FEBRUARY

IF CANDLEMAS DAY BE FAIR AND BRIGHT, WINTER WILL HAVE ANOTHER FLIGHT,
IF CANDLEMAS DAY BE CLOUD AND RAIN, THEN WINTER WILL NOT COME AGAIN.
(February 2nd)
More weather folklore

• All this wet weather is an excuse to organise the potting shed. If the tools are lying in a heap where they were dumped last year, clean and oil them ready for the new season. Put up a rack to keep them on order, a horizontal board with pairs of protruding screws or nails should suffice. Insert the exposed part of the screw or nail into a short piece of the sleeving from an old flex to protect the handles.

• As well as lots of rain there have been heavy falls of snow in most areas for two years now. Although relatively short-lived the weight of snow can damage some shrubs and trees. Conifers with multi, upright stems are particularly vulnerable and if they split apart they usually remain open and untidy with some branches even breaking. Such trees should be encircled with rope or string if heavy snow is forecast, then knock off any that falls - a forked stick or a rake are handy implements to gently shake them. Bamboos are also vulnerable and can be bent over to nearly touch the ground, while the branches of shrubs and trees can snap or split from the trunk.
  Hedges which are not cut to an A-shape can become unstable with a heavy lid of snow on top.
  One positive effect of snow is to show where pests like rabbits are getting through fences.

• If you want to give digging implements a treat throughout the year, prepare a sand box to plunge them in after cleaning. Use a cut-down plastic container or make a wooden box and fill with gritty sand, then add the old oil from the lawnmower until the grains are all coated. After use clean off most of the soil and slide the implement in and out of the oily sand a few times.

• This is the best time to lift and divide snowdrops. When blossom has faded lift the clumps and replant the bulbs or small clumps, about one centimetre apart, retaining the leaves which will continue to provide the food for next year's growth. Bury to the same depth as before; shown by the point where the leaves change from white to green. This is called planting 'in the green' and has been found to be a more successful way to propagate snowdrops than planting the dried bulbs. There are specialist nurseries which supply snowdrops 'in the green'

• The lawn will probably have a good crop of moss by now, especially if the drainage is poor. This may be just a surface problem where it has become compacted and spiking may help to resolve it. Only attempt this now if there is a dry spell, scarify to remove the moss and brush a top dressing of sharp sand into the holes. A deeper seated drainage problem will have to wait until longer periods of dry weather later in the year.

• Winter pruning can continue. Remove dead or diseased branches from shrubs and trees. As a rule of thumb for pruning flowering shrubs, those which bloom before June should be left until after blooming as they bloom on shoots which grew during last summer and autumn. Those which bloom after June can be pruned now as they usually bloom on shoots which grow between now and then. Do the second pruning of Wisteria by cutting back young shoots not needed for increasing the size of the plant, to a bud about 80mm from old wood, any blooms will come from this previous seasons' growth.

• Any dead tops of herbaceous plants still remaining should be removed as they will be starting into growth soon and removal without damaging the new shoots will be difficult. Take the opportunity to look around the crowns of plants for slugs, and their clear, spherical eggs just below the surface. The old leaves of Epimediums should be cut off to show the emerging flowers at their best later. There may even be some Red Lily Beetle adults hibernating in the debris or mulch close to susceptible bulbs.

• With all the old material removed, this is the time to top up the mulch on borders. Well-rotted garden compost or leaf mould is a good choice. Sifting it through a coarse sieve will improve the texture. Composted bark or some of the coarser multipurpose composts can be used - there may be bargains of last year's stock at garden centres. Spent compost from containers can be used, but should be checked for Vine Weevil larvae first.

• In the vegetable plot the parts not in use can be manured. This will improve the texture of the soil for better moisture retention and increase the fauna. Use well rotted manure or garden compost.

• Frosts may have lifted some small plants like alpines so they may need firming. Mulch around them with fine gravel or grit to suppress weeds and improve drainage.

• Check variegated plants for reverted growth. These are shoots which have grown with green foliage. Elaeagnus and Euonymus are particularly prone to this and if left, the green, more vigorous shoots will take over. Grafted shrubs and trees should also be checked for growth from below the grafting point, those vigorous shoots on Rhododendrons may be from the rootstock. Some Viburnums and contorted hazels produce such vigorous shoots as well. Prune any such branches back to their source as close to the stem as possible - pulling them off is best to take away most of the rogue tissue.

• Cut back shrubs which will bloom in the summer on new shoots that grow this year such as Buddleia davidii and Hydrangea paniculata. Cornus alba and C. stolonifera can be pruned to near ground level to encourage the brightly coloured stems which will give a good winter display later - Variegated Cornus alba varieties should have only one in three branches removed as the variegation is better on more mature ones.
  Don't leave any stem above a bud, or protruding from a main stem when pruning, as this will die back and is open to infection by diseases such as Coral Spot.

• Give roses their final pruning and feed with a fertilizer suited to their needs

• Start sowing seeds indoors for the coming season. If planning a herbaceous border, raise many of the plants from seed, they will be ready for planting out in the autumn and some may even flower this year.

• Use cloches or some other form of ground-cover material to cover the soil where crops are to be grown to control the moisture levels and to raise the temperature a few degrees. This will bring forward the sowing times by a few weeks, so they can be harvested earlier and might even allow an extra crop to be grown.

• You can make plant labels from empty aluminium drink cans. Here is a video clip to demonstrate.
  There is no commentary, but the technique should be fairly easy to follow. Writing backwards on the printed side while leaning on card leaves a raised impression. You can write with a permanent marker pen or use a Brother label printer to make an adhesive label. The label can also be used with a tie after making a hole with a puncher.

• Growing potatoes requires quite a lot of space and work for a product which is available at low cost. However, early crops are usually expensive and are "forced" with large amounts of artificial fertilizer which affects the flavour and texture. Also they mature before the risk of blight would require spraying. Seed potatoes are available now, buy only certified tubers. Place them in a tray in a cool, well-lit place with the eyes or buds upright to "chit". If you can choose, pick egg-sized ones.

• Onion sets are in the shops now and can be planted in modules to develop a root system before planting out. This prevents the problem of birds pulling them up when they are planted outdoors, but check them periodically as the developing roots can push them out of the compost and they need to be replanted.

• If you're preparing a new bed along a boundary or at a fence next to rough ground, why not insert a barrier to prevent the ingress of creeping roots. Use some 1000 gage plastic sheeting available from builder's suppliers. Cut strips about 30 to 40 cm wide and bury them about 20 to 30 cm deep, turn a 5cm horizontal edge at the base to act as an anchor. If surface runners are a problem and you don't mind the sight of protruding plastic cut the strips a bit wider, U.V.I. sheeting (ultra violet inhibited) for polytunnels would be better for this - the exposed edge can be disguised with gravel board or stones. The type of damp-proof course used in walls would be ideal as it's thicker and already in a strip, but a bit more expensive. These should deter most weeds, but if Ground-elder, Horsetail or Japanese Knotweed are the problem you are unlikely to remove the problem completely.