Tips for July

Flower garden

Trim Clematis montana if large and overgrown.

Prune flowers

Pinch out the growing tips of basket and container plants to encourage them to produce bushy even growth and lots of flowers. Encourage chrysanthemum shoots to branch out and carry more blooms by pinching out shoot tips from June to early July. This technique is called stopping.

Sow seeds

Biennials, such as foxgloves, sweet williams, Canterbury bells and forget-me-nots, should be sown as soon as fresh seed is available.

Pests and diseases

Use a forceful jet from a garden hose to knock aphids off water lilies and other garden plants. Spray roses to protect them against problems with mildew, blackspot or rust.

Divide bearded iris

Lift and divide bearded irises once they have finished flowering. Remove any dormant sections from the centre of the clump, and replant the fresh new shoots. Use our factsheet to help you divide irises successfully.

Summer bedding plants

Finish planting out summer bedding plants in borders, baskets and containers. Fill gaps with large argyranthemums, fuchsias or pelargoniums.

Cut down early-flowering perennials

Remove faded flowers on perennials such as lupins and delphiniums. Early pruning often encourages a second flush of flowers late in the season. Cut the flower-spike down to just above a new shoot or leaf, and give each plant a generous liquid feed to encourage fresh growth. Remove the seedheads from aquilegia to prevent them from spreading. Cut back aquilegia, pinch out petunia, stop chrysanthemums and divide irises in July

Greenhouse

Watering All potted plants need a daily check for watering. Add a full-strength liquid feed once a fortnight or a dilute one more regularly. If you find that watering is taking up too much of your time, follow our tips to help you water more effectively.

Ventilation

Open ventilators and doors every morning, but close them again on cool evenings. Do check that birds or cats aren_t getting in, use netting if necessary.

Growing bags

Never let crops in growing bags go short of water. Standing the bags on gravel trays or on reservoirs with wicks through the base can prevent drying out. Discover the best way to use growing bags with our handy guide.

Glasshouse pests

Biological pest control can be used at this time of year against whitefly and red spider mite.

Cuttings

Pot on rooted cuttings of pelargoniums, argyranthemums, fuchsias and other plants as soon as the roots have filled their pots. Take cuttings from the non-flowering shoots of shrubs and climbers. Greenhouse jobs to do throughout July include takign cuttings and watering

Kitchen garden

Fan-trained fruit Unwanted shoots should be cut off plums and apricots to maintain the fan shape. With figs, prune out the tips of any unwanted sideshoots after the fifth leaf, or remove them completely.

Herbs

Woody stemmed herbs such as sage and thyme produce lots of fresh healthy new shoots at this time of year, which will quickly root if taken as cuttings. Learn the best way to take cuttings of woody stemmed herbs.

Harvesting

Harvest beetroot and other crops while they are still young and tender. Early potatoes will be ready to harvest soon. Check one plant first to assess the crop size. Leave them to develop further if the potatoes are too small, and water the rows every week.

Fruit crops

Enjoy the fruits of your labours by picking rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, currants, cherries and gooseberries. Remember to net fruit bushes to keep birds away, but it is important to check the netting daily to ensure that no birds have become trapped.

Sweet corn

Plant out pot-grown sweet corn. Place the plants in blocks, not rows, spacing them out about 45cm (18in) apart each way.

Crops to sow

From June to early July the following vegetable crops can be sown directly outside: lettuce and salad leaves, radishes, kohl rabi, spring cabbage and endive, plus dwarf French beans for a late crop. Winter spinach can be sown from July to September.

Water onions

Never let onions go short of water or their yield will be severely reduced. Water plants thoroughly once or twice a week if conditions are dry, and keep down weed competition by hand or using a hoe.

Cordon-trained fruit

Sideshoots on cordon gooseberries and currants should be pruned back to about five leaves or 10cm (4in) long.

Fruit trees

The natural June drop will thin out a heavy fruit crop to some degree, but it is worth lending a hand. Pick off any small, damaged or diseased fruits to leave those remaining spaced 10cm (4in) apart. Harvest potatoes, pick strawberries, take cuttings of woody herbs, keep onions well watered thoughout July

General care

Remove suckers or unwanted shoots Some trees and shrubs have a habit of producing unwanted shoots from their base, or from the stems of those trained as standards. These can regularly be seen growing around rowan trees, sumach and older fruit trees. Cut them cleanly away with secateurs to prevent them sapping strength from the plant.

Pruning

Cut out plain green shoots growing on variegated shrubs to prevent them spoiling the appearance of your shrubs.

Weeds

Keep up the battle against problem weeds, removing any flowering stems before they have a chance to set seed. Many can be removed by hand, digging deeply to get out every last piece of root, or some chemical treatments can be effective. Larger areas can be cleared by smothering them with a large sheet of black polythene, left in place for many months.

Lawns

Mow it at least once a week, twice if possible, and finish by cutting the edges neatly. Feed lawns, if this hasn't been done already, and treat any weeds and moss. The clippings can usually be mixed into the compost heap, but remember to discard them for the first few mowings after applying weedkillers.

Mulc

H Protect new and established plants by mulching the soil between them with composted bark, cocoa shells or another ornamental mulch. This will not only look attractive, setting off the surrounding plants, but will reduce annual weed growth and conserve soil moisture. Always mulch over moist ground, never on to bone-dry soil, so be sure to water well first if necessary. Use our guide to using mulches to choose one for your garden.

Pest problems

Take action against the following pest problems immediately: - sawfly on gooseberry leaves - whitefly on tomato leaves - greenfly on rose shoot-tips and flower-buds - red lily beetles on lily leaves - sawfly caterpillars on Solomon's seal - red spider mite on greenhouse crops