December garden advice and maintenance

General gardening

• Check that greenhouse heaters are working OK
• Prevent ponds and stand pipes from freezing
• Prune open-grown apples and pears (but not those trained against walls)
• Harvest leeks, parsnips, winter cabbage, sprouts and remaining root crops
• Trees and shrubs can still be planted and transplanted
• Reduce watering of houseplants
• Continue to tidy beds and borders, then mulch with compost, well-rotted manure or bark and apply a slow release fertiliser such as bonemeal.
• Cut back established rose bushes to stop them from snapping in the cold and windy conditions
• Move delicate pots in greenhouses or wrap in bubble wrap to prevent from freezing
• Mow if necessary – but only if the grass isn’t wet or frozen, and keep the blades set high

In the greenhouse

• Clear greenhouse gutters of autumn leaves
• Line the inside of the greenhouse with bubble-wrap to keep plants warmer.
• Do not over water your plants, only water when the compost is dry
• Check plants regularly for pests and disease i.e. moulds and fungus.
• Ventilate only on warm days

Wildlife gardening

• Hang bird feeders
• Fill the birdbath and keep it clean to prevent the risk of disease and keep it free of ice
• Leave some berries on plants such as holly – they are food for wildlife
• Leave perennials un-cut for as long as possible – they provide food and shelter
• Incorporate a few native trees and shrubs into new, more exotic plantings
• Build a compost heap
• Feed hedgehogs with proprietary feeds, or with tinned cat or dog food (not bread and milk and not chicken flavour food)
• Leave tidying borders and shrubs until late Winter or early Spring to provide shelter for insects through the cold weather.