BEDDING PLANT MAINTENANCE

Bedding plants are undeniably high maintenance, especially summer schemes planted in late spring just as droughts tend to arrive. Bedding in the ground will need regular watering for six weeks until it is well established, while plants in containers will need care through the summer.

Check each pot by pushing your finger into the compost.

It is fine for the surface to be dry, but if there is no moisture below your first knuckle, it needs to be watered. This might be every day or even twice a day in hot, dry weather. Even when it has rained, watering may be needed, as the dense canopy of foliage covering pots and baskets often prevents water from reaching the compost.

Modern breeding has done much to produce plants that keep flowering regardless of whether their spent flowers have been removed. Nonetheless, you will find that many plants – such as dahlias, pelargoniums, osteospermums and traditional petunias – are more floriferous and look tidier if you deadhead them at least once a week. Pinching with fingers is usually sufficient, but some gardeners like to use scissors or specially designed snips. You can also take this opportunity to trim back overly vigorous plants.

To get the maximum flowering display, it is a good idea to feed summer bedding plants at least twice between early July and the end of August, using a liquid feed that is diluted with water.

This is an edited extract from The National Trust School of Gardening (£20), NT Shop