What to do in the garden in December?

Perennials, bulbs and climbing plants

In December, we mentally prepare for the upcoming beautiful season by considering new flowerbeds to create and protecting the more delicate plants from the cold that can start to bite.

Perennials

• Spread fallen leaves or a good layer of straw over the perennial beds to protect them from the cold
• Start sketching your future flowerbeds, imagining your upcoming plantings. We explain why and how to design different spaces in the garden
• Plant the perennials offered as bare roots. We explain how and why to plant them
• While grasses and perennials sold in pots can be planted at any time of the year, avoid periods of severe cold and when your soil is waterlogged due to heavy rains. If you live in a Mediterranean region or on the Atlantic coast, where the cold is never too severe, feel free to plant while monitoring watering if the weather is dry. Opt for species that are heat and drought resistant to replace water-hungry plants decimated by successive droughts.

Bulbs

• The best time to plant spring-flowering bulbs is autumn, but most varieties can be planted without issues until December. Focus on late varieties such as Alliums, Eremurus (Foxtail Lily) or Lilies that will bloom in summer. Discover our tips for late planting of spring bulbs

Climbers

• Container plants can theoretically be planted all year round. If you live in an area where frost is rare or as long as you plant avoiding frost days and waterlogged soils, you can install climbers that will dress your walls, climb your pergolas and arbours to naturally shade and cool your terrace next summer. Clematis, Trumpet Vine, Honeysuckles, Wisterias, Akebias or Jasmines can therefore be planted during this period, provided you protect their roots from severe frosts with a thick mulch.

Protect your perennials with a good layer of fallen leaves. If you have fallen behind in planting your bulbs, you can still do so in December.

Roses

• Bare root roses should be planted between November and the end of March, but never during frost periods. If it’s too cold, wait for a thaw, placing your bare root roses in a heel. Remember that you should never plant a rose in a spot previously occupied by another rose unless you renew the soil.
• After determining a sunny location, work the soil a few days or weeks in advance so that it is well loosened and aerated at planting time. Plan to amend the soil with well-rotted manure or compost.
• Dress the roots by slightly shortening them and cutting any damaged ones, and coat them before planting the rose.
• Create a mound at the base of young plants by burying the grafting point for winter.
• We provide you with some valuable tips for planting a rose in very cold climates.
• Take advantage of leaf fall to check the ties of climbing roses.
• Transplanting roses can be done between October and March, during the dormant period, but outside of frost periods. You can proceed this December if the weather is mild.

Plant bare root roses and those in containers when it is not freezing

Annuals and potted plants

• Complete the installation of protections or wintering for the most delicate plants. Remove the saucers and place wedges under the pots to insulate them from cold and moisture. Mulch the surface of the substrate with, for example, leaves or straw.
• Take your wintered plants to a sheltered spot (citrus trees, cacti…) for a few hours during the day, if it’s not freezing, to let them bask in the sun.
• In dry weather, don’t forget to monitor the watering of your potted plants.

Protect your most delicate plants with winter protection covers.

In the vegetable garden

Vegetables to Plant in November, Sowing and Tasks to Do:

• Plant bare root strawberries
• Check the health status of stored fruits and vegetables for winter
• Top the Brussels sprouts that are most advanced
• Remove the roots of dandelions and blanch them with endives. Consume the green leaves in salads
• Small fruit bushes need a large amount of potassium: adding wood ash will be beneficial in the rows of raspberries and currants. It also raises the pH of overly acidic soil. Sift the ashes and spread them on the soil at a rate of 100g/m² per year (about 2 handfuls). Be careful, as overdosing will saturate the soil with calcium and your plants will then suffer from chlorosis
• Prune raspberries following our advice
• If you have planted peas and broad beans for your spring dishes, earth them up regularly to prevent frost from destroying them. Do the same with leeks
• In December, it is time to harvest endives to place them in the cellar and blanch them: once the chicory roots are unearthed, cut off the top part of the foliage and leave the tender heart. Place the roots in a box filled with sand and keep them in the dark. A month later, you will have the first endives. For more details, check our sheet “Succeeding in Growing Chicory”
• For those who prefer deep digging or the gentle method advocated in permaculture without turning the soil, it is still time to work your soil in the vegetable garden to aerate it and eliminate adventive plants before the next growing season. Do this on a day without rain, frost, or snow.
• After that, it is still time to enrich the soil to maintain its fertility by adding natural amendments: compost, manure, leaf mould and wood ash
• Then cover the soil for winter to limit the proliferation of weeds by laying down cardboard (without ink), dead leaves, shredded hedge and bush trimmings, or straw

In December, you can prune raspberries. Remember to earth up the boles of leeks to protect them from the cold