🌿 5 Winter Gardening Tasks to Do Right Now
- Tammy Johnson
- Jul 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 10
Written and edited by Tammy 18th July 2025
Winter might feel like a perfect time to hang up the gloves and catch up on some Netflix by the fire, and by all means, do that too, but there’s actually plenty going on out in the garden right now. Some of the best prep and pruning happens while everything’s still snoozing. So, if you’re wondering what to tackle, what's a priority right now, here’s your little winter to-do list 🧤🪴
Winter Gardening Tasks
Prune Your Fruit Trees
Now’s the perfect time to shape your apples, pears, peaches, plums and other deciduous fruit trees while they’re dormant. Pruning them now improves shape, removes dead or diseased wood, and boosts fruiting potential.
Aim to:
Reduce the height to keep the fruit within reach.
Open the canopy (think of a vase shape), remove dead, diseased or inwards facing branches to improve light and air circulation, and keep fruit within reach.
🌟HINT Take the opportunity now while there's no leaves and you can see clearly, to familiarise yourself with all the new buds and shoots. Take some pictures to refer back to in a couple of months to become confident in distinguishing between fruit or foliage buds.
⸻
Rose Pruning Time
Time to face the thorns! July's for not only pruning your fruit trees, but your roses too. Pruning them now gives them a chance to rest and recover before bursting back to life. Don’t be scared, roses are tougher than they look. Give them a good cut back and they’ll thank you with a stunning show come spring.
Aim to:
Remove 1/3 to 1/2 of their overall height and size as a guide.
Remove anything dead, diseased or cris-crossing into the centre of the plant.
Prune on an angle above an outward facing good strong healthy bud.
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Plant Seed Potatoes
Spud season is here! If you’ve been waiting to plant your seed potatoes, now’s your moment to shine. Prep yourself with a nice sunny spot in good quality soil or grab some grow bags.
There's plenty of varieties to choose from, pick the one that's best for your cooking preferences.
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Feed Your soil
Winter is the ideal time to enrich your garden beds. Add compost, aged manure, or a layer of mulch to keep those soil microbes happy and warm. Healthy soil = happy plants later on. Trust me, your efforts will be rewarded in spades.
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Plan and Replant Bare Root Trees
If you’ve been 'Umming and Ahhing' about putting in some new fruit trees, ornamental shade trees, or even roses, now’s the time. Bare root season is short but sweet. Stock is usually plentiful and affordable, the ground is cool and damp, and winter rains help to settle plants in. Come Spring, they’ll already be right at home and ready to burst into life.
So there you have it, five simple things to keep you busy and your garden ticking along through winter.
Pop your beanie on, grab your secateurs, and enjoy this beautiful slow season.
Happy Gardening😘🪴
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