January Contact us on 0844 8220 777
Pulmonaria rubra redstart
January can feel like the bleakest of months, especially after the festivities of Christmas and New Year. However, even in January things are stirring in gardens.
A reliable flowering climber for walls and fences is Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine). Beautiful, small, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers appear any time from December to February, but January is normally their peak for flowering. Try to avoid planting them with an easterly aspect as the early sun can damage their blooms on frosty mornings.
I am often asked about the best time to prune Winter Jasmine: the simple answer is straight after flowering, shortening the strongest shoots which have flowered and cutting others close to the old wood. Another shrub that flowers reliably in January is Mahonia x media "Charity". This Mahonia has a very upright habit and glossy pinnate leaves but be careful, they are spiny! Mahonias are members of the Berberis family. "Charity" produces the longest flower spikes of all the Mahonias, bright yellow in colour and lemon scented!
Pulmonarias are lovely plants commonly known as Lungworts, and one of the earliest herbaceous perennials to flower. They are commonly seen with blue flowers but why not try Pulmonaria rubra "Redstart" which has pinky-red flowers - or Pulmonaria "David Ward" which has coral-red flowers. The other great benefit of Pulmonarias is that they thrive in full or partial shade, as long as it is damp.
Lonicera fragrantissima is a personal favourite of mine. This shrubby Honeysuckle flowers reliably in January and goes on flowering well into February. It has strangely bell-shaped, waxy flowers which are creamy white with an astronomically scented which can be detected some distance from the shrub on mild January days. It is a vigorous grower and will reach up to 1.8m (6') but can easily be pruned and shaped straight after flowering.
So I hope I have given you a few ideas to brighten up your gardens in January, and a Happy New Year from everyone here at Gardeneer.
Jobs for January
-check your fence posts for gale damage and repair or replace before it affects the whole fence.
-have a final tidy up of leaves and borders if you missed the chance in December.
- Winter prune Vines and it's the last chance to prune your Wisteria
- Prune Gooseberries, Redcurrants and Whitecurrants aiming to create the classic wine glass shape with an open centre
- Repair lawn edges around flower and shrub borders
- If you have not winter dug your vegetable plot this is the last chance you have to do it!
- If you have a pond, do not forget to put an old ball in it to stop it freezing over completely leading to the death of any fish
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