What to do in the garden in July

It’s the beginning of summer, the sun is at its highest and your garden is fit to burst with produce. Check out Van Meuwen’s top jobs for July!

Plants and Flowers

• Prune your Wisteria by cutting all the whippy side-shoots back to five leaves from the main stem.
• If your hanging baskets and container displays are looking tatty, give them a trim. Fertilise them to give them a boost and they will flower again within a few weeks.
• Continue to dead-head your perennial plants, bedding plants and roses to help keep summer displays looking fresh and encourage more flowers.
• Strawberry plants will send out runners at this time of year. If you’d like more strawberry plants simply peg them down and allow them to root, otherwise dispose of them before they make a tangled mess!
• Continue to train and tie in the new soft shoots on climbing plants such as Clematis and climbing roses.
• Divide your Bearded Iris now to allow them time to establish before winter.
• If you have any gaps in your borders think about ordering perennials plants online ready for planting in the autumn.

Fruit and Veg

• Feed your fruit and vegetable plants regularly, especially those in containers, to ensure good cropping. July is also the time to start planting winter vegetables to allow them time to grow before the cold weather arrives.
• Harvest your garlic and onions as soon as the leaves start to yellow and die back. If the weather is sunny then bulbs can be left on the soil surface to dry, otherwise space them out in trays and leave to dry in a cool and airy place.
• Trim your herbs and freeze them in ice cube trays or dry them in an airing cupboard for use later in the year. Trimming herbs now will encourage a fresh flush of growth which can be harvested again in early autumn.

Trees, Shrubs and Grasses

• Prune your apricot, cherry trees and plum trees; pruning now will avoid infection with silver leaf disease. It’s also a good idea to thin out the fruit on your fruit trees to allow for better air circulation and good sized crops.

Garden Maintenance

• Now is your last chance to feed your lawn with a high-nitrogen fertiliser to promote lush green growth. Feeding your lawn after this time will encourage too much new growth which won’t harden off in time for the winter.
• Make sure you open the vents and doors of your greenhouse daily to improve ventilation. It also helps to damp down your greenhouse in hot weather by spraying water on the floor. The increased humidity deters red spider mites.

What’s your top priority for July? Let us know in the comments below, or share them with us over on our Facebook page.