Gardening tips for December 2025

Merry Christmas dear reader. I hope you have enjoyed a successful year in the garden and are looking forward to an abundance of gardening related Christmas presents to sustain your gardening passion into 2026. Gardening, however, doesn’t happen to stop just because it’s winter, but if it has for you then read no further and I hope you enjoy your Christmas festivities.  For the gardening devotee, please read on, the rest of this article is just for you.

Gardening articles about winter gardening usually start with sound advice such as don’t walk on frozen grass, how to cope with rotten weather, beware of ice; it all sounds a very wintery picture but one which we haven’t really experienced for the last few years, perhaps this winter we will endure the cold biting weather that us older folk can remember from years ago. So, what’s happened to the weather? Is it global warming or have we just had a few milder winters and normal service will be resumed! Warmer winter weather delays the winter setting in and has an impact on the winter dormancy of the plants in our gardens.

Plants enjoy a bit of dormancy, it is a natural phase where growth slows or stops, allowing plants to conserve energy, a crucial process for winter survival.  Most perennial plants enter dormancy in late autumn (which now seems to last into December), the first indication is tree leaves changing colour and dropping. Environmental conditions that prompt this quite often colourful display include shorter daylight hours therefore less photosynthesis, lower temperature leading to lower metabolism and a substantially reduced need for water (just when there are buckets full falling out of the sky) to help prevent root damage from freezing. The change the plants are enduring all comes down to their hormones, who would have thought.

Different plants manage their dormancy in their own preferred way.  Deciduous plants lose their leaves, therefore now is a good time to cut out dead branches, collect the fallen leaves and mulch for insulation. Evergreen plants - not surprisingly - stay green but their growth slows down. As they are still growing slowly, any evergreen plants - particularly ones growing in pots - should be checked regularly and watered to prevent dehydration. The last group is flowering perennials; they don’t need any encouragement to retreat underground so all the dead top growth can be removed and the cleared area treated to a mulch to protect the roots from frost.

Now we know that plants enjoy a good sleep, how long is enough? One thing that can account for a late spring isn’t entirely down to the springtime temperatures. Day length in the spring is predictable, something plants recognise to break their dormancy. Late autumns and warmer winters do not ensure a good sleep and plant health can be affected. A short dormancy can lead to plants not recovering in the spring.

Houseplants would appear to have an easier time in winter. They are inside so the weather doesn’t affect them, or does it?  Day length is the main influencer and lack of sunlight leads to slower growth even though they are benefitting for the warmer climes of household central heating. To keep houseplants happy in winter there are a few things to consider. Water sparingly, their metabolism has slowed considerably just like their freezing friends outside, a waterlogged plant pot will soon see a houseplant keeling over. 

Unless your plant is flowering (eg winter cactus – Schlumberger), now is a good time to prune, cut out old woody growth, trim off dead leaves and shape or reduce in size. This is also a good time to repot as the current compost will be depleted following this year’s growth. When repotting, it is tempting to add some fertiliser but a dormant plant doesn’t need any so this can be saved for signs of growth next spring.  Houseplants tend to come from more humid and/or tropical parts of the world so putting the heating on in winter can come of a bit of a shock. To help them acclimatise try standing their pot on some shingle or grit to lift the bottom of the pot up and away from any excess water that has drained out of the pot, this water will raise the humidity for the plant, a daily misting with water will also help. Houseplants also get dusty and a thick layer will reduce the already limited amount of light available, therefore get dusting. And lastly, houseplants, a bit like us humans, really don’t like a cold draft, so, the preferred summer position for the plant may not be the most suitable for the winter months.

While the plant life inside and outside the house has mostly gone to sleep, what about the garden birds? They will also appreciate a bit of housekeeping.  Now is a good time to give the bird feeders a really good clean and put a reminder in the diary to repeat every month. Bird baths also need to be kept clean and filled with fresh water, this should ideally be done daily. If the temperature of fishpond water had dropped to below 10C, this is the moment to stop feeding unless you have purchased a specific low protein winter feed.

Keep gardening, Richard Haigh EGRGA Comms.