January in the garden: wisteria, rhubarb, birds
In short: in January the garden sleeps, but the gardener can get ahead. It is the month to prune wisteria (the shoots shortened in summer, back to two or three buds), prune currants, apples and pears (still not plums or cherries), plant the last bare-root stock in mild weather, force rhubarb under a bucket and feed birds with seeds, hygienically. In late January and early February, Belgian naturalists invite everyone to count the birds in their garden. And the hellebores are in flower.
January has a bad reputation in the garden: cold, short, often grey. Yet it is genuinely useful. Trees are bare, sap is dormant, and many pruning and planting jobs are done better now than in spring, when everything rushes at once. It is also the month to prepare the season: seed orders, serviced tools, vegetable beds covered to warm the soil.
After October, November and December, here are the jobs that matter in January.
January in Belgium: cold, but brighter than December
According to the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI), the normal mean daily temperature in January at Uccle ranges between 2.5 and 4.5 °C. The sun comes back a little: about 59 hours over the month, against 45 in December.
| What the RMI measures | Average at Uccle in January |
|---|---|
| Frost days | 11.6 |
| Days with snow | 4.2 |
| Precipitation | 76 mm |
| Sunshine | 59 hours |
The records are a reminder that January can be harsh. At Uccle, the thermometer fell to −18.7 °C on 23 January 1940. Three days earlier, on 20 January 1940, the Lomme valley at Rochefort recorded −30.1 °C, the lowest temperature ever measured in Belgium. On 28 January 1945, Spa measured 49 cm of snow.
The practical rule does not change: prune and plant on dry, frost-free days, and do not walk on frozen or waterlogged soil. On wet soil, the RHS advises working from a plank laid on the ground, so as not to compact it.
Pruning wisteria: the cut that makes it flower
A wisteria that does not flower is almost always a badly pruned wisteria. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends two prunings a year:
- in summer (July-August), shorten the long new shoots to five or six leaves, about 30 cm;
- in winter (January-February), shorten those same shoots further to two or three buds, 2.5 to 5 cm from the old wood.
Winter pruning clears the future flower buds, which will not be hidden by leaves in spring. You need to recognise them: flower buds are short, plump and fuzzy, growth buds thinner and more pointed. Keep the former. The RHS also warns that pruning in early or midsummer disrupts the formation of next year's flowers.
In the fruit garden: currants, apples… and still not plums
The RHS January calendar puts pruning currants and gooseberries at the top of the fruit garden jobs. Remove dead wood and crossing branches, and open up the centre of the bush so air can circulate.
Winter pruning of apples and pears continues, as well as quinces and medlars. Take the opportunity to spot canker and cut out affected wood. The full method is in December in the garden.
Hedges and shrubs: plant and renovate
Bare-root stock. The RHS advises continuing to plant bare-root deciduous trees and hedging while the soil is not frozen. One detail that prevents a lot of damage: put the stake in before the tree, so as not to damage the roots. The full method is in November in the garden and, for roses, in our article on bare-root roses.
Deciduous hedges and overgrown shrubs. Throughout the dormant season, you can renovate a hedge or a shrub that has grown too large; the RHS mentions beech, hazel and hornbeam. For a large tree, it is better to call in a tree surgeon.
After frost. Frost sometimes lifts young plants: firm the soil around them with your foot. Check ties and stakes, which must not strangle the bark. After heavy snow, brush it off conifers, climbers and light-limbed shrubs.
What can wait. The RHS advises waiting until March to prune hydrangeas. For mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), the dead flowers left in place protect the buds from frost.
In the vegetable garden: forced rhubarb and warmed soil
Forcing rhubarb. To harvest tender pink stems well before the season, the RHS advises covering a plant in midwinter with a tall bucket, a dustbin or a forcing jar, so the stems grow in the dark. Choose a vigorous plant and an early variety such as 'Timperley Early'. The stems are ready four to eight weeks later, when they are about 30 cm long. Then remove the cover, and do not force the same plant two years running: forcing exhausts it.
Preparing the soil. Cover future seed beds with a cold frame, cloches or fleece to warm the soil. On heavy soil, adding organic matter improves drainage.
First sowings. For January, the RHS mentions onion seed in a heated propagator and, in mild areas, broad beans in pots placed in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse. Chillies need about 21 °C to germinate: the RHS sows them from late winter to mid-spring, and a January sowing without heat or a grow light mostly gives leggy plants.
Chicory continues. Witloof roots forced in small batches from December keep cropping until spring; the method is in December in the garden.
Ordering. Now is the time to choose seed potatoes from a reputable supplier (chitting starts in February) and to sort your seeds: some, like those of delphiniums, quickly lose their ability to germinate.
