Monthly garden maintenance
July
Flowers
It’s a really good time to plant autumn-flowering bulbs such as crocuses, Colchicum, Sternbergia, Amaryllis and Nerine.
Cutting back delphiniums and geraniums after the first flush of flowers will encourage a second flowering period. Do not forget to feed them after pruning.
Deadhead flower borders regularly and divide clumps of bearded iris.
Fill in alpines patches with gritty compost to encourage re-growth.
Pinks and carnations can be propagated by layering or by cuttings.
For your garden general maintenance, you can liquid- feed containerised plants and keep them well watered in dry spells.
Mulch borders to retain moisture. A thick layer of mulch (5- 7.5cm) works best.
Inspect lilies for the scarlet lily beetle. Watch out for aphids on stems and leaves of young shoots. Look out for and treat a black spot on roses and scab on Pyracantha.
Trees and shrubs
Primarily, look round for BOX TREE MOTH, because they can completely defoliate box plants.
Prune June- flowering shrubs such as Philadelphus and Weigela after flowering and magnolias if needed.
Leyland cypress should be clipped as necessary. Do not forget to tie- in climbers and ramblers.
Take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs such as Choisya, Hydrangea and Philadelphus.
Clematis can be propagated by taking stem sections above and below a leaf.
Air-layering is a good method for climbers and some shrubs such as Magnolia propagation.
Remove tall, flowering stalks on established bamboos for a general maintenance.
Don’t let the newly planted trees and shrubs to dry out. Remove rose and tree suckers.
Pest and disease watch is truly important this month… Brown patches on conifers may indicate an earlier infestation by the cypress aphids. Telltale signs include black sooty mould along the stems and shed skin cases.
Prune out brown shoots and tie in neighbouring branches where hedges are affected in order to fill the gaps.
Neat circular areas removed from the edges of rose and other leaves are telltale signs of leaf-cutter bees at work.
Scale insects can also affect bays at this time of year. Yellow and distorted leaves on cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) indicate a powdery mildew problem.
Contact our landscaping team if you have a project in mind
Lawns
Keep mowing regularly and set the mower at a slightly higher level in hot weather. This can prevent the lawn from drying out.
It is the last time to apply a liquid summer lawn fertiliser. Then you can find some brown patches on the lawn – they will recover quickly when the autumn rains arrive. Use a sprinkler once a week if you want to keep your lawn completely green. New areas of grass will need extra watering in hot weather.
Lawn growth slows down in late summer. In that case, raise the cutting height slightly later in a month.
Inspect any yellow patches on the lawn and if they contain small pinkish-red strands you may have a fungal disease common on light soils after heavy rain. A nitrogen-rich fertiliser should help.
Treat isolated weeds by digging out or with a weedkiller.
Other garden works
Ponds
Top up ponds and water features if necessary. Any pumps on water features should be left on during hot nights.
Remove dead foliage and blooms from waterlilies and other aquatic plants. Then, continue to skim blanket and floating weeds.
Clean out debris lurking in the depths of the pond. This will improve the water quality.
Landscaping
Clean up patios and hard surfaces to get rid of moss and algae. Use a pressure washer to remove algae from paths. A proprietary algae killer may help.
Remove dirt and algae from walls, paving and patios too.
Check and repair pergolas, arbours and arches if needed.
You can also treat timber structures with wood preservative and stain in dry spells.
