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Preparing for Spring.

House Plants. Water sparingly this time of year (Jan-Feb.) Give flowering plants such as Cyclamen a cool, yet bright position, plus a little feed every two weeks. They may flag a little in a bright south/south west window, with strong winter sunshine, but they will soon revive in the evening. Likewise Primroses, most varieties must be in a bright and relatively cool position, to make sure all the buds develop and that the flowers last longer. Christmas Poinsettias should have settled down in their final environment by now, which is where you have placed them in your house of course.
If your plant is losing a lot of foliage, it probably means it is too moist for the amount of light it is getting, so move your plant to a brighter position and let it almost dry out, and try and stabilize it before watering it again. Poinsettias require warmer conditions, not less than 50 deg. F, and water when they begin to dry out.

Watch out for Aphids (Greenfly/Blackfly) this time of year. If plants are not flowering properly, leaves are curling a little or you see white deposits on leaves, it is usually caused by the presence of Aphids. Plants can be sprayed with insecticide, or a systemic insecticide can be added when you are watering. Alternatively you can use insecticide sticks, which you can insert into the compost, the plant then takes up the insecticide through its roots. Do not spray houseplants with cold water, always warm to room temperature.

Seed Sowing.

Certain seeds can be sown this time of year. Plants that like an early start such as fibrous leaved Begonias, Tuberous Begonias, Streptocarpus; Goxinias etc. can be sown now. They do require a temperature of around 70 deg. F to germinate successfully. A heated greenhouse bench or a propagator is ideal. Just fill a seed tray level out, then empty the packet of seeds on to a sheet of A4 white paper, then carefully shake the seeds over the area of the seed tray, this way you can control the sowing of the seeds better and ensure they are not sown in one small area. Then cover with a sheet of glass or Perspex, or even put the whole tray in a large polythene bag and place on the heated bench, or if you have a heated propagator that is set high enough just place inside, if you have other seeds in your propagator such as lobelia which does not require such a high temperature, cover again inside the propagator to give your Begonias etc. that bit more humidity.
Some vegetables can also be sown now, e.g. early cabbage such as Hispi; tomatoes can be sown for a heated greenhouse. The Shirley variety is a reliable variety for an early crop. Always remember that early Cabbage/Lettuce etc. germinate very quickly and require space to grow almost immediately, and need hardening off (a protected area where plants can be adjusted to cooler conditions before planting out,) also it is not usually practical to plant young seedlings out till the second week of March anyway.
Seed Potatoes can be purchased, early varieties can be "chitted", that is placed upright in a tray (egg boxes are very good,) and put in a frost free place, the idea is to encourage shoots to start and when it comes to planting time in March the Potatoes have a head start, the temperature should not exceed 40 deg F. Light is not essential, but the idea is to promote short strong "stumpy" shoots. Broad beans are another vegetable you can start off in trays, they germinate at about 50 deg, and must be kept cool, and growing gently and can be planted out in early march after hardening off, and of course ground conditions permitting.

Sweet peas are another plant you can start early, plant several seeds in a 3" peat pot, germinate at about 50 deg. Keep them growing in a cool, bright place, harden off and plant out in March weather permitting. There are many seeds to try as the weeks go by, most annual-bedding plants do not require sowing till March unless you have lots of room were you can continuously pot plants on or give the containers more space. Most annuals get very "leggy" in bad light conditions during winter months, and never make good plants.
Also it is unwise to buy "plug-plants" and pots of seedlings too early, most seedlings should not be purchased until early March. Always buy "plug-plants" from your local Garden Centre; the posting of such things as "Busy Lizzies" has a quite detrimental effect to such tender plants. There are many other things to do in the garden and greenhouse at this time of year; if you have an empty greenhouse, this can be fumigated with sulphur candle. The glass of your greenhouse should be cleaned to give maximum light to your young plants.

Outside: Fruit trees can be pruned when it's not frosty. Well rotted farmyard manure can be dug into Vegetable areas, and also herbaceous borders can be mulched with the same manure, avoiding getting it on the crown of the plants, then gently forking in.

1. Plant winter pansies, make sure the plants are in flower, and well established to be certain of winter colour. This is also time to plant wallflowers, for a wonderful fragrant spring.
   
   
2. Plant bulbs in pots and containers, they can be planted with a dibber between pansies and wallflowers etc. Making sure you select varieties that flower just above the height of your plants.
   
   
3. Daffodils are best planted quite close together, in lawns or beds, you get a much better show the first year planted in drifts as they are called, and the grass is easier to manage in the spring after flowering.
4. Still time to sow grass seed, remember turf or seed, preparation is everything. Use your feet to tread the area concerned, firm and level are the important words here.
   
   
5. Bring in all the geraniums and fuchsias etc. you intend over wintering. Dry of gradually, burn old leaves, keep frost free, a garage will do as long as its frost free, and not heated much above 5 degrees Celsius for any reason.
6. Collect leaves and fallen fruit etc, and compost as soon as possible to avoid any spread of disease. Leaves from old tomatoes contaminated with white fly etc should be incinerated.
   
   
7. Insulate your greenhouse with bubble plastic, this can protect many plants throughout the winter with a minimum of heat, and if we get a cold winter, can save you pounds on heating bills. But remember to ventilate when you can on milder winter days as the extra insulation causes an increase in condensation.