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With summer unfortunately drawing to a close, there’s a lot to do before autumn sets in. Make August a productive month!
Plants and Flowers
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- Stake any tall or top-heavy Dahlias and Lilies to protect them from the wind and rain.
- Prune your Lavender plants, Helianthemum and other summer-flowering shrubs after they have finished blooming.
- Prune your climbing roses and rambling roses as soon as they have finished flowering, unless they are repeat-flowering, in which case leave them.
- There is still time to prune your Wisteria by cutting all the whippy side-shoots back to five leaves from the main stem.
- Finish dividing your Bearded Iris now to allow them time to establish before winter.
- Water your Camellias, Azaleas and Rhododendrons well with rain water to ensure good bud-set this year and a spectacular spring display next year.
- It may seem a long way off but now is the time to think about which spring bulbs and perennial plants you would like for your garden next year. Order your plants online now ready for autumn planting.
- Give your hedges a final trim before growth slows down.
Fruit and Veg
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- Watch out for the leaves of garlic, onions and maincrop potatoes turning yellow – this means they are ready to harvest!
- You can plant your Christmas potatoes now ready for harvesting in December. They’ll need to be kept somewhere frost-free or covered with horticultural fleece during cold weather.
- Keep feeding your fruit trees, soft fruits and vegetable plants in containers every two weeks for continued healthy growth and cropping. Use a high potash fertiliser, such as tomato feed, for fruits and fruiting vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers) to encourage good cropping. Leafy vegetables benefit from a basic balanced fertiliser, or one that is high in nitrogen.
- Tidy up your strawberry plants and remove any straw surrounding them. This will help prevent pests and diseases building up.
- Cut back any fruited raspberry canes on your summer raspberries. The new green canes should be left and tied in to a support for fruiting next year.
- Pinch out the tips of your runner beans once they reach the top of their support. This will encourage more side shoots and flowers to grow lower down on the plant enabling easier picking.
What’s your main job to do in August? Let us know in the comments below, or share them with us over on our Facebook page.