​Winter Gardening: Embrace the Chill with These Essential Tips

Winter Gardening Tips with Amber

Winter may not seem like the obvious time to focus on your garden, but for those who truly love nurturing their green spaces, it's an ideal season to tackle some crucial tasks. With cooler temperatures and fewer pests to contend with, winter gardening offers a unique opportunity to prepare your garden for the vibrant spring ahead. Amber, our resident gardening expert, shares her favourite winter gardening tips, helping you make the most of the season.

Pruning: Preparing for Spring's Bloom

Winter is the perfect time to prune back trees and shrubs, especially those that lose their leaves in the colder months. Deciduous trees, such as Crepe Myrtles, benefit significantly from a good winter pruning, rewarding you with a more spectacular flower show in spring. Fruit trees, particularly Apples, Peaches, and Nectarines, also thrive when pruned in winter. For stone fruit trees, this is the optimal time to start preventing the dreaded Leaf Curl disease.

Leaf Curl is a common fungal issue that affects peaches, nectarines, and related trees, causing leaves to become distorted and discoloured. To keep this disease at bay, Amber recommends a thorough inspection of your trees followed by a strategic spraying routine with products like Lime Sulfur and Copper Oxychloride. Begin with an application in autumn after the leaves have fallen, then spray again at 'bud-swell'—when the buds start to show a hint of pink—and one final time a week later. This three-step approach helps ensure you've covered all your bases, capturing any stubborn buds that might have been missed. Additionally, collecting and disposing of fallen leaves is crucial; avoid composting diseased leaves as they can spread the infection further.

Potting and Refreshing: Breathing New Life into Your Plants

Winter is also an excellent time for some TLC for your potted plants. If some of your plants are looking tired or struggling, now is the time to repot them. Refreshing the potting soil, trimming dead leaves, and removing spent flowers can give your plants a much-needed boost. Fresh potting mix provides essential nutrients that might have been depleted, and repotting gives roots more space to grow, setting the stage for a strong start in spring.

When repotting, consider the type of potting mix you use. High-quality mixes tailored to your specific plants can make a significant difference. For instance, a mix with added compost or organic matter can improve drainage and provide long-lasting nutrients. If you're dealing with frost, remember that newly potted plants can be more vulnerable to cold damage, so consider moving them to a sheltered spot until the worst of the winter weather has passed.

Fertilising: Setting the Foundation for Growth

While many plants are dormant in winter, that doesn't mean they don't need a little help. Fertilising your fruit trees and hedges during winter is perfectly fine, provided you choose a controlled-release fertiliser. These fertilisers are designed to release nutrients slowly over several months, ensuring that your plants get what they need when they need it. As Amber advises, these fertilisers require both moisture and warmth to activate, so they'll start working their magic as soon as the weather warms up.

Strawberries, in particular, are heavy feeders and can benefit from a winter feed. Using a high-potassium or blossom-boosting fertiliser can help increase your strawberry yield when the time comes. If you live in a frost-prone area, however, it's wise to hold off on fertilising until the risk of frost has passed, typically around August, or when nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 6-8 degrees Celsius.

Bare-Root Bargains: Planting for the Future

One of the joys of winter gardening is the opportunity to buy bare-root trees and roses. These plants are sold without soil around their roots, making them more affordable than their potted counterparts. Winter is the best time to purchase these as they are dormant and ready to be planted. If you're not quite ready to put them in the ground, Amber suggests potting them up temporarily until your garden space is prepared.

Planting bare-root trees and roses in winter gives them time to establish strong root systems before the growing season begins. When planting, make sure the soil is well-drained and rich in organic matter. A layer of mulch around the base can help retain moisture and regulate soil temperature, providing a protective blanket against the cold.

Lawn Care: Keeping Your Turf Healthy

Winter can be tough on lawns, especially with the cool, dewy mornings creating the perfect environment for moss and fungal diseases. Treating any moss with a suitable spray and improving drainage in affected areas is crucial to maintaining a healthy lawn. Amber also emphasises the importance of keeping up with fungal sprays during this season. With the constant moisture, lawns are more susceptible to fungal attacks, which can cause patches of your turf to die off, leaving unsightly bare spots.

Regular mowing, albeit less frequent, can also help keep your lawn in good shape. Set your mower blades higher than usual to avoid cutting the grass too short, which can make it more vulnerable to frost damage. Aerating your lawn, especially in compacted areas, can improve drainage and reduce the risk of waterlogging, further protecting your grass from winter stress.

Preparing for Spring: Citrus and Beyond

As spring approaches, it's time to start inspecting your citrus trees for gall wasps. These pests lay their eggs in the branches, causing unsightly galls that can weaken the tree. Amber advises treating or pruning out these galls before the end of August to reduce the number of wasps emerging in spring. By staying on top of this task, you'll help protect your citrus trees from future infestations, ensuring a healthier, more productive tree.

In conclusion, winter gardening is all about preparation and prevention. By taking the time to prune, fertilise, and care for your plants now, you're setting the stage for a lush, vibrant garden come spring. Whether you're dealing with fruit trees, potted plants, or a sprawling lawn, these winter tasks are essential for maintaining a healthy garden year-round. So, grab your tools, bundle up, and get to work—your garden will thank you for it!