After a particularly cold and snowy late autumn and early winter, the weather gives us mild temperatures that panic the vegetation and animals. But this warmth in the middle of January should not encourage us to do anything and everything in the garden because winter is far from over. A small inventory of actions to be taken or postponed as long as the risk of severe frost is still to be feared.
A few days with very mild temperatures were enough for the vegetation to restart. As soon as the weeds started to grow, the buds of the shrubs swelled, the hellebores, winter jasmines and sarcococcas were covered with flowers and the spring-flowering bulbs rose from the ground. I even saw bees come to forage on the few flowers in my pots.
But this very early start to the vegetation and the length of the days, which ostensibly lengthens, should not make us forget that there are still two winter months left and that the risk of severe frost is still significant. Usually, the coldest time of the year in France is around January 20 and February.
Gestures and gardening work to do in mild weather
Take advantage of these pleasant periods of time to continue cleaning in the garden:
- cut the dried leaves of sleeping perennials,
- pull up summer or autumn vegetables left in the vegetable garden,
- empty the pots and planters of now roasted annual flowers,
- eliminate weeds, especially perennials such as thistles, bindweed or quackgrass.
As long as it does not freeze, it is necessary to carry out the pruning of the trees which need it and the soft pruning of the fruit trees. Don’t forget the berry shrubs (blackcurrants, raspberries, currants, and blueberries) and fruit lianas ( kiwis , blackberries and vines ).
When the ground is well thawed and if it is not too wet, it is necessary to continue the planting of trees and shrubs with deciduous foliage, in particular for the plants sold with bare roots. You can also install a new hedge, boxwood borders, or a new rosebush. Take advantage of the ambient mildness to transplant a tree is placed.
There is still time to bloom your windowsills, balcony, and garden with biannual flower seedlings that will last all spring. Forget-me-nots, daisies, pansies, violas, and wallflowers will offer generous flowering in a few weeks. You can marry them with primroses which can be kept from one year to the next and bloom again easily without too much care.
Actions and tasks to avoid and postpone at the end of winter
Even if your roses are showing obvious signs of recovery, they should not be pruned in the heart of winter. Pruning in January could prompt them to immediately re-shoot new tender shoots that would be toasted by another episode of severe cold. And for once, flowering would be seriously compromised or delayed.
The same is true for all deciduous summer-flowering shrubs: altheas, pheasant trees, buddleias, caryopteris , hydrangeas and hydrangeas, shrub lavatera, perovskias, etc.
Wait a few more weeks before cleaning and cutting back any dried-out leaves from the grass clumps. The best time is when new green leaves appear, sticking out through the old foliage.
Do not replant forced bulb pots (crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils, or tulips) outside right away, even if they are hardy species. After forcing under shelter and a more or less prolonged stay in the house, they are much more sensitive to cold snap, the foliage not being hardened. As long as severe frosts are possible, it is preferable to install them under a frame or in a very bright and unheated room, but frost-free.
More Stories
Spring too cool: a persistent cold in the garden
Palm Sunday and the weather: sayings