GardenAdvice Gardening Calendar 1st Week In January
This Week in the Garden – Early January Jobs 🌱
The first full week of January marks the beginning of the gardening year. While winter’s grip remains firm, this is prime time for essential protection tasks, early planning, and making the most of mild spells. A little effort now will save problems later and set your garden up for a strong start to the season.
🌦 Weather & Protection
January weather can change quickly, so keep a close eye on forecasts and be ready to act.
- Monitor weather forecasts closely for frost warnings and sudden cold snaps.
👉 Using horticultural fleece to protect your plants - Keep fleece, horticultural fabric, and cloches ready for rapid temperature drops.
👉 Protecting outdoor plants from snow and ice - Protect tender plants and newly planted specimens, which are especially vulnerable in their first winter.
👉 10 tips for taking care of your garden in winter
Top Tip:
Even mild winters can bring sudden cold snaps. Keep protection materials easily accessible and check vulnerable plants daily.
🌼 Bulbs & Spring Flowers
⭐ Priority Task This Week
Feed all spring bulbs with a high-potash fertiliser (such as GrowMore). This replenishes nutrients used during flowering and helps bulbs build energy reserves for next year.
Other jobs to tackle:
- Move snowdrops “in the green” while shoots are visible for best results.
👉 Planting snowdrops in the green - Divide and replant snowdrop clumps every 3–4 years to maintain vigour.
👉 How to divide perennial plants - Apply fertiliser to tulips, daffodils, and other spring bulbs.
👉 Autumn bulb planting guide
🍎 Fruit Trees & Shrubs
⚠️ Last Chance This Week
Apply winter wash before buds begin to swell — after this point it can damage new growth.
- Apply winter wash to control overwintering pests.
👉 Winter fruit tree care service
👉 Apple tree care and pruning rules - Install grease bands on tree trunks to stop winter moths and other crawling pests.
👉 Winter fruit tree pruning service - Prune apple and pear trees on dry days to encourage healthy structure and productivity.
👉 Winter apple tree care
💧 Pond & Water Features
- Clear fallen leaves and debris from ponds to maintain water quality.
👉 Year-round pond maintenance guide - Divide and replant water and marginal plants to prevent overcrowding.
👉 Planting ideas for the pond - Remove invasive grasses and weeds from pond edges early.
👉 Controlling blanket weed in ponds
🦎 Wildlife Friendly:
Complete pond work early to minimise disruption to frogs, newts, and beneficial insects preparing for spring.
🥕 Vegetable Garden
- Sow peas under cloches or low polytunnels for early crops.
👉 How to grow and care for peas - Chit seed potatoes in egg boxes on a bright, cool windowsill.
- Plan your vegetable garden layout, considering crop rotation and succession sowing.
- Order young vegetable plants early — specialist suppliers sell out fast.
💡 Planning Ahead:
Buying young plants can save considerable time and effort compared to sowing everything from seed.
📝 Planning & Preparation
- Review garden photos from last year to identify gaps in colour and structure.
- Order seed catalogues and browse new varieties.
- Create a month-by-month planting schedule.
- Sketch border improvements and new planting schemes.
✂️ Pruning & Maintenance
- Prune wisteria back to two or three buds.
- Cut back late-flowering clematis (Group 3) hard.
- Prune roses on mild, dry days.
- Remove dead, diseased, or crossing branches from trees and shrubs.
👉 What do I need to prune in December?
🌳 Hedge Maintenance
- Clear hedge bases of brambles, elder, and invasive weeds.
- Remove dead leaves and debris to improve airflow.
- Fill bare patches with bare-root hedging plants — January is ideal planting time.
🌱 Indoor Seed Sowing
- Start early tomatoes in heated propagators.
- Sow peppers and aubergines with bottom heat (20–25°C).
- Begin leeks and onions in seed trays.
- Start herbs on sunny windowsills.
👉 Winter garden jobs – keep growing in the cold
💡 Seed Starting Success:
Most seeds germinate best at 18–21°C — a heated propagator is a worthwhile investment.
🪴 Containers & Tender Plants
- Pot up dahlia tubers in moist compost.
- Take stem cuttings once shoots reach 8–10cm.
- Check overwintered geraniums and remove dead growth to prevent disease.
🌾 Lawn & Grass Care
- Stay off lawns when frosted or waterlogged.
- Brush away worm casts and leaves on dry days.
- Plan spring lawn renovations now.
- Service your lawn mower ready for the season ahead.
🐦 Wildlife & Sustainability
- Keep bird feeders full and water sources ice-free.
- Provide high-energy foods such as suet and sunflower hearts.
- Clean feeders regularly to prevent disease.
- Leave seed heads on perennials for birds and insects.
👉 Preparing for winter colour in the garden
