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- July
- The Flower Garden
The Flower Garden
Herbaceous borders will benefit from a light dressing of general fertilizer such as Blood, Fish and Bone: work this in lightly and water in if necessary. Early season herbaceous plants that have finished flowering will benefit from being cut hard back: this will encourage them to flower again while it also tidies up the border and stops plants overcrowding one another. Dead head peonies by removing only the flower and seed heads.
Deadhead roses regularly. After first flowers fade feed with a rose fertilizer such as Toprose to encourage a second flush, this is especially important on lighter soils. Spray roses every 3 weeks as a precautionary measure against pests and diseases with combined rose foliar feed and fungicide/ pesticide like Multirose. All climbing and rambling roses, clematis, climbers and wall shrubs will need young shoots training and tying in.
Wisterias should be summer- pruned this month or next. All side shoots that are not wanted for the framework should be pruned back to 15cm (6ins) long. The shortened shoots are further cut back in December / January to two buds. This process will quickly build up a flowering spur system. Prune spring- flowering shrubs such as Syringa, Weigelia, Philadelphus, Deutzia and Escallonia straight after flowering to encourage new growth. This is really the latest time to very lightly trim back deciduous Magnolias. Trim hedges and topiary to maintain shape, keeping hedges A shaped for strength. Avoid doing this during very dry spells as this may cause scorch.
Feed outdoor Chrysanthemums, Dahlias and Gladioli with a fertilizer that is fairly high in potash, such as Chempak High Potash Feed No. 4. Make sure that they are all properly supported. Disbud early flowering Chrysanthemum varieties if they show buds. Watch out for earwig damage and spray at dusk on mild evenings when earwigs are likely to be active with Bayer Sprayday Greenfly Killer. Prick out seedlings of Wallflowers, Sweet Williams etc. into an open site with good soil for them to make good growth before removal to the flowerbeds in autumn.
Plants in hanging baskets and containers will benefit from some thinning and pinching back along with regular dead heading. Special attention must be paid to watering as these can dry out very quickly especially during hot spells: they will also need regular feeding with Miracle Gro to produce healthy growth and a high potash feed such as Phostrogen to encourage flower production. Fuchsias must be disbudded to ensure continuity of flowering. To maintain the flowering of Sweet Peas it is vital to prevent them from seeding by cutting off flowers as they fade and pinching out tendrils. Spray with Bayer Sprayday Greenfly Killer and give a liquid feed of Phostrogen every 12‑14 days.
Outdoor blue-flowered Hydrangeas should be treated with hydrangea colourant to maintain good blue flowers for next year. All hydrangeas will benefit from an application of sequestered iron to ensure healthy growth.
July often sees a proliferation of plant pests and diseases. Pests are easily controlled when first seen using in an appropriate pesticide such as Provado Bug Killer and remember this is the peak time to control scale insect when the young nymphs are active. Apply Provado Vine Weevil Killer as a soil drench to plants in containers that are vulnerable to vine weevil grubs. Diseases such as rust, black spot and mildew are very difficult to control once the plant is affected and fungicides are relatively ineffective. However if you apply a fungicide to prevent disease attacking, it will be 100% effective and I would recommend applying systemic fungicides such as Fungus Fighter on any disease prone plants in your garden before the disease appears. A weeding regime is important as many weeds act as alternatives hosts to common pests and diseases such as aphids, mildew and red spider mite.
Slugs and snails are often a major problem. There are now safe and organic products for control, leaving no trace of unsightly slime secretions. These new formulations contain a naturally occurring active ingredient, Ferric Phosphate which, on moist soil or in humid conditions, takes up water and begin to swell. As slugs prefer moist and soaked granules, they are attracted to the bait pellet, consume it and then they cease to feed. They then crawl into the ground or a secluded location to die. The pellets can be used around edible and non-edible plants and is safe for use around children and pets. It remains effective after exposure to rain, watering and sunlight and there is no interval required between application and harvesting crops. The product is approved by Organic Farmers & Growers for use in organic systems. Traps for slugs and snails are also available along with materials which are difficult for slugs and snails to travel across such as crushed rocks and copper tape.
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