An experienced gardener will know that there are certain months for specific jobs.
And if your 2024 resolution involves having a beautiful garden, it's crucial to get a move on with your January tasks.
Beloved horticulturalist Monty Don told gardening enthusiasts that January's job is pruning soft fruit.
Pruning may involve restricting the size of a shrub or tree or removing dead or unattractive growth. It could also involve improving the shape or keeping it in a state to produce flowers and/or berries.
January is the ideal month for pruning soft fruit
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Before the month is up, Monty Don advised gardeners to cut back autumn fruiting raspberries to the ground, making sure to remove the canes from last year.
Create an open goblet shape by removing crossing and inward-growing growth from red currants and gooseberries. Then, get rid of a third of the remaining growth.
The expert offered a top tip for gardening fans. When pruning his soft fruit he takes a few cuttings from the pruned material of gooseberries and redcurrants because they "strike very easily and it means I can constantly add new, vigorous plants to replace the older ones".
Pick a straight shoot and cut it into lengths between four and nine inches (10 and 20cm) long.
Remove the top of each at an angle and remove the bottom straight. This is so you can easily remember which way up they should be.
He told gardeners to grab a pot and fill it with a gritty compost mix, then place the cuttings around the edge.
The cuttings should be planted deeply so that only an inch is visible above the surface.
Water and then take the pot to a sheltered place. They will be relatively low-maintenance from here on out, as they will not need further heat or protection.
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Monty Don warned that gardeners shouldn't expect growth for a few months in his blog.
The next step will be in mid-summer when they can be individually potted. In the winter, they can be planted out.
The gardening guru shared a second task you need to complete before January is over.
Speaking about the winter pruning of soft trees, he said: "This is always my big January job and if nothing else this is something I like to have finished by the end of the month."
