WELL, it seemed winter had come early over the weekend, when the strong winds and heavy rainfall caused a lot of disruption and flood damage across the county – not the weather for gardening at all.

However, despite the poor weather, I did attend the Whitehaven Christmas lights switch-on and if you were there too I’m sure you will agree it was a fantastic event – it certainly brightened my day! May I say a very well done to all those involved in putting on the event.

Although it is difficult to get into the garden as it is just too wet, at least the weather cannot stop you talking about the garden! So over the weekend, with a few friends enjoying a drink or two, I was asked a question: when is the best time to start lifting and to move plants around the garden or to plant new bare-rooted plants?

As a general guide, most would say that you can lift or plant bare-rooted stock until the spring. Although this may be the case, I would argue that the best time to lift or plant new bare rooted stock is in the late autumn to the early winter, at least by mid-January.

Why would I say this? Actually there are a few reasons, but the main one is that lifting or planting new bare root plants before mid-January gives the plant a longer period to establish and undisturbed root system before leaf burst in the spring. This will also lead to less watering over the summer as a spring planting would need.

Although many plants such as deciduous trees, shrubs and border perennials appear to become dormant over the late autumn to early spring, in reality the plants are still active and growing, albeit at a much slower late. For example, have you ever noticed when you “healed in” bare-rooted plants temporarily, whilst waiting for the condition to improve, that the plant has produced some new root growth?

When healing-in bare-rooted plants in a temporary location, make sure the soil is well compacted around the root system and get them planted into their final positions well before they burst into growth. Also any newly planted plant would appreciate a dressing of superphosphate which will help to establish quicker roots.

Given the strong winds, it is a good time to cut back most bush-type roses by about half, which will help to prevent wind rock to the plant.

Wind rock can cause damage as strong winds leads to the development of a cavity in the soil around the base of the plant. This then further leads to an unstable plant which can blow over more easily. In addition the cavity can fill with water and may freeze in cold weather, again damaging the plant.

However, do not waste the rose prunings as you can take hardwood cuttings to create new plants, and not just cuttings from roses – many other plants can be propagated from hardwood cuttings, such as woody soft fruits such as blackcurrants and redcurrants, gooseberries etc.

Hardwood cuttings need to be around 30cms long and the thickness of a pencil and cut just below a bud joint. The cuttings can then be lined out in a spare place in the garden, although they need to be planted quite deeply by around three-quarters of the cutting length.

If the cutting has taken you will see leaf growth in the spring, but the cutting needs to be left until autumn before planting in its final position.

Despite the gloomy weather, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how my autumn-flowering spray chrysanthemums are providing some brightness in the garden. However, these colourful sprays are joined by my Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’, and as you can see from my photograph, the colourful leaves make a bright statement on rather dull and dark days.

When I removed some of the fading leaves, it emitted an orange fragrance but only when the leaves become damaged or crushed. However, it will eventually lose its colourful foliage as it becomes colder – in effect the plant dies back to an underground root system which will emerge again in the spring.

Still, at the moment it’s looking very colourful and showy.