July Top Tips

• Summer has now arrived. The roses are just coming towards the end of their flush of flower, now is the time to give them a top dressing of a complete rose fertilizer which has a high potash content, Potash fertilizer with help bud formation for the second flush of flowering in August and early September.
• It you have any outdoor Chrysanthemums and Dahlias a top dressing of potash fertilizer will these plants with bud formation.Scatter the fertilizer thinly around the plants, hoe it in and, if the weather is dry, give them a good watering afterwards.
• Hedges such as 'Privet and Lonicera Nitida or Baggesons' will be growing very fast at this time of year so they will need to be clipped fairly fregently, this is very important if you have a young hedge in order to build up dense, well branched plants.
• The early flowering 'mountian clematis'- Clematis Montana and its pink flowering forms can be pruned now. The method is to thin out overcrowded stems and cut back where necessary you keep the plants within bounds. Drastic pruning is not desirable as all montanas are vigorous and free flowering.

Lawns

• Depending on weather conditions during the month mowing should take place regularly, water if dry weather is prolonged.
• Rake occasionally and keep the edges trimmed. If clover, pearlwort and yarrow suddenly appear as a problem, use a selective lawn weed killer.
• Before any lawn treatment takes place make sure the lawn is moist and carry out treatments in the cool of the evening.
• However, July is a little late for the maximum effect of lawn weed treatment, but weeds should never be ignored.
• Holiday lawn care can be a problem. If possible, make arrangements in your absence if you are going to be away for two weeks or more. 
• A long lawn can be a sign to intruders that you are not at home.

Houseplants

• All House Plants are growing this time of the year, so they should be fed with a good feed like 'Baby Bio or Miracle-Gro'. Keep them moist at all times, but allow them to dry out a little between watering, keep delicate plants like African violets and Streptocarpus away from bright sunlight as they will scorch and the leaves will be marked.
• Repotting and potting on can be done at this time of the year, use a Multipurpose or Specilist Compost depending on the type of plant. Some house plants can be put outside for the summer, but put them in the shade first to acclimatise, plants like. Citrus plants, Azalea, Ficus, Bonsai, Cymbidium Orchids and Clivia .
• Conservatory plants such as enjoy summer outside on the patio, plants like Plumbago, Bouganvillea, Abutilon and Hibiscus.
• Remember to bring your plants back inside in the warm in September before the nights turn cooler the plants will begin to suffer.
• If you are going on holiday remember to get a friend, neighbour or relations to water them for you.

Herbaceous Border

• The herbaceous border should now be full of colour, plants will have grown and flowered, continued dead-heading will be required and re-staking, tying of new growth. Plants will respond to a feeding with potash to encourage bud formation.
• When feeding plants care should be taken to keep fertilizers away from stems so as not to cause injury to sensitive plants.
• Regular spraying with insecticides to keep pest and disease under control will be required.
• Garden pinks and carnations cuttings can be taken this month, choose young non -flowering growth about 10cm long, use a sharp knife to cut just below a leaf joint and place about 4 or 5 cuttings in a 9cm pot with a mixture of multi-purpose compost and sharp sand.
• Place in frame or in a shelter part of the garden in the shade to root, keep moist but do not allow the compost to get to wet. Root formation will take about four weeks after which repot individually in multi-purpose compost until large enough to plant ion the garden.

Fruit Garden

• During this month it is time to 'peg down' strawberry runners to increase your strawberry bed or replace old plants. 
• The best method to do this is to peg the runners in to 9 cm pots filled with multi-purpose potting compost and sink to pot into the ground for support around the parent plant.
• When rooted in the pot cut the new plant from the parent plant.
• The main advantage of this is that there is less disturbance to the roots later on.
• Strawberry beds should be replaced every three years.
• Thinning of Apples, Plums and Pears should be done early on the month, this is to allow the remaining fruit room to grow larger fruits.
• As soon as Black currants have been harvested, prune out much of the old fruiting wood to encourage new growth to develope for fruiting next year.
• Fruit trees, bushes and cordens of apples and pears should be summer-pruned, both to keep them in shape and check their vigour.
• Cut back side-growths to about four leaves each, but do not prune the main stems that are extending the height of cordens or the length of the branches of trained trees.
• spraying of insecticides and fungicides should continue until about a month before you intend to harvest the fruits.

Vegetable Garden

• Early crops of potatoes, peas and broad beans will soon be finishing.
• Clear away as soon as possible and replaced with catch crops of horn carrots and globe beetroot.
• It is worth taking the risk of a further sowing of a dwarf, early maturing pea, such as Meteor or Kelvedon Wonder. Winter cabbage, January king should be planted this month.
• Runner beans will benefit from large amounts of water to increase growth and daily spraying of water over head to assist in setting of flowers.
• Tomatoes, cucumbers and melons will require regular watering and feeding with liquid fertilizer this month to help swell the fruit.
• Regular sowings of lettuce and salad crops will extend the succession of fresh crops.
• If the weather continues to be dry regular weekly hoeing of the garden will help retain moisture as well as keep the weeds under control.

Bedding Plants

• Will be in full colour now, regular watering and feeding with liquid fertilizer will help keep them looking fresh and full of colour. Daily dead heading will also help new bud formation.
• Looking ahead to next spring the sowing of seeds of Wallflowers, Sweet Williams, Polyanthus, Bellis daisy Pansy and spring flowering plants should take place this month. If the soil is very dry soak the soil with water after sowing the seeds to aid germination, after which regular watering will be required to keep the young seedlings from drying out.

The Garden Pond

• Maintain blanket weed controls, bright sunshine will encourage quick growth. Give plenty of plant cover to the pond, Floating plants are ideal for this water hyacinths and water lettuce. Aim for 50-60% plant cover. Bright sunshine encourages algae.
• Water lillies should be flowering now-if your lily is pushing up leaves it may just need repotting.
• If possible fit a fountain and/ an air pump to incease oxygenation of the water during hot weather-essential is you see the fish gasping at the surface.
• Filter systems should be running continuously now.
• Fish will be very active, feed with high active protein food for the summer-natural food in the pond e.g.insect lavae will supplement fish diet.
• Check fish health regularly as high temperatures will accelerate problems.
• If topping up your pond during the summer be sure to use "Declorinating" treatments to neutralise tap water chemicals.
• Sludge buster treatments will help breakdown excess organic waste at the bottom of the pond-especially when using algae treatments.
   

Trees & Shrubs

• Spring flowering shrubs should have been pruned by now, removing all the old flowering wood to encourage new growth to flower next year.
• Summer flowering shrubs should also be pruned as soon as they have finished flowering.
• During this month shrubs such as Buddleja davidii, Calluna, Cistus, Colutea, Escallonia, Fuchsia, Hebe, Hydrangea, Hypericum, Lavendula, Olearia, Penstenom, Philadelphus, Phygellius, Potentilla and Yucca will be full of colour now. Climbers such as Clematis, Eccremocarpus scaber, Fallopia, Jasimium, Lonicera, Passiflora, Schizophragma, Solanum and Trachelospermum will also be in full colour this month.
• Established wisteria's should be pruned this month by reducing all the new growth back to four buds to encourage bud formation for next year, rather than allowing the plant to continue growing long leaf bearing growths only.  

 Tips Of The Month

• Continue to hoe the garden to help retain moisture in the soil, water and feed your plants
• Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour