July Gardening Tips

The summer solstice has arrived and gardens are now looking their best. All the work done earlier in the year is now paying dividends and our gardens are full of colour and scent. However, we mustn’t become complacent. As flowers such as roses and sweet peas thrive, we must devote time and energy to keeping everything well-watered (either in the morning or evening) and in good condition. Here are some other jobs to help you make the most of the garden now…

Plan for the holidays – July is generally a holiday month and it is better to prepare the garden so you don’t return to a jungle – or worse, dead plants! Ask a family member, friend or neighbour to water, feed and mow while you are away. If they can help cut flowers and harvest vegetables such as beans and courgettes, your crops and blooms may last well into the autumn.
Tackle black spot, rust and mildew – More prevalent in summer, black spot and rust can arise if the weather has been damp, while mildew tends to appear when the weather is drier. To minimise the spread of diseases, gather up and burn all infected leaves that have fallen, or dispose of them in your garden waste bin. Never put them on the compost heap as spores of the disease may then be spread around the garden.
Remove unwanted growth from trees and shrubs – Many trees and shrubs often produce a mass of shoots at the base of the plant. These shoots need to be cut away cleanly to prevent them from sapping the overall strength of the plant. One of the most common groups of plants for this habit is the Sorbus species, such as rowan and mountain ash.
Take cuttings from hydrangeas – Hydrangeas can be propagated from cuttings easily. Remove non-flowering shoots around 8-10cm long, cutting just above a bud. Remove the lower leaves and trim the base with a sharp knife. Cut the leaves in half horizontally to reduce water loss, pop the stem into a pot of cutting compost, cover with a polythene bag and stand it in a shady corner. The cutting will root in about four weeks when they can then be potted up before planting out.
Prune wisteria – Wisteria gets a prune in summer, but not as much as it does in the winter. Cut back the whippy growth made in the summer so that branches are within five or six buds of the main stem.
Harvest onions – As leaves begin to turn yellow and limp, onions can be harvested. Ease the onions out of the soil and, if the weather is warm and dry, leave them on the surface for a few days. Once dry, onions can be stored in several ways such as hanging them up or laying them in a single layer in boxes.
Watch out for tomato problems – Blossom end rot and ghost spot can affect tomatoes during the summer months. Blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium, brought on by a lack of watering. Ghost spot is a fungal disease that can usually be avoided by taking care not to splash the fruits with water when damping down or watering. Make sure to water tomato plants regularly and evenly, never allowing them to dry out. Watering regularly will also prevent splitting which happens after a dry spell when the plants are suddenly given a lot of water. This upsurge in water causes the skins on the fruit to split.
Thin out the fruit on apples and pears – Fruit trees naturally shed some fruit in June. After they have done this, it is a good idea to thin out other fruits which are very small, damaged or diseased. Then, to get fruits of a reasonable size, thin out the remaining fruits to two or three per cluster. It may seem disappointing to remove fruit from the tree at this stage, but the resulting crops in the autumn will be far superior.
Sow vegetables for autumn harvesting – Whenever some ground becomes vacant, try to revitalise the soil with organic matter and sow vegetables such as lettuces, which will grow quickly at this time of year. Beetroot and carrots can also be sown now – just don’t let any of them dry out in the summer heat.
Review your borders – As you wander around your garden, now is a good time to review your planting schemes. Ask yourself: which plant combinations are working, which are a disappointment? Are there colour clashes or have some plants simply not taken to their spot in the garden? Make notes and use them to plan changes in the autumn or during the spring.

Most importantly of all, take time to enjoy these long summer evenings and drink in all your garden has to offer.