March is the ideal time to start sowing tomatoes if you intend to grow from seed, or  for buying plug plants for growing on. Tomatoes are not hardy and will need to be kept under glass in a warm place until later in the year for planting out late May.

If you are new to growing tomatoes, or just need a bit of advice, the sunday gardener has a step by step guide starting with How to grow tomatoes covering all the tomato growing steps, including potting on, pinching out side shoots and the all important watering and feeding regime.

Which are the easiest tomatoes to grow? 

Check out The Sunday Gardener's easy paperback guide " Success with Tomatoes"

Lots of video advice about growing tomatoes on the Sunday Gardener You Tube channel .

Even in February, on mild days, you can make as start in the garden and cut back perennials. In fact, it’s an ideal time because the garden is waking up, and as the new growth comes through it can be hard to cut back all the old growth, without damaging the new.

The image left is a Sedum, and the new growth is at the base. Before the new growth gets much taller is the time to take the secateurs to it and cut off the old growth. 

This is true of many garden perennials such as Nepeta, Oregano, Epimediums, Alchemilla mollis, Crocosmia, Geranium, any of the perennials which have spent top growth which is dead and where there are now new shoots emerging at the base.

Cutting back is different to pruning. When you cut back you remove all of last year’s growth whereas pruning is a means to shape a plant or shrub to produce the desired growth. February is a big pruning month. During February or early March it is time to prune Groups 2 & 3 Clematis, Roses and Wisteria.

Summer flowering shrubs can be cut back and pruned in February and March. It is imporant to be sure the shrub is summer flowering. Spring flowering shrubs and climbers make flowers on last years wood, so if you prune ahead of flowering you will cut off the branches where the flowers would have formed. The result will be no flowers. 

What to do in the garden in February a gardening guide.

Not all varieties of Agapanthus are hardy, and withstanding winter can depend on where in the UK you garden. Parts of Hampshire and Southern counties are H3 which is acceptable to many Agapanthus, a lot of the North of England is H5+.

If you garden in an area which is subject to low temperatures, frosts and snow you can either bring Agapanthus inside or if there is no room inside, apply a mulch. A good thick mulch can see the hardier varieties of Agapanthus through the winter even in colder parts of the UK.

In the image above I left it a bit late to mulch, evidcenced by the snow. When is too late to mulch? This image is early January and if you have forgotton your Agapanthus, I would still mulch even in January and later because there is often more cold weather to come. We will not easily forget The Beast from the East. 

To mulch, clear off as much snow and dead leaves as you can. Apply a thick mulch of 8cms, in the image I have used Strulch (of which I am a fan, its good stuff,) you can also use leaf mould, small bark chippings, organic garden material, straw or garden compost. Pack the mulch around the base of the plant but do not swamp the plant. You are tucking it in rather than covering it. The mulch can be removed in the spring, the good point about Strulch is it will rot down in situ and add to the organic matter in the soil. 

If you are having problems getting your Agapanthus to flower, check out growing tips about Agapanthus and ensure they are growing in a sunny spot and fed regularly. 

 Best Christmas Trees for Containers

Rather than cut down a fresh tree each year, more and more of us are opting to grow a Christmas tree outside in a container or in the garden to decorate each year.

To grow a tree in a container in the medium to long term the tree selected needs to be relatively slow growing and of a modest sized tree. The traditional varieties of Christmas tree are not suitable to being grown in a container or small garden; they all get too large.

When buying a cut Christmas tree, typically the selection offered to us for sale will be the Norway spruce (Picea abies ) which is a fast growing tree ultimately reaching 55 meters. The Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana ) although slightly slower growing it will get to a very similar size over time, as will the Douglas fir.

A Christmas tree to keep and grow on in a container really need something which looks like a Christmas tree, but is smaller and much slower growing so it will not get too large. 

Whichever tree is selected, all container grown trees will need to be kept well-watered throughout the year. As always when growing any shrub or plant in a container, there is an increased risk of the roots drying out and regular watering is essential.  Plant into a large container with built in growing space but not so huge the new tree is lost. In terms of compost check the variety you choose with your retailer as some are best in ericaceous compost.

Ideas for Containter Christmas Trees

The Alberta spruce is a contender, although ultimately reaching 3m, picea gluca var. albertiana ‘Conica’ is very slow growing. It is an evergreen, conical in shape with a slight blue tinge to its foliage. It can be kept in a container and is best in ericaceous compost. You can prune it in the autumn to maintain the conical shape if there are wayward branches.

 Also suitable is the  Spanish fir abies pinsapo ‘Aurea’  which has the RHS award of garden merit. It is also an evergreen conifer growing up to around 1.5m with greyish blue colour. It can be container grown in neutral to slightly acidic compost and will tolerate partial shade.

Check out Christmas trees in containers at Crocus.co.uk (affiliate link)

Blue Spruce

Picea pungens 'Blue Diamond Super Blue'  is a  really attractive, lovely Blue Spruce, which will slowly grow up to 2m. It has pronounced silvery blue foliage and again can be prune to keep to a “Christmas Tree “shape. In part, because of its lovely blue colour, it is becoming more popular as a Christmas selection.

The last suggestion is Picea abies 'Rydal',  a Norway spruce with an  eventual height around 2.5m which means it may need to be transferred out into the garden in the later years.  However, it is slow growing and will remain suited to a container for many years. It has an upright conical habit which looks good decorated as a Christmas tree. It also has lovely red new growth in the spring, fading to green, showing that a Christmas tree is not just for Christmas, but a handsome tree in its own right.

 These are all good garden evergreens which will withstand growing in a container for a number of years and can easily stand in as a Christmas tree. Alternatively there are many dwarf varieties of conifer and pine which are even smaller still which may suit.