Gardening Tips for the month of DECEMBER – Early Winter

Feed the birds
Force chicory
Sow early broad beans
Prune deciduous trees
Prune your shrubs – Reshape or reducing
WEED
Harvest brassicas
Check any Hardwood cuttings in the soil – Make sure they have not been lifted by any frosts
Carry on taking hardwood cuttings
Cut back summer-flowering clematis
Protect vulnerable plants from frost
Plant winter baskets with early flowering bulbs
Protect patio plants – Move against a warm wall
Grease band Fruit Trees
Plant bare-root roses
Prune gooseberries
Buy your Poinsettia and Cyclamen plants for Christmas indoor colour
Turn the compost
Dig over vegetable beds and add manure ready for next year
Prune grape vines
Take root cuttings of herbaceous plants with thick, fleshy roots
Plant hellebore’s for seasonal colour
Prune Fruit Trees
Prune ornamental trees
Watch out for overwintering pests
Force hyacinth bulbs
Prune roses
Move any shrubs and small trees that need relocating
Keep ponds clear of any debris – Float a ball on the pond to help prevent overall freezing