Garden birds: feed and count
Feed, but hygienically. Anne Weiserbs, an ornithologist at Natagora, sums it up: in winter, feeding should consist almost entirely of seeds. Fat is only justified during prolonged cold, as a supplement. Avoid putting a lot of food in one place: birds crowding around a feeder pass diseases on more easily. Keep feeders and water bowls clean, and if you see sick birds, stop feeding immediately, disinfect and pick up the waste on the ground. Natagora also points out that the best larder is still a natural garden, with berries, seeds and insects.
Count. Every winter, Belgians count the birds in their garden over one weekend, to follow population trends:
- in Flanders, Natuurpunt's Big Bird Weekend takes place in late January. In 2026, more than 71,000 people took part. The great tit came first, the blue tit entered the top three for the first time, and the house sparrow fell by 20 % in average number per count, which Natuurpunt attributes to overly tidy gardens with fewer shrubs and hedges (VRT NWS, 2026);
- in Wallonia and Brussels, the Natagora count usually takes place on the first weekend of February.
The principle is simple: from the window or in the garden, note for each species the maximum number of birds seen at the same time, then enter your results online (BX1, 2023). Check the dates of the 2027 edition on the Natagora and Natuurpunt websites.
What flowers in January
Hellebores are the queens of the month: first the Christmas rose, then the Lenten rose hybrids. The old leaves of the Lenten rose are cut in winter, which limits leaf spot and shows off the flowers; it is all explained in our article on hellebores.
The winter shrubs presented in December are still flowering: winter viburnum, winter honeysuckle, witch hazel, sarcococca, mahonia (see December in the garden and our article on viburnums). The RHS also suggests wintersweet (Chimonanthus) for its scent, and shrubs with coloured bark: dogwoods, willows and white-stemmed brambles. January is when you best see where they are missing in the garden.
Indoors: after the holidays
A faded amaryllis should not be thrown away: cut the flower stalk, keep the leaves and keep watering so it flowers again next winter. A poinsettia can stay beautiful until March if it has light, a room between 16 and 21 °C and moderate watering. A real Christmas tree can be recycled: many municipalities organise a collection in January, check with yours.
Tools: service them before spring
January is the last quiet month before the season starts. Clean and sharpen secateurs, shears and the mower blade, oil metal parts, and check the charge of batteries stored in December: Ryobi advises checking them every two to three months in winter and keeping them between 5 and 20 °C.
January at a glance
| When | In the garden | Fruit and vegetables |
|---|---|---|
| Dry, frost-free days | Plant the last bare-root stock, renovate deciduous hedges | Prune currants, apples and pears |
| All month | Prune wisteria to two or three buds | Force rhubarb and chicory |
| Late January, early February | Count the garden birds | Warm the soil under fleece or a cold frame |
| Indoors | Faded amaryllis: keep the leaves | Order seed potatoes, sort seeds |
| Not now | Pruning hydrangeas, plums and cherries | Walking on frozen or waterlogged soil |
Sources
BX1. (2023, February 3). Le 20e recensement des oiseaux de jardin a lieu ce week-end : comment cela fonctionne ? https://bx1.be/categories/news/le-20e-recensement-des-oiseaux-de-jardin-a-lieu-ce-week-end-comment-cela-fonctionne/
Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.-a). Grow your own: January jobs. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/in-month/january-jobs
Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.-b). How to grow chilli peppers. https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/chilli-pepper/grow-your-own
Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.-c). How to grow rhubarb. https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/rhubarb/grow-your-own
Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.-d). January: trees and shrubs. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/january/trees-shrubs
Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.-e). Wisteria pruning guide. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/wisteria/pruning-guide
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium. (n.d.). Climat de la Belgique mois après mois : janvier [Belgian climate month by month: January]. https://www.meteo.be/fr/climat/climat-de-la-belgique/mois-apres-mois/janvier
RTBF. (2021, February 1). Mettre une mangeoire dans son jardin pour nourrir les oiseaux : une bonne idée ou pas ? https://www.rtbf.be/article/mettre-une-mangeoire-dans-son-jardin-pour-nourrir-les-oiseaux-une-bonne-idee-ou-pas-10687461
Ryobi. (n.d.). How to store garden and power tool batteries. https://uk.ryobitools.eu/get-inspired/how-to-store-garden-and-power-tool-batteries/
VRT NWS. (2026, January 26). Pimpelmees voor het eerst in top 3 van meest getelde tuinvogels in Vlaanderen, huismus gaat verder achteruit [Blue tit in the top 3 for the first time]. https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2026/01/26/vogeltelweekend-natuurpunt-resultaten/