Monty Don, the renowned British horticulturist and BBC presenter, has urged gardeners to embrace the cold weather and start pruning in January. According to Don, this is the 'best time of year' to prune decorative trees and shrubs to encourage 'vigorous' growth in spring.
In a recent blog post, Don advised that January is ideal for pruning pleached lime trees and hedges. He explained that removing new growth back to the basic structure allows the plants to renew themselves in spring, creating 'thousands of brightly coloured whippy stems' that can be used as mulch.
Don also recommended cutting back weak hedges in January, as they will regrow with extra vigour. He noted that delaying the trim until summer could restrict growth. However, he warned that these techniques do not apply to evergreen hedges, except for yew, box, and holly, which should be pruned in spring.
Another task for January is making garden compost. Don highlighted that the excess paper from Christmas can be added to the compost heap, where it will rot down with nitrogen-rich materials like grass clippings. He also suggested sieving established compost and bagging it for use in potting compost come spring.
