Winter gardening jobs (UK).

What are the main winter jobs?

Winter runs from December to February here, and most of the useful work is tidying, planting bare-root stock and getting ahead for spring, not fighting the weather. The golden rule is simple: never work soil that is frozen or so wet it sticks to your boots. If the ground is unworkable, there is always a shed, tool or seed-ordering job to do instead. Here is the short list by area of the garden.

The rest of this guide takes the ones most people get wrong or skip: winter pruning, frost protection, the clean-up, and wildlife.

What should I prune in winter?

Winter is the main pruning window for open-grown apple and pear trees, done any time from November to early March while the trees are leafless, so you can see the branch structure. Aim to take out about 10 to 20 per cent of the canopy: remove crossing or inward-growing shoots, then shorten last year's growth on the main branches by a quarter to a third, cutting just above an outward-facing bud.

Two more pruning jobs fall in late winter. Give wisteria its second cut of the year in January or February, shortening the shoots you pruned in summer back to two or three buds to build up flowering spurs. And prune roses: climbing roses can be done through winter once the flowers have faded, while bush roses (hybrid teas and floribundas) are best left until late winter as growth resumes, usually around mid-February in the south and into March in colder northern gardens.

Can I still plant in winter?

Yes, and winter is the best time for one kind of planting in particular. Bare-root trees, shrubs, hedging and roses are lifted and sold while dormant, only in autumn and winter, so this is your window. They are usually cheaper than pot-grown plants and establish well, because they go in while asleep.

Plant bare-root stock as soon as it arrives, as long as the soil is workable. The one firm rule: do not plant into ground that is frozen or waterlogged. If you cannot plant straight away, heel the plants into a spare patch of soil, or keep roses in a container of damp compost, until conditions improve. I soak the roots in a bucket of water for about half an hour before planting, which makes a real difference to how quickly they take.

How do I protect plants from frost?

Pots are the vulnerable ones. Roots in a container have far less soil around them than plants in the open ground, so they chill and freeze quicker. In a cold snap, move tender and borderline-hardy pots to a sheltered spot, against a house wall or into an unheated greenhouse or porch.

• Wrap the pots, not just the plants. Terracotta cracks when the compost inside freezes and expands, so wrap vulnerable containers in bubble polythene or horticultural fleece, or stand them on pot feet so they drain and do not sit in icy water.
• Group pots together in a sheltered corner so they shelter each other, and raise them off cold paving.
• Bring the hardware in. Empty and store hoses, watering cans and sprinklers under cover so they do not freeze and split.

For a more tender crop like an established rhubarb crown, winter is also the time to turn frost to your advantage and force it. Cover a healthy, three-year-old crown with a forcing pot, tall bucket or bin in December or January to exclude light, and you will pull pale, sweet, early stems two to three weeks ahead of uncovered plants. Rest that crown for three years before forcing it again. There is more in our guide to growing rhubarb.

What should I do while the garden sleeps?

The jobs that feel like nothing in winter save you hours in spring. This is the season to clean, oil and sharpen your tools, tidy the shed, scrub old pots and seed trays, and wash down the greenhouse glass so more light reaches your early sowings. A clean, sharp spade and secateurs make every later job easier and spread fewer diseases.

It is also planning time. Sketch out next year's beds, work out a crop rotation so you are not growing the same thing in the same spot, and order your seeds and seed potatoes early from a reputable supplier while the best varieties are still in stock. From late January, start chitting first and second early potatoes: stand them eyes-up in old egg boxes in a cool, light, frost-free room, and they are ready to plant once the sprouts reach about 2cm, roughly four to six weeks later. A few hardy crops can be sown under cover now too, such as broad beans in pots or modules in an unheated greenhouse.

How do I help wildlife through winter?

The tidiest garden is the worst one for wildlife in winter, so resist the urge to cut everything back. Leave seedheads and dead stems standing: ladybirds shelter inside seedheads, moth pupae cling to stems, and birds feed on the seeds through the lean months. You can cut it all down in early spring instead.

• Rake fallen leaves off lawns and ponds, but pile them in an out-of-the way corner rather than binning them. The heap shelters hedgehogs, frogs, toads and beetles, and breaks down into leaf mould you can use as a mulch.
• Keep bird feeders topped up, and refresh water daily in frosty weather, as open water is scarce when everything freezes.
• Leave a few windfalls and seedy spent plants where small mammals and birds can reach them.

None of this is wasted time. A garden full of overwintering ladybirds, frogs and birds is a garden with far fewer pests to battle once spring arrives.

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