PlantAdvice.co.uk

In this month’s edition of the podcast we discuss seasonal gardening jobs to do in the garden during the month of January and a selection of plants that look good at this time of year.

We also take a quick look back at the first six months of this podcast and how and why we decided to set-up this website in the first place.

Plant of the Month - 10' 24"

Our plant of the month for January is Helleborus niger also known as the Christmas Rose.

• Height 30cm, spread 50cm
• Hardy perennial, likes partial shade; good for a woodland garden
  
• Average growth
• Soil: Moist, well drained loam
• Flowers from January to April, white saucer-shaped flowers
  
• Evergreen, mid-dark green leathery leaves

Perfect Pairing - 14' 11"

For the month of January we've picked two plants that compliment each other:

Acer davidii – Snake Bark Maple

• Average growing suitable for medium sized garden
• 15m tall, 15m spread
• Full sun/partial shade, moist, well drained
• Flowers: Yellow, Apr & May
• Vertically striped green-and-white bark
• Shelter from cold winds
• Clusters of pink-brown autumn fruit
• Colourful autumn foliage

Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus ‘Flore Pleno’ – Double Snowdrop

• Ideal to under plant the Acer davidii for some much needed winter colour
• Average growing, hardy snowdrop
• 30cm tall, 8cm spread
• Full sun, Partial shade, moist, well drained loam soil
• Flowers: double pure white pear-shaped flowers with green-tipped inner petals, Jan to Feb
• Grey-green leaves
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Jobs in the Garden - 20' 07"

• If heavy snow falls, shake off branches of trees & shrubs to prevent snapping under weight
• Fruit tree pruning
• Plant bare root trees and shrubs
• Feed the birds
• Check existing tree stakes and ties, make sure they are not too tight and digging into the bark of the tree. Remove any stakes that are no longer needed
• Get lawnmower serviced and blade sharpened
• Look through seed catalogues and decide what you would like to grow from seed when spring arrives
• Wisteria pruning

In the Vegetable Garden - 22' 08"

• Sow inside: Peppers
• Plant out: Rhubarb crowns
• Harvest: Leeks Kale and Cabbage

Plants of Note - 22' 57"

Another two plants that we felt were worthy of note for this month are:

Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’

• Average growing, deciduous, hardy shrub
• 3m tall, 2m spread
• Full sun/partial shade, moist, well-drained soil
• Flowers: dense clusters of fragrant pink on bare stems, Nov to Mar, long flowering period
• Toothed, dark green leaves

Erica carnea f. alba ‘Whitehall’ - Winter Heath

• Average growing, hardy, evergreen heather
• 15cm tall, 30cm spread
• Full sun/partial shade, moist, well-drained, prefers ericaceous soil
• Flowers: white, urn shaped, Jan to Mar
• Bright green foliage

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