What to plant in December (UK)

By Sophie Sparkes · October 2026 · 5 min read

December is the quietest month in the garden, but it is not empty. It sits right in the middle of bare-root season, it is the last sensible moment for tulips, and the windowsill can keep you in fresh greens while everything outside sleeps.

Short answer: in December, plant bare-root fruit trees, fruit bushes, roses and hedging whenever the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. Late tulips and garlic can still go in, and rhubarb crowns can be planted now. Indoors, sow microgreens, pea shoots and windowsill herbs. Very little should be sown outside this month.

🌳 Bare-root trees, fruit, roses and hedging

This is December's main planting job. Bare-root plants are sold dormant, without a pot, from November to March, and they are usually much cheaper than the same plant in a container. Plant them on any day when you can push a spade into the soil easily.

• Fruit trees: apples, pears and plums.
• Soft fruit: raspberry canes, blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries.
• Roses: bare-root roses planted now flower in their first summer.
• Hedging: hawthorn, beech, hornbeam and mixed native hedging.

🌷 Late tulips

If you missed November, tulips planted in December still flower well, just a week or two later. Plant them 15-20cm deep in sun and good drainage. Our guide to planting tulip bulbs has the details. Any other bulbs still in the shed should go in now too: they will not keep until spring.

🧄 Garlic, in milder spots

Garlic needs a cold spell to split into cloves, so December planting still works in milder parts of the UK and on lighter, well-drained soil. In cold or heavy ground, start cloves in module trays in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse and plant them out in early spring instead.

🌿 Rhubarb crowns

Dormant rhubarb crowns can be planted from late autumn into winter in a sunny or lightly shaded spot with plenty of well-rotted compost dug in. Set the crown with its buds just at or slightly below the soil surface. Do not harvest in the first year; let it build its strength.

🪴 On the windowsill

Indoors is where December's sowing happens. Short days mean slow growth, so pick fast crops and the brightest windowsill you have.

• Microgreens: radish, rocket, mustard and broccoli, ready to cut in one to two weeks.
• Pea shoots: a tray of peas gives sweet shoots in about three weeks.
• Herbs: basil struggles in winter light, but chives, parsley and coriander are worth a try on a sunny sill.

Jobs worth doing in December

• Check stored crops (potatoes, onions, apples) and remove anything going soft before it spreads.
• Protect tender pots by grouping them against a house wall and raising them on feet so they drain.
• Keep off frozen or sodden lawns; walking on them damages the grass.
• Feed the birds and keep a shallow dish of water ice-free. They will repay you by eating pests in spring.
• Plan next year: seed catalogues arrive now, and choosing on paper is half the fun.

December planting questions

Can you plant anything in December in the UK?

Yes. December is prime bare-root season, so fruit trees, fruit bushes, roses and hedging can all be planted whenever the ground is workable. Late tulips, garlic in milder areas and rhubarb crowns can go in too, and microgreens, pea shoots and herbs can be sown on a windowsill.

Is it too late to plant bulbs in December?

Not for tulips, which are fine in December as long as the ground is not frozen. Daffodils and other spring bulbs prefer earlier planting but will still flower if they go in now, just later and a little smaller. Bulbs do not survive in the bag until spring, so plant them.

Can I plant bare-root trees in frozen ground?

No. Wait until the ground thaws. In the meantime keep the roots from drying out: store the plants somewhere cool and frost-free with the roots wrapped in damp sacking, or heel them into a spare patch of soil or a large pot of compost until you can plant properly.

What vegetables can I plant in December?

Outdoors, garlic in milder areas, plus rhubarb crowns. Most other vegetable sowing waits until late winter. Indoors, microgreens and pea shoots grow happily on a bright windowsill and give you something fresh to harvest within a few weeks.

Can I sow seeds indoors in December?

Fast crops yes, slow ones mostly no. Microgreens, pea shoots and salad leaves for cutting young are worth sowing. Most other seeds, such as tomatoes and peppers, are better left until late January or February, when the extra daylight stops seedlings growing tall and weak.