Monty Don has shared essential gardening jobs for green-fingered enthusiasts to do in July – and reveals three plants that need to be pruned immediately for optimum growth.
As the height of summer brings a combination of high humidity and warm days and nights, plants have maximum exposure to the sun, making July a key month for certain gardening tasks.
The 68-year-old horticulturalist and BBC Gardeners’ World host has curated a list of essential jobs for this month on his blog, offering handy tips and advice to help gardeners make the most of their outdoor spaces.
In his latest post, Monty emphasises the importance of pruning three varieties of roses to encourage regrowth and additionally stresses the significance of sowing herbs and vegetables to provide plants ready for harvesting through winter.
He also highlights that July’s focus is particularly on fruits and vegetables, with gardens brimming with salad leaves, peas, beans, new potatoes, beetroot, garlic, carrots, artichokes, cucumbers, courgettes, and tomatoes.
By following these ten tips suggested by Monty, gardeners can ensure their outdoor spaces remain bountiful and beautiful throughout the summer.
1. Tending to outdoor tomatoes
With the risk of blight increasing in late July due to high humidity and warm conditions, Monty advises ensuring good ventilation and stripping lower leaves as tomatoes develop.
He said: ‘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.
He suggests tying up cordon tomatoes regularly and pinching out side shoots while watering them, adding: ‘I do not plant my outdoor tomatoes until June. But once they are in the ground they will grow strongly and need regular tying up.
‘As I tie them with soft twine I pinch out the side shoots and then water them.’
2. Summer pruning apples and pears
Monty recommends pruning trained forms like espaliers, cordons, or fans and mature trees to prevent vigorous regrowth.
He advises removing all this year’s growth back to a couple of pairs of leaves, being careful not to disturb ripening fruits.
He said: ‘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.’
3. Cut back early flowering perennials
Early flowering perennials such as oriental poppies, delphiniums, and hardy geraniums should be cut back to the ground to encourage fresh regrowth and repeat flowering.
This creates space for tender annuals and perennials in the border.
Monty added: ‘Remove all cut material to the compost heap, weed around the base of the plants, water if necessary and do not plant too close to them so that they have light and space to regrow and flower again at the end of summer.’
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4. Staking
The lush growth in July can cause plants to topple, especially if lashed by rain, winds or thunderstorms.
Monty suggests using brush wood such as hazel pea sticks or metal supports to gently ease plants upright, ensuring they have the support they need without compromising the charm of midsummer bounty.
5. Picking raspberries
Summer-fruiting raspberries, which carry their fruit on the previous summer’s canes, are at their peak, which means the fresh growth made in the current year will crop next July.
Monty notes the seasonal delight of summer raspberries, writing: ‘There is a freshness and seasonal treat to the summer raspberries that makes them especially good.’
‘We often pick a bowl just before supper and eat with a little cream whilst they are still warm from the evening sun.’
6. Sowing lettuce for autumn harvest
Lettuce sown directly into the soil in July germinates quickly and can be ready for harvesting in six to eight weeks.
Monty prefers sowing in plugs to protect seedlings from pests and advises spacing them 9 inches apart in August.
7. Sowing parsley
According to Monty, now is the ideal time to sow parsley seeds for winter and early spring harvesting.
The horticulturalist emphasises thinning seedlings to encourage strong individual plants and spacing them 9 inches apart.
He added: ‘Do not be tempted to leave a sprinkle of seed that develops into a bunch of spindly seedlings but thin and encourage each individual plant to be strong.
‘The well-spaced plants will have a big root and recover quickly from being cut back by throwing up more fresh leaves and thus provide a much better source of leaves for a longer period.’
8. Feeding containers
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Plants in containers need regular feeding as they exhaust the available nutrients.
Monty recommends a weekly feed high in potash, using liquid seaweed or tomato feed, ensuring not to overfeed.
He added: ‘A weekly feed high in potash that will help promote root and flower formation (but not over-lush foliage) is ideal. Never be tempted to make the feed any stronger than the instructions dictate and if in any doubt reduce the strength.’
9. Cutting long grass
With spring-flowering bulbs having died back, long grass can be cut without affecting next year’s display.
Monty advises raking up all cut grass to compost to avoid enriching the soil and limiting next year’s wildflower display.
He wrote: ‘At Longmeadow we often wait until August to do this because not all wild flowers have set seed, but by the end of July most wild flower meadows can be safely cut back.
‘The important thing is to removed all the grass, raking up every last piece to compost so that it will not enrich the grass and thus limit next year’s wild flower display.’
10. Pruning rambling roses
Dead-heading roses is crucial, but three ramblers such as “Wedding Day” and “Paul’s Himalayan Musk” and “Felicite Perpetue” have finished flowering and should be pruned.
Highlighting that many ramblers are best grown into trees, Monty suggests tying in new shoots or cutting back as needed, removing damaged or old shoots.
He added: ‘However if space is limited or you are training the rose in any way, this year’s new shoots should be tied in or cut back according to the circumstance. Remove any damaged or very old shoots, cutting them right back to the ground.