Your August garden: prolong blooming, manage watering and prepare for next year’s display with expert advice from Pete Harcom
August’s jobs in the garden:
Even with all the rain we’ve been having, it’s wise to keep a check on your potted plants and hanging baskets – the odd one can often miss out on all the rainfall, but naturally you won’t consider it needs watering after a downpour! The best time to water plants is early morning – this allows the foliage to dry quickly which discourages fungal spores. If you have to water in the evening, it is best to water at the roots and not on the leaves, reducing any fungal problems from wet leaves on the plant and on the soil overnight. However … plants in containers may well need watering twice a day – early morning AND evening!
Keep feeding all your container plants with liquid fertiliser – once a week if possible. Regular feeding and dead heading – especially roses, dahlias and perennials – will help to keep the displays going.
And in a step further than dead heading, sweet peas are at their best this month and they really do benefit from you constantly picking the flowers for vases in the house. It helps prolong the flowering period.
Keep on removing those weeds, as they compete for water and soil nutrients.
Prune all your summer flowering shrubs once the flowers are finished. And trim your lavender plants after flowering too, to help them keep their shape.
This is a good month to remove the long whip side shoots from wisteria, back to approximately 20cm from the main stem (usually to 5 or 6 leaves). This will help control the growth and also encourage flowing next year. Wisteria will need pruning again in January or February.
Now’s the time to plant your autumn flowering bulbs like Colchicum (autumn crocus)
And believe it or not, now’s the time to order next year’s spring bulbs and perennials, ready for this autumn’s planting! Don’t forget your daffodils, tulips and Madonna lilies.
Still looking ahead, start collecting seed from plants you want to grow next year – especially foxgloves, aquilegia, calendula, poppy and love-in-a-mist. Seed from aquilegia is an easy job – the seed pods rattle when they are ready to harvest, and they can be scattered immediately after gathering. Sow them in a shady spot if you need some colour there, or collect them for sowing in the Spring. You can store them in a dry spot in the shed until required for sowing.
Sponsored by Thorngrove Garden Centre
