February garden advice and maintenance

General gardening

• Prune back Buddleja and Sambucus (elderflower) plants hard; down to just 18 inches or 50cm if wished
• Start sowing vegetables but make sure you keep them under cover
• Protect blossom on apricots, nectarines and peaches
• Prune winter-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering
• Divide bulbs such as snowdrops when they have finished flowering
• Prune Wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds
• Prune hardy evergreen hedges and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges
• Cut back deciduous grasses, ready for new growth in Spring
• Prick out seedlings and pot them on as soon as they are large enough
• Prune back Roses and Clematis that flowered late summer and Autumn
• If you suffered from peach leaf curl on your peaches or nectarines last year spray now with a copper based fungicide before bud burst.

In the greenhouse

• Do not over water your plants, water only when the compost is dry
• Plant new Grape vines, or prune established vines
• Sow Sweet Peas for planting out later
• Check the glass is not loose after high winds over the winter

Wildlife gardening

• Put up nesting boxes for birds
• Keep bird feeders topped up and put out food on the ground and bird table
• Avoid foods that could cause choking in young fledglings i.e. whole peanuts
• Keep the bird bath topped up
• Regularly clean the bird bath and table to cut down the risk of disease
• Put out food for hedgehogs – dog food is a good option, do not give them bread and milk
• Plant new berrying trees and shrubs
• Put out log and/or rock piles to create areas of shelter for wildlife
• Build a compost bin