What to do when!
July is the busiest month in the garden. Here’s what will need your attention…
1 Give bedding plants in the garden a good weekly soaking. If it’s hot, you’ll be tempted to do so more often, but once a week is better than little and often, which encourages surface rooting. Check hanging baskets daily.
2 Now is the best time to prune cherry and plum trees to cut the risk of silver leaf disease. Trained apples and pears also require an annual prune to restrict growth and give developing fruits light.
3 Hardy geraniums can be trimmed back to their bases as this will encourage a second flush of blooms.
4 Tie climbers into their supports to prevent loose stems becoming damaged. Encouraging stems to grow horizontally will help to promote more flowers.
5 If you have a pond in your garden, make sure you have a fountain or pump in place to keep the water moving and increase oxygen levels. This will stop the water becoming stagnant. Clean the pump and check and change the filter from time to time, unless you have a floating solar pump (suitable for a simple barrel pond), which needs no maintenance.
6 Don’t neglect indoor plants, which will need much more watering as it gets warmer. Just like outdoor containers and baskets, if the compost dries out it can be difficult to re-wet. If this happens, soak the pots in a deep bowl of water until soaked through.
7 Deadhead any plants that produce seed capsules, such as petunias, pansies and argyranthemums. Fuchsias, lobelia and salvias tend to deadhead themselves.
8 Snap off the faded flowers of azaleas and rhododendrons to improve the appearance and divert the plant’s energy into producing next year’s flower buds.
9 Any suckers appearing from the base of trees should be removed as soon as possible. Dig down to pull the shoot and root rather than cutting with secateurs, particularly with vigorous plants such as sumach, raspberries and lilac.
10 Strawberry plants can easily be propagated. When they’ve finished fruiting, start training their runners into pots to produce new plants. Once they’ve rooted, sever from the parent plant and pot up ready for next year.
11 Tomato feed contains potash, an excellent boost to all fruiting trees, perennials and bedding plants, as it encourages flowers and fruit to form and toughens up plants. Feed tomato plants every 10-14 days with a readymade, balanced liquid feed, following the manufacturer’s guidelines, and change to a highpotash fertiliser when the plants begin to set fruit.
12 Prepare for time away from home by moving pots and hanging baskets into a shady part of the garden where they are less likely to dry out. Or ask a friend to come and water them.
13 Trim faded herbs back now – and, as new, fresh growth appears, cut, chop up and freeze into ice cubes. add a cube or two to stews and casseroles when required during the winter months.
14 Keep camellias and rhododendrons well watered this month, as flower buds are forming for next spring. It’s best to use rainwater rather than tap water, which contains various levels of lime.
15 remember the birds! Top up bird baths and ponds during hot spells.
16 Clip evergreen shrubs and hedges. Try to taper the sides of the hedge so that light reaches the lower growth to avoid bare patches appearing at the base. Look out for signs of box blight, which is becoming increasingly common. If you spot it, only trim affected plants in dry weather. Treat with Bayer Fungus Fighter Plus. remove and bin all fallen leaves to help prevent re-infection.
17 as tomatoes grow they are are susceptible to blossom end rot or split skins, especially if watering is inconsistent. Water them regularly and keep the compost evenly moist.