Gardening Hints & Tips – January & February 2026

December 31, 2025| Current Issue, FOR EXPORT, Gardening Hints & Tips

January & February 2026

Worplesdon Garden Club is a friendly and enthusiastic club which meets every second Tuesday of the month from 8-10pm in the Old Church, Emmanuel Parish Centre, Stoughton, Guildford, GU2 9SJ with doors open from 7.45pm.

For more information on Worplesdon Garden Club contact Tim Bonnert on 01483 237702

About Worplesdon Garden Club

Membership is only £15 for the year from January and includes a full schedule of speakers throughout the year, plus a range of social events including Garden Visits, Lunches, Barbecues, and Horticultural Shows. Please see the club website, www.worplesdongardenclub.co.uk, for more details. Visitors (£3) and new members are always welcome.

For more information on Worplesdon Garden Club contact Tim Bonnert on 01483 237702, info@worplesdongardenclub.co.uk, or visit www.worplesdongardenclub.co.uk where you can read our latest Club Newsletter – www.worplesdongardenclub.co.uk/newsletters

Club News:

Tuesday 13th January, 8.00pm
Club Meeting in January
James Taylor-Thomas of Greyfriars Vineyard – ‘Viticulture and History of Greyfriars Vineyard’.
Emmanuel Parish Centre.

Tuesday 10th February, 8.00pm
Club Meeting in February Sarah Hill – ‘Merrist Wood, Past and Present’.
Emmanuel Parish Centre.

Gardening hints and tips for January and February

January and early February are a good time for the winter pruning of apples and pears (non-stone fruit). The main purpose is to establish a healthy, open-centred shape for better sunlight exposure and air circulation, which results in higher quality fruit and fewer diseases.
It is also the time for winter pruning of Wisteria where stems are cut back stems to two or three buds. Also prune other climbers such as Virginia creeper, ivy, Campsis, winter-flowering jasmine, and the late-flowering Clematis – ones that flower on the new season’s growth.
Do not prune any shrubs that flower in the Spring or early Summer, such as Forsythia or Weigela. These plants will typically flower on ‘old’ wood and pruning will remove the flower buds for this year.
Bare rooted roses, shrubs, hedging, and some trees can also be planted now through to end of February. Bare-rooted plants without a pot or soil are a very cost-effective way to buy new plants.

January and early February are a good time for the winter pruning of apples and pears (non-stone fruit).

Start to tidy beds and borders, especially as snowdrops and early spring plants start to emerge.
In the vegetable garden, continue to harvest winter veg such as brassicas, parsnips, and any remaining carrots, then either dig over any vacant plots incorporating well-rotted manure or compost into beds that will be growing potatoes, brassicas, and legumes, or simply layer the beds with compost and allow the worms to incorporate it. Do not add manure to beds for root vegetables.
Late January and February is the start of the seed sowing season if you have somewhere warm and light. Seeds that need a long growing season such as chillies, or even some lettuce and salad crops can be started early. However, don’t be in too much of a rush to start most tender annuals – they will often become pale and drawn (etiolated) unless they have lots of artificial light.

Late January and February is the start of the seed sowing season if you have somewhere warm and light. Seeds that need a long growing season such as chillies, or even some lettuce and salad crops can be started early.

Seed potatoes can be chitted in February – arrange them end-up in a tray or in old egg boxes and keep them in a cool but light area for short stubby shoots to grow from the ‘eyes’.
Ventilate greenhouses on warmer or sunnier days if you are overwintering plants or perhaps give it a pre-Spring clean inside and out and ensure that the glass is clean to allow as much light in as possible.
Dahlia tubers and Lily and Dutch Iris bulbs can also be started back into life under cover in late February. New growth on Dahlia tubers is perfect for taking cuttings.

Finally, as January and February can often be the coldest time of the year, spare a thought for garden birds and put some food and water out…

Finally, as January and February can often be the coldest time of the year, spare a thought for garden birds and put some food and water out – they will repay you later in the season by eating lots of the pests in your garden.