insideKENT Magazine Issue 40 - July 2015 | Page 118

OUTDOORLIVING

YOUR GARDEN: july
Summer is progressing
July is often one of the hottest months of the year and a great time to sit out and
enjoy your garden. Keep plants looking good by regularly deadheading, and you'll
enjoy a longer display of blooms. Make sure you keep new plants well watered,
using grey water where possible, and hoe off weeds, which thrive in the sunshine.

TOP 10 JOBS THIS MONTH
1. Check clematis for signs of clematis wilt
2. Place conservatory plants outside now that it
is warm
3. Water tubs and new plants if dry, but be
water-wise
4. Deadhead bedding plants and repeat flowering
perennials, to ensure continuous flowering
5. Pick courgettes before they become marrows
6. Treat apple scab
7. Clear algae, blanket weeds and debris from
ponds, and keep them topped up
8. Order catalogues for next year’s springflowering bulbs
9. Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed,
especially if not given a spring feed
10. Give woodwork a lick of paint or preserver
while the weather is dry

TREES AND SHRUBS
Pruning and training
Prune June-flowering shrubs such
as philadelphus and weigela after flowering. Prune
deciduous magnolias if necessary.
Fast-growing hedges such as leyland cypress
should be clipped as necessary throughout the
growing season. Tie in climbers and ramblers as
they grow too.

Propagation
Take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs such
as choisya, hydrangea and philadelphus. Root
them in pots of gritty compost in a cold frame or
even with a plastic bag tied over them.
Clematis can be propagated by taking internodal
cuttings (i.e. taking stem sections above and
below a leaf, rather than cutting the stem
immediately below a leaf joint).
Air layering is another method of propagation
that can be used for some climbers, such as
akebia, and some shrubs, such as magnolia.
General maintenance
Look out for tall, flowering stalks on established
bamboos and remove them promptly. Flowering
can weaken the plants, as well as being unsightly
.
Ensure newly planted trees and shrubs do not
dry out. They often need much more water than
people imagine. Remove rose suckers and tree
suckers.
Pest and disease watch
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. Spraying earlier in the summer
may have helped, but once the damage is done,
conifers can take a long time to recover. Where

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hedges are affected, prune out brown shoots
and tie in neighbouring branches to help fill the
gaps.
Thickened and curled margins on bay trees are
a sign of damage by the bay sucker Scale insects
.
can also affect bays at this time of year.
Neat circular areas removed from the edges of
rose and other leaves are telltale signs of leafcutter bees at work. These fascinating creatures
are best tolerated since damage is rarely severe.
Yellow and distorted leaves on cherry laurel
indicate a powdery mildew problem. You may
also notice damage to leaves of viburnum by
viburnum beetles. The damage is not usually bad
enough to warrant treatment.

LAWNS
Keep mowing regularly, except during drought.
In hot weather, set the mower at a slightly higher
level than normal for early summer – this can
prevent the lawn drying in hot weather.
This is your last chance to apply a liquid summer
lawn fertiliser, especially if a spring feed was not
given. 6