July often brings more sunshine, which in turn requires more watering and weeding, among many other jobs in the garden, from dead-heading roses to clipping evergreen hedging and quickthorn. Check out our full hints and tips below.
Water as soon as slowing growth rate shows that soil is drying out. Sandy soil requires half the water compared to clay soil.
Continue tying dahlias to their stakes and spraying aphids and insects as necessary.
Trim quickthorn hedges and continue hoeing and weeding hedge bottoms.
Dead-head roses, trim to appropriate bud in the axil of a leaf shoot with five leaflets when the blooms have gone over. This will have a strong bud growing in the leaf axil, which should point in an outward direction.
Always use sharp secateurs when cutting roses or pruning anything.
Feed both established and newly planted roses with a rose fertilizer at the rate of about a handful per square metre, other than for a 15cm dia. clear circle around the stem of each plant. Hoe the fertilizer into the soil surface.
Do not cut back paeonies which have flowered; just remove dead flower heads, as they need to die back naturally as a part of the ripening process.
Check the moisture level of hanging baskets every morning and water thoroughly if dry. Feed plants with a soluble liquid once per week and remove flower heads that are going over.
Clear foliage from ponds and remove weeds from around the edges and excess vegetation on water lilies.
Cut Delphiniums down to 12-15cm after flowering and keep moist. They should produce another flush of flowers in the autumn.
Evergreen hedges can be clipped this month (and some deciduous ones) but ensure no nesting birds are in the hedge. Cut laurel and Eleagnus hedges with secateurs to prevent cut leaves.
July is a good month to take heather cuttings. Choose young, vigorous, half-ripe, non-flowering shoots. Treat the bottom 5cm of the cuttings with rooting hormone and insert the bottom around the edge of a 9cm pot. Keep in a closed, shaded frame, ensuring that water does not drip onto the cuttings from the underside of the glass. Do not allow the cutting to dry out.
Prune pyracanthas by cutting back side-shoots to 2-3 leaves from their base for a good show next year. Wear gloves!! When the first flush of hardy geraniums and Alchemilla is over, cut them hard back for a spectacular second flush of flowers.
Once per week, go around the garden and remove all dead-heads from flowers and clear away all vegetables that have finished cropping.
The first week of the month is the best time to cut lavender for drying. Cut the whole flower stalk when it begins to show colour. Tie in loose bundles and hang in a greenhouse or warm shed to dry.
Posted 7th Jul 10:44am
