Houseplants make great gifts and you may have received some over Christmas. You need to ensure your houseplants continue to give you the best displays by keep them away from radiators and checking regularly for water. All plants need watering, but often mixed arrangements are given as gifts which contain plants with differing needs so check these carefully to ensure you do not over or under water. Flowering houseplants should be picked over and any faded flowers removed to encourage new flowers to be produced. A liquid feed given every two weeks will help to encourage new growth and flowers and misting the foliage with water will help keep the leaves from browning at the tips.
Spring is the time for flowering bulbs to start making an appearance. If you didn’t have chance to buy some spring flowering bulbs in the Autumn, then you will find many varieties are available now in pots which can be planted out straight away in pots, tubs or in a garden border. Spring bulbs such as snowdrops are often the first flowers to appear and are a welcome sign of the warmer weather to come and the nodding heads of large flowered daffodils look great planted in groups and bring a cheery dash of colour to your garden.
Terracotta pots can be damaged by frost during the winter if they are allowed to become too wet, make sure that pots are lifted above the ground to drain by using upturned saucers or pot feet. If your plants have become pot bound you can always re-pot them at the end of the month or even plant them into the garden.
Many seed companies start to get busy now with people planning what to grow and where. Have a think about what worked well last year and ditch the poor performers for something new. If you like to save your own seeds, over the years you may find the plants are not growing as well as they used to, this is usually because the vigour has been lost from the seeds, so try buying a fresh pack and starting your crops again.
