Winter may slow the garden down, but it doesn’t stop the questions and it’s often the small decisions made now that set things up for success next year.
From caring for a living Christmas tree indoors, to avoiding common houseplant mistakes, to preparing a greenhouse properly for spring, here’s some calm, practical winter gardening advice for Irish homes and gardens.
How Do I Keep a Small Living Christmas Tree Alive Indoors?
If you’ve bought a real Christmas tree growing in a pot, you’re already doing something right.
The key is to remember that this tree is used to being outdoors. Bringing it into a warm, centrally heated house is a shock.
To help it cope:
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Keep it well watered (it will dry out quickly indoors)
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Use a saucer or tray to protect floors
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Place it somewhere bright but cool
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Keep it well away from fires, radiators, or heaters
For the few weeks it’s indoors, treat it gently and avoid extremes of heat or dryness.
What Should I Do With Old Crops in the Greenhouse?
Leaving dying plants in a greenhouse over winter is one of the most common mistakes I see.
Old tomato plants, even if they look harmless, can harbour disease, including blight. Those pathogens can overwinter and cause problems next year.
The right approach is simple:
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Remove all dead and dying material
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Compost it elsewhere
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Clean the greenhouse thoroughly
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If needed, use an eco-friendly disinfectant
Good housekeeping now gives you a clean slate for spring.
Should Roses Be Protected From Frost or Snow?
No, not in Ireland.
Roses are fully hardy and don’t need fleece, wrapping, or winter cosseting. In fact, overprotecting hardy plants often causes more harm than good.
How Often Should I Water Houseplants in Winter?
This is one of the most important winter questions and one of the biggest causes of houseplant failure.
Even though our homes are warm, plants slow down in winter. Most houseplants die not from drought, but from too much water.
A good rule of thumb:
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Let the plant tell you when it needs water
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Check the soil before watering
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Err on the side of under-watering, not over-watering
If a plant droops slightly, you usually have time to fix it. If roots rot from excess water, recovery is much harder.
What Is Crop Rotation (And Why Should Beginners Care)?
Crop rotation is simply good gardening practice, even on a small scale.
Vegetables are grouped (brassicas, legumes, alliums, potatoes, salads, etc.) and rotated around different areas each year.
This:
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Prevents soil exhaustion
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Reduces pest and disease build-up
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Improves long-term yields
You don’t need to be rigid or perfect, even a simple rotation helps enormously.
How Do I Get Rid of Fungus Gnats in Houseplants?
Those tiny black flies are almost always a sign of over-watering.
An effective, chemical-free solution:
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Reduce watering
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Remove the top layer of soil
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Replace it with gravel, decorative stone, or LECA clay pellets
Gnats can’t lay eggs in stone, problem solved.
Do Geraniums and Dahlias Need to Be Overwintered Indoors?
It depends on the plant.
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Pelargoniums (what most people call geraniums): yes, bring them indoors
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Hardy geraniums (cranesbills): no, they die back naturally
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Dahlias in pots: best brought in
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Dahlias in the ground: optional — rain is often a bigger issue than cold
Anything you know to be frost-tender should be protected from winter weather.
Winter Is a Thinking Season
Winter gardening isn’t about constant action. It’s about observation, restraint, and setting things up properly for the year ahead.
If questions crop up when programmes aren’t on air, Ask Peter on The Irish Gardener website is there as a free, practical resource, built entirely around real Irish gardening conditions.
Sometimes the best advice is simply knowing when to leave things alone.