Horticulturist and BBC Gardeners’ World host Monty Don has shared 10 essential gardening jobs for the month of July – as well as the three plants that need to be pruned immediately to ensure they reach their full potential.
The high humidity and prolonged sun exposure makes the month of July the prime time for a plethora of gardening tasks.
In his latest post, the 68-year-old gardener and TV personality stresses the importance of pruning three different types of rambling roses – mainly ‘Wedding Day’, ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’ and ‘Felicite Perpetue’ – all of which have finished flowering.
In a similar vein, early flowering perennials like oriental poppies, delphiniums, and geraniums should be cut back to the ground to encourage fresh regrowth and repeat flowering, explains Monty.
Plus, now spring-flowering bulbs have died back, long grass can be cut without affecting next year’s blooms.
Monty adds that now is the time to tend to any summer fruit trees. He says: “Unless you are training a particular new shoot, remove all this year’s growth back to a couple of pairs of leaves (usually about 2-4 inches) being careful not to remove any ripening fruits. If you are training the fruit to a particular shape, tie desired but loose growth in as you go.”
Also, be sure to take extra care with any tomatoes you are growing, as blight increases in late July due to high humidity and warm conditions. Monty says: “The best defence for outdoor tomatoes is good ventilation and stripping off the lower leaves as the fruits develop helps this, as well as helping the ripening tomatoes have maximum exposure to sun.”
What’s more, the surge of plant growth in July can cause some to topple over – something not helped by any rain, winds or thunderstorms. Staking plants with brush wood, such as hazel pea sticks, or metal can counteract this and help them stay upright.
It’s also time to get picking summer fruits, like raspberries, to encourage fresh growth for next year. Similarly, July is a good time to start prepping your autumn vegetable patch by sowing lettuce, which ready for harvest in 6-8 weeks, as well as parsley seeds.
Monty Don’s 10 gardening jobs for July:
Pruning rambling roses
Cut back early flowering perennials
Pruning apples and pears
Cutting long grass
Picking raspberries
Tend tomatoes
Staking
Sowing lettuce for autumn
Sowing parsley
Feeding containers
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Lizzie is the Daily Editor at Country Living, where you’ll find her writing about unique property market finds and dreamy UK staycation spots. Her specialisms include interiors, property, wildlife, travel, slow living and more. Previously, she’s written for Metro, Evening Standard, Ideal Home, Woman & Home and various other home and lifestyle titles. Lizzie studied English Literature at University of Liverpool, where she also was a writer and editor for her uni paper.