February: the lazy gardener
Giving you more time to enjoy the fruits of your labours. By Pattie Barron
● When ground is dry, prep soil by digging in plenty of compost or organic matter.
● Prune roses, buddleia and other hardwood shrubs in a mild spell – cut back to an outward-facing, healthy bud.
● Use prunings to establish new plants: take a pencil-thick stem about a foot long and push into a deep slit in spare soil (add grit if it’s not free-draining), or a deep pot. Firm in and water. In a year’s time, dig up cuttings and plant out.
● Prune summer-flowering clematis: cut stems right back to low-growing buds.
● Buy early seed potatoes. Coax shoots by standing them in eggboxes on a bright windowsill, then rub out all but three strong shoots. Plant in a border or bucket when the shoots are about 1cm long.
● For snowdrops in the lawn next winter, plant them in grass at the same depth as they were growing, with the paler foliage underground.
● Cut old canes on autumn-fruiting raspberries.
February project: add a little spice
Plant a witch hazel for colour, scent and spidery flowers. Yellow Chinese witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis, grows up to 4m, but showier orange Hamamelis x intermedia Jelena is more compact for a container.
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