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June’s the month for energetic growing – both plants and weeds alike! There are plenty of jobs to do just to keep on top of your garden or allotment, so make sure you’re ready!
Plants and Flowers
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- Lift and divide clumps of snowdrops and bluebells once the leaves start to yellow.
- Remember to dead-head your roses if they are repeat-flowering types, to encourage more flowers. To find out more about growing roses, including climbing roses, take a look at our ‘How to grow roses’ guide.
- When your hardy Geraniums have finished flowering you can cut them back for a second, smaller flush of flowers and fresh foliage.
- Support the growth on tall perennial plants to prevent them getting damaged by the wind. Putting in supports early will allow the plants to grow and eventually hide any bamboo poles, netting and string.
Fruit and Veg
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- Once the risk of frost has passed it is safe to plant out all your summer bedding plants into borders, containers and hanging baskets. Tender vegetable plants such as tomatoes, courgettes and sweetcorn can also be planted outside now.
- Start to harvest your early potatoes towards the end of the month. If you’re unsure when they are ready, have a gentle dig around to check the size of the tubers!
- Pinch out side-shoots from your cordon tomato plants. Bushy or trailing tomato plants do not require any pruning.
Trees, Shrubs and Grasses
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- You can start to prune cherry, plum and apricot trees now if needed. Summer pruning avoids infection with the fungal disease ‘silver leaf’.
- Thin out the clusters of fruit on your fruit trees at the end of the month. This will produce bigger and better quality fruits.
Garden Maintenance
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- Water your lawn in dry weather – this is particularly important for newly established lawns. Now is also a good time to feed your lawn with a high-nitrogen fertiliser for healthy green growth.
- If you have compost bins make sure you turn the contents each month to keep it well aerated and help speed up the rotting process.
- Tie in new growth on climbing plants such as Honeysuckle and Clematis. It’s important to do this before the plants attach themselves too firmly to the wrong supports!
- Start to keep an eye out for insect pests as they become active, particularly aphids, scarlet lily beetle and vine weevils. Destroy them early on to prevent an infestation.
What’s your top priority for June gardening jobs? Let us know in the comments below, or share them with us over on our Facebook page.
We have a large garden with borders all round. my worst job is keeping the edges trimmed. I wish you could buy something to stop them growing so quickly. I know when you water the flowers the grass steals a lot of it which makes it grow more.
Hello. Have you thought about installing lawn edging? It wont stop the edges from growing but will certainly make the job easier!
Great feed..Really enjoyed the knowledge and pleasant humour in it
You say cut back perennials and hardy geraniums when they have flowered but how far? Right to the very bottom of the plant ? What about delphiniums and parodies?
Hello. Yes they can be given quite a short haircut! Leave a few of the younger leaves in place, but all of the older, taller foliage can be removed and they will produce a fresh new display of foliage. With Delphiniums you can remove the faded flower stems, but unless the foliage looks really scraggy the it is best left alone until autumn.
Each year I pot my bedding plants up in fresh potting compost.
I am accumulating a huge mound of used compost from previous years.
Is there any goodness left in this? Can I spread it on the garden, or should
I take it to the tip?
Used compost is great for sreading on the garden as a mulch. This is the quikest and easiest way to lose it about the garden!
Dear Sir, my hanging baskets arrived yesterday,Friday 18th June,late afternoon. I was greatly impressed with the obvious excellent care that had been taken in the packing; and the instructions for the Mail Man.Sadly I was far from impressed with the condition of the plants. I appreciate,thou growth, parts had been broken off,but the main plants appeared dead. I watered the baskets immediately:they were very dry, and again checked late evening.to-day there has been little if any improvement. I will wait for the ‘ Two day ‘ period to pass and keep you advised.Most disappointing.
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