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Gardening in Italy?→ July’s almanac for the Italian climate
ALMANAC · UK CLIMATE

The garden in July

July is usually the warmest month, and the garden's main need is water. Containers, new plants and vegetables all suffer quickly in hot, dry weather, so a watering routine matters more than any other job.

It's also holiday season. A garden can survive a week or two without you, but only with some preparation — and, for pots, somebody willing to water. Meanwhile there's a steady harvest to pick and a couple of important summer prunings to do.

UK and similar cool temperate climates. Heat above 27°C, now more frequent, stresses pots and shallow-rooted plants even in normally cool gardens.

AT A GLANCE

Spotlight: leaving the garden for a holiday

A week away in July is usually fine for plants in the ground if you give borders and new plantings a deep soak and a mulch before leaving. Pots are the problem: in hot weather they can dry out in one or two days.

For a short trip, gather pots into a shady corner, stand them in trays with a couple of centimetres of water or on capillary matting, and water them thoroughly the evening before you go. Pick ripe crops and any fruit that's almost ready, deadhead everything and cut sweet peas, so plants aren't pushed into setting seed while you're away. Houseplants can be grouped in a cool room away from windows, or set in a bath on a wet towel.

For longer than a few days, somebody needs to water. The easiest way to make that work is to give them a short plan organised by place — 'the pots by the back door every other day, the vegetable bed twice a week' — rather than a list of plant names they'll never match to the plants in front of them.

Sweet peaCourgetteTomato Watering plants in pots ›

Jobs this month

Getting through the heat

In a heatwave, plants in pots can dry out in a day. Grouping pots together in light shade, and standing them in saucers during the hottest spell, cuts water loss dramatically.

Water early in the morning and move pots out of the fiercest afternoon sun. Watering plants in pots ›
Mulch borders after a good soak to hold moisture in. Mulching ›
Leave lawns long and don't worry if they brown — they recover with rain. Lawn basics ›
Give heat-loving plants like bougainvillea, oleander and lantana the sunniest spot; they will flower more. BougainvilleaOleanderLantana

Summer pruning

A few plants are pruned in summer rather than winter: it controls vigour and encourages flower buds for next year.

Cut wisteria's long whippy shoots back to five or six leaves from the main stems. Pruning wisteria (the twice-yearly technique in detail) › Wisteria
Summer-prune trained apples and pears once the new growth starts to turn woody at the base. Pruning an apple or pear tree › Crab applePear
Prune plums and cherries now, when silver leaf is least likely to infect. Pruning an apple or pear tree › Ornamental cherry
Shorten bougainvillea shoots after a flush of bracts to encourage the next. Pruning climbers (general) › Bougainvillea

Flowers and containers

Containers run out of food by midsummer. A weekly high-potash feed and regular deadheading keep them going until autumn.

Feed bedding, mandevillas and hibiscus weekly with a high-potash feed. 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

Kitchen garden

Harvesting is now a daily job. Picking young encourages more crops and avoids stringy beans and marrows instead of courgettes.

Pick beans, courgettes and cucumbers every couple of days. French beanCourgetteCucumber
Lift garlic when the lower leaves yellow and dry it in the sun. Ornamental allium
Feed tomatoes weekly and remove side shoots on cordon types. Feeding & NPK basics › Tomato
Harvest oregano just before it flowers for drying. Oregano

Sow and plant

Sow
  • Chard, beetroot, carrots for autumn
  • Lettuce in light shade
  • Spring cabbage late in the month
  • Biennials for next year
Plant out
  • Autumn-flowering bulbs such as nerines and colchicums
  • Leeks and winter brassicas
  • Strawberry runners into pots

Watch out for

Red spider miteSpeckled, dull leaves and fine webbing in hot, dry conditions, especially under glass.Powdery mildewRife on courgettes, roses and phlox when roots are dry.Drought stressLeaf scorch and early leaf drop on young trees and shrubs.

Questions

How do I keep pots alive while I'm on holiday?

Group them in shade, stand them in trays of water or on capillary matting, and give them a deep soak before you leave. For more than a few days, ask someone to water — a simple written plan helps.

When do I summer-prune wisteria?

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

Why are my courgettes rotting at the tip?

Usually poor pollination early in the season or irregular watering. It improves as more male flowers and pollinators appear.