Garden jobs month by month
Garden jobs in February
In February you finish the winter pruning of apples and pears, prune grapevines and kiwis before the sap starts to rise, and still plant bare-root trees and hedges. Put up nest boxes and cut back an overgrown hedge before the nesting season starts in mid-March.
Updated for 2027
What to do in the garden in February
In February the first shrubs come into leaf. It’s the last month for the big winter prune: from mid-March the birds start nesting.
- Finish the winter pruning of apples and pears.
- Prune grapevines and kiwis before the sap starts to rise.
- There’s still time to plant bare-root trees, hedges and shrubs.
- Cut back a neglected hedge hard now, before the nesting season.
- Put up nest boxes before mid-March.
What to prune in February?
111 trees and hedges from the guide. When and how for each plant in its pruning guide:
- Beech
- Hornbeam
- Hawthorn
- Apple tree
- Pear tree
- Raspberry
- Redcurrant
- Wisteria
- Kiwi vine
- Blackcurrant
- Gooseberry
- Blueberry
What to sow and plant
- Sow indoors
- aubergine, cauliflower, celeriac, delphinium, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, Loose-leaf lettuce and 6 more
- Sow outdoors
- broad bean
- Planting out and planting
- garlic and shallot
- Harvest from the vegetable garden
- brussels sprouts, chicory (witloof), kale, lamb’s lettuce, leek, parsnip and savoy cabbage
What to harvest
From trees, shrubs and garden plants:
- Hybrid black poplar resin
- Silver maple sap
- Horseradish roots
- Kumquat fruit
- Lemon fruit
- Mandarin fruit
- Sugar maple sap
- Sweet violet flowers
Recipes
- Poplar-bud salve Hybrid black poplar
- Tapping maple sap Silver maple
- Creamy horseradish sauce Horseradish
- Candied kumquats Kumquat
- Salt-preserved lemons Lemon
- Chicory salad with mandarin and walnuts Mandarin
What’s flowering for bees?
Trees and shrubs with nectar or pollen for bees and bumblebees:
All speciesNature in February
- On mild, wet evenings toads and frogs migrate to their ponds: drive carefully and help out at a toad crossing.
- On sunny days the first bumblebee queens are on the wing, looking for nectar on crocuses and willow catkins.
- Tits and blackbirds are looking for nest sites: put up nest boxes now, out of full sun and wind.
What you can see now
- Hazel catkins release their pollen.
- Cornelian cherry and witch hazel flower on bare branches.
- Birds start singing and look for a nesting site.
Challenges of the season
All challenges- Count the birdsCount the birds in your garden for an hour, as in the bird count weekend at the end of January. Note what you saw.
- Put up a nest boxHang a nest box 2 to 3 m up, with the opening facing east or south-east, out of the strong sun and wind.
Wildlife garden in February
All wildlife garden guidesRead more
All articles- Identifying trees in winterWithout their leaves, you can still recognise trees by their buds, bark, silhouette and the fruit that stays on the branches. These features will get you started.
- Planting a tree: how to do it properlyThe right tree in the right place, the best planting season, the planting hole, staking and watering in the first few years. This is how your new tree grows into a healthy old one.
- Pruning fruit trees: apple, pear, cherry and plumPrune apples and pears in winter, cherries and plums in summer. How to prune a young fruit tree and an old one, and how to avoid silver leaf and gummosis.
- Which hedge should you choose? Hedging plants comparedEvergreen or not, fast or slow, for sun or shade, and good for birds? How to choose the right hedging plant, with the pros and cons of the best-known species.
Coming up
Garden jobs in April
Each monthly page is online six to eight weeks ahead, so you can plan in time.