General

Place a ball in a pond to prevent ice completely covering the surface and allow air into the pool.

If you have a water feature, make sure that it is switched off as they can be susceptible to freezing up and the water feature should be drained down.

Take your mower to a dealer for maintenance

Garden

Finish collecting leaves and clearing old plants from beds and borders, before bulbs start poking through the ground

Dig over gaps in borders, picking out roots of perennial weeds

Wrap tender plants, such as cordylines, tree ferns and palms, in frost or fibre fleece to give them extra weather protection, especially those that are in containers to prevent the pot from freezing solid. Stand planted patio pots up on feet to improve drainage and prevent waterlogging. Protect pots in very cold spells by moving them to a sheltered position.

Protect gunnera from hard frost by covering with fibre/frost fleece

Trim away unwanted suckers growing around the base of trees, particularly fruit trees

Spread a layer of compost over borders, around shrubs and along the base of hedges

Dead head old flowers from winter-flowering pansies to prevent them setting seed and to encourage more flowers.

Brush or sweep heavy snow off evergreens to prevent them splitting after heavy falls of snow.

Continue planting roses. Avoid planting new roses where old ones have been removed, unless the soil is replaced and sterilised to avoid diseases

Many perennials can be cut back hard now, removing old growth to make room for new shoots that grow up in spring.

Fruit and Vegetables

Dig over bare patches of ground ready for the spring if it is not too wet.

Spread a thick layer of mulch (manure or compost) around fruit trees and bushes

Plant fruit canes, bushes and trees

Come and buy your seed potatoes from us – 41 varieties to choose from – all Scottish certified seed.

Don’t forget your onion and shallot sets

On trained forms of apple tree, such as espaliers and cordons, sideshoots shortened in summer can be reduced in length now to about three buds. Any new shoots that have grown to extend the framework can be tied in to their supports.

Where pests such as woolly aphid have been a problem on apple trees, spray now with winter wash.

Place buckets or forcing jars over dormant clumps of rhubarb to encourage stems to form for a delicious early harvest.

Shorten sideshoots on red and white currants to just one bud. Also remove any old stems crowding the centre of the bush.

Indoors

Enjoy indoor gardening with a trip to our garden centre. Orchids, Cyclamen and other flowering houseplants will brighten the house or office.

During the winter, mist ferns and gardenias once a week, particularly if your house is very dry.

Do not feed your houseplants as often during the winter months as the summer months because this is their resting period. Begin feeding them more regularly in late February with an indoor plant such as Miracle Gro or Phostrogen.

Check the leaves of your houseplants for insect problems like scale, mites and mealy bugs. If you see a problem, use an appropriate control. If you’re not sure what to use, bring in a sample of the problem and we will advise you what to use.

Check houseplants that have leaves that are turning yellow and brown. Lower leaves that curl up and fall off may be too warm, too dry, or the plant may not be getting enough water.

Check stored bulbs and tubers for signs of rot

Wash greenhouse down to let in as much light as possible and get rid of any pests and disease

Prune greenhouse vines

Sow onion seeds in a heated propagator

Keep checking your over wintering geranium & fuchsia plants as they can be prone to greenfly especially if they are kept in heat. Remove any diseased or damaged leaves

Move pot-grown peaches and nectarines under cover for winter. An unheated greenhouse is ideal. Keeping rain off these fruit trees prevents the spread of spores of peach leaf curl disease. It also protects their early flowers from frost.

Birds

Now is the time to feed the birds in your garden for natural food sources can be in short supply at this time of year.

Water is also important for birds, so if you have a birdbath in your garden, make sure you top it up regularly.

Lawns

January and February are ideal months to lime the lawn if you have not done so in recent years. Lawns prefer a pH range of 6.2 - 6.8. Wait six weeks between applications.

Sweet peas

Pinch out the tips of seedlings raised from autumn sowings to encourage sideshoots to form and make bushy plants.