to be sown in seed trays kept indoors until the temperatures allow them to be moved outdoors. Basil can be sown in seed trays using a peat free compost or a multipurpose compost. Lily bulbs can be planted into pots. Use a multipurpose compost to part-fill the pot, then cover the bulb with 15cm of compost. January is a great month to have a proper tidy up in your greenhouse so that it is ready to use come spring. It is also the perfect time to clean your gardening tools.
Don’t forget to look after your houseplants this month! When the temperatures drop, we tend to use indoor heating more. This can cause our houseplants’ growing media to dry out quicker. Signs of heat exhaustion are browning leaf tips, curled leaves, dry compost, and general wilting. If your house plants are displaying these signs, move them away from heating sources, and increase watering. On the other hand, plants too close to windows might get cold stress. Signs of plants suffering from cold shock are wilt, mushy leaves, and discolouring of the leaves. If this happens, try moving the plants away from the window and water them. Humidity levels are usually lower in winter, which can present a problem for exotic plants. To raise humidity levels, you can spray the plant with water.
Moving ferns into the bathroom which is a more humid environment will prevent them from drying out. You can also place plants on trays filled with gravel. Water the gravel slightly to keep it moist and keep watering when needed. Doing this creates a microclimate which increases the humidity. As light levels are low this time of the year, it is important to wipe the leaves of plants with large leaves with a damp cloth. This will optimise light absorption.
