Gardening Calendar
Gardening Calendar
JANUARY
January is when climbers, shrubs and trees are leafless and in their dormant period and one of the best gardening months for pruning any garden subjects that could cause problems during winter storms and high winds. Wisteria is a good example of a climber that can be pruned now. After flowering the previous season and given a summer pruning it produces long wispy new growths that need to be controlled by cutting back. Either summer or winter pruning and whichever plant or shrub you are pruning the first step is to remove any dead or damaged branches.
JANUARY
January is when climbers, shrubs and trees are leafless and in their dormant period and one of the best gardening months for pruning any garden subjects that could cause problems during winter storms and high winds. Wisteria is a good example of a climber that can be pruned now. After flowering the previous season and given a summer pruning it produces long wispy new growths that need to be controlled by cutting back. Either summer or winter pruning and whichever plant or shrub you are pruning the first step is to remove any dead or damaged branches.
JANUARY
January is when climbers, shrubs and trees are leafless and in their dormant period and one of the best gardening months for pruning any garden subjects that could cause problems during winter storms and high winds. Wisteria is a good example of a climber that can be pruned now. After flowering the previous season and given a summer pruning it produces long wispy new growths that need to be controlled by cutting back. Either summer or winter pruning and whichever plant or shrub you are pruning the first step is to remove any dead or damaged branches.
JULY
Watering will be the main job of the month and can be quite time consuming, so do whatever you can to reduce your garden’s reliance on water to make your outdoor life easier.
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Keep summer bedding displays flowering its head off with regular watering, feeding and deadheading.
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Cut back early flowering perennials and give them a feed to encourage further flowering.
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Pots, tubs and hanging baskets are very prone to drying out, so water whenever needed.
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Continue to tie in sweet peas and other climbers regularly to ensure they don’t flop and break their stems.
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Feed roses with a granular rose food to ensure they continue flowering all summer – and beyond.
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Continue to deadhead roses as the flowers fade by nipping off the flower head with thumb and forefinger.
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Cut back flowering shoots of weigela, philadelphus and jasmine to strong new growth immediately after flowering.
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Trim bay trees and box plants trained in spires, balls or other topiary shapes.
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Summer prune wisterias by cutting back this year’s leafy sideshoots to 5 to 7 leaflets.
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Take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs such as choisya, hebe, hydrangea, lavender, philadelphus and rosemary.
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Continue to keep rhododendrons and camellias well watered during dry weather and feed with an ericaceous plant food.
Vegetable Garden:
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Feed tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers every fortnight with a high potash liquid plant food.
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Earth up potatoes to improve the yield and prevent those developing near the surface turning green.
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Prune cherry and plum trees after cropping.
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Cut back sideshoots on gooseberries to 4 or 5 leaves, or just beyond the fruit clusters.
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When summer-fruiting raspberries have finished cropping, cut out the old fruiting canes to ground level.
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After fruiting has finished, peg down strawberry runners to produce new plants for future cropping.
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Lawn care:
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Keep the mower going and cut the grass at least once a week - or whenever it needs it.
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Continue to feed your lawn with a liquid lawn food to keep it lush, green and healthy.
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You may need to water the lawn during prolonged hot, dry periods to keep it green and growing.
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Use edging shears to regularly trim around the edges of the lawn to maintain a sharp outline.
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