Home & Garden
Gardening checklist for winter
Even though the temperature is cooling down, there are still a few tasks that can (and should) be done around the garden – plus, a spot of gardening will certainly lift your mood on a grey and dreary day. Here’s our checklist of quick winter jobs to get you outdoors, active and enjoying the winter days.
- Clear up fading annuals and vegetables from the garden and rake up leaves and other detritus. Add to mulch or compost, unless they show signs of disease.
- Winter is the perfect time for pruning. Cut back:
- Herbaceous perennials like wind flowers, penstemon, bergamot, catmint, and canna.
- Spring-flowering deciduous shrubs such as weigela, flowering quince, forsythia (after flowering).
- Deciduous fruit trees including apple, peach, plum, pear, apricot, cherry and nectarine
- Roses in mid-to-late July. Ensure pruning is complete by early August.
- Invasive, damaged or disease branches from trees and shrubs. However, don’t remove more than a third of the plant at a time. - Pull or hoe out weeds.
- Move cold-sensitive potted plants to sheltered spots like the veranda or porch.
- For plants in the garden susceptible to cold or frost, construct shelters (using cloth or plastic) around them in the evening. Remember to remove during the day as plants can cook in midday sun.
- In winter, reduce watering of potted plants as they require less water.
- Use the cooler season to prepare planting holes for new roses and fruit trees. Dig compost and manure into the soil. Dig new veggie or garden beds.
- Watch for signs of a waterlogged lawn, especially after heavy rainfall. If needed, aerate lawns to let excess moisture soak into the soil.
- You can still grow some tasty vegetables in winter. Check out our guide on veggies that grow well in winter. Winter is also a great time to plant bare-rooted trees and shrubs including fruit trees.
- Use the downtime in winter to organise your supplies. Clean, sharpen and repair tools. Label seeds and store in cool, dry area.
- Cheer the garden up with a few pots of annuals like pansies or polyanthus. They’re already in bloom so will add some instant colour.
Related links:
7 reasons why you should join a community garden
What you need to know about your soil’s pH levels