EN·IT
Open Talea
Menu
PlantsAlmanacGuidesPestsOpen Talea
Gardening in the UK?→ July’s almanac for the British climate
ALMANAC · ITALIAN CLIMATE

The garden in July — Italy

July is the hottest month across almost all of Italy, and what the garden needs above all is water. Pots, young plants and vegetables suffer fast in dry heat, so a good watering routine matters more than any other job this month.

It's also the month everyone goes away. A garden can cope for a week or two without you, but only with a little preparation — and, for pots, someone willing to water. In the meantime there's picking to do every day, a couple of important summer prunings, and the autumn vegetable sowings that are easy to forget in the heat.

Italy, from the Po valley and pre-Alps to the south and islands. Heatwaves above 35°C are now frequent everywhere, even in the north; the south is almost completely dry until September. In the mountains and cooler inland valleys, timings run 2–4 weeks later.

AT A GLANCE

Spotlight: the garden while you're on holiday

A week away in July or August is rarely a problem for plants in the ground, as long as you give them a deep soak and a mulch before you leave. Pots are the real worry: in the heat they can dry out in a day or two.

For a short trip, gather pots together in a shady corner, stand them in saucers with a couple of centimetres of water or on capillary matting, and water them thoroughly the evening before you go. Pick any ripe or nearly ripe vegetables and deadhead everything, so nothing runs to seed while you're away. Houseplants can be grouped in a cool room away from the windows, or in the bath on a wet towel.

For anything longer than a few days you'll need someone to water. The easiest way to make that work is to give them a short plan organised by place — 'the pots by the door every other day, the veg patch twice a week' — rather than a list of plant names they'll never match to what's in front of them.

CourgetteTomatoPelargonium Watering plants in pots ›

In your area

NORTH

Sultry heat and thunderstorms, sometimes with hail. Water in the morning and keep an eye out for powdery and downy mildew on vines, tomatoes and courgettes. Sow cabbages and fennel in trays for autumn.

CENTRAL

Drought: water regularly and mulch thickly. Give the more delicate potted plants some shade through the middle of the day.

SOUTH AND ISLANDS

Many Mediterranean garden plants are in their summer rest: water the veg patch and pots, but don't feed plants growing in the ground. Get seed trays ready for the August–September sowings.

Jobs this month

Getting through the heat

In a heatwave a pot can dry out in a single day. Grouping pots in light shade and, on the worst days, standing them in a saucer with a centimetre of water cuts losses dramatically.

Water early in the morning and move pots out of the fiercest afternoon sun. Watering plants in pots ›
Top up the mulch after a thorough watering. Mulching ›
Leave the lawn longer and don't worry if it goes brown — it recovers once the rain returns. Lawn basics ›
Bougainvillea, oleander and lantana love the heat: give them the sunniest spot and they'll flower all the more. BougainvilleaOleanderLantana

Summer pruning

Some plants are pruned in summer rather than winter: it keeps their vigour in check and encourages next year's flower buds.

Cut wisteria's long whippy shoots back to five or six leaves from the main branches. Pruning wisteria (the twice-yearly technique in detail) › Wisteria
Prune trained apples and pears once the new shoots start to turn woody at the base. Pruning an apple or pear tree › Crab applePear
Prune plums and cherries now, when the risk of silver leaf is lowest. Pruning an apple or pear tree › Ornamental cherry
After a flush of bracts, shorten bougainvillea shoots to trigger the next one. Pruning climbers (general) › Bougainvillea

Flowers and pots

By midsummer, pots have used up their nutrients. A high-potash feed every week and regular deadheading will carry them through to autumn.

Feed annuals, mandevilla and hibiscus weekly with a high-potash fertiliser. Feeding & NPK basics › MandevillaHibiscusBusy lizzie
Deadhead dahlias, zinnias and snapdragons. Deadheading › DahliaZinniaSnapdragon
Cut lavender for drying as the first flowers open. English lavender
Take semi-ripe cuttings of oleander, hydrangea and other shrubs. Propagation: taking cuttings › OleanderHydrangea

Vegetable garden

Harvesting is a daily job now. Picking young keeps new fruit coming and saves you from stringy beans and marrows where courgettes should be.

Pick French beans, courgettes and cucumbers every other day. French beanCourgetteCucumber
Feed tomatoes weekly and pinch out the sideshoots on cordon varieties. Feeding & NPK basics › Tomato
Cut oregano for drying before it flowers. Oregano
Sow cabbages, fennel and chard in trays for the autumn veg patch. Sowing in trays under cover › Chard

Sow and plant

Sow
  • Cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli and fennel in trays
  • Chard and carrots for autumn
  • Lettuces in light shade
  • Biennials for next year
Plant out
  • Autumn-flowering bulbs (colchicums, saffron crocus)
  • Leeks
  • Strawberry runners in small pots

Watch out for

Red spider miteSpeckled, dull leaves and fine webbing in hot, dry weather, on mandevilla, potted plants and vegetables.Powdery mildewWidespread on courgettes, roses, crape myrtles and vines when roots are dry or the heat is humid.Drought stressScorched leaves and early leaf drop on young trees and shrubs.

Questions

How do I keep potted plants alive while I'm on holiday?

Group them in the shade, stand them in saucers with a centimetre of water or on capillary matting, and give them a thorough soak before you leave. For more than a few days you'll need someone to water — a simple written plan helps enormously.

When do you summer-prune wisteria?

Between July and August, cutting the long green shoots back to five or six leaves. A second prune in winter shortens them again to two or three buds.

What can I sow in July?

Crops for the autumn and winter veg patch: cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli and fennel in trays, and chard and carrots direct in the ground.