We are certainly feeling the cold of winter now we are in the month of July. July is a great month to prepare your soil for planting vegetable and flower plants in spring. Winter planting can continue with many favourites like roses, fruit trees and camelias as they start to become available at garden centres.
GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS
EARLIEST BLOSSOM TREES, SOME JAPONICA CAMELLIAS, PRIMROSES AND POLYANTHUS SPRING BULBS.
ORNAMENTAL GARDEN
Plant
Continue planting bare-rooted trees and shrubs, never letting roots to become dry. Move any ill-placed deciduous trees or shrubs. Avoid damaging roots, by carefully pruning any which are inconveniently long. Choose camellias and rhododendrons as they flower in garden centre , but only plant out immediately in the warmest gardens. Plant irises of the sibirica, Japanese, Higo and Louisiana groups. In frost free gardens sow directly alyssum, aquilegia, clarkia, cornflower, forget-me-not, larkspur, statice, stock and sweetpea.
Prune
In cold or windy gardens prube rose bushes back to about 7 buds. Longer shoots can be left in sheltered sites. Watch out for scales on rose stems which are pinhead-sized white waxy objects. Finish off pruning of hydrangeas.
Spray
Spray all newly pruned roses with copper fungicide, adding winter-strength spraying oil if scales are present.
Fertilise
Give liquid feeds to bedding plants. Dust dried blood around primroses and polyanthus.
EDIBLE GARDEN
Plant
Sow all types of onions, plant garlic, multiplying onions and shallots.
Prune
Complete pruning of pipfruit trees, bush fruits, kiwifruits and grapevines before new growth starts.
Fertilise
Give liquid feeds to actively growing crops. Feed dwarf fruit trees, bush fruits and all other newly planted deciduous fruit trees with pelleted manure or fruit tree fertiliser and top with a pad of compost. (If already mulched, put feed under mulch).
Watch for
Scales, woolly aphis galls, fireblight, mildew-shrivelled twigs (apples, gooseberries), borer damage (currents).
Spray
All fruit trees after pruning with either winter-strength lime sulphur or a copper fungicide. Treat celery leafspot with copper fungicide.
Things to do
Pick up or bury all fallen leaves and fruit from around fruit trees. Remove mummified fruits from branches and destroy. Start digging in cover crops as flower buds appear. Begin picking lemons and oranges, also under-ripe grapefuits for marmalade. Complete harvest of feijoas, guavas and kiwifruit and begin picking avocados (use secateurs).
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Lawn care
Continue to watch for porina caterpillar damage on lawns. Locate thier burrows, each closed with a pile of loose earth, and dust area with diazinon.
Rose care
Gather up any dieased leaves around bushes. Towards the end of the month feed roses with fertiliser or pelletised manure and top with compost.
Things to do
Weed around bedding plants as nessary. If sweet peas have no basal shoots by the end of the month and pinch out tips.
Need assistance
Get in touch with the team at Lawn King.
