What to do in the garden in July

Late spring/early summer is the best time to see gardens blooming!
Image source: Anastasiya Barbosova

It’s the beginning of summer, the sun is at its highest and your garden is fit to burst with produce. Check out Van Meuwen’s top jobs for July!

Plants and Flowers

It’s time to divide your Bearded Iris!
Image source: V.Borisov
  • Prune your Wisteria by cutting all the whippy side-shoots back to five leaves from the main stem.
  • If your hanging baskets and container displays are looking tatty, give them a trim. Fertilise them to give them a boost and they will flower again within a few weeks.
  • Continue to dead-head your perennial plants, bedding plants and roses to help keep summer displays looking fresh and encourage more flowers.
  • Strawberry plants will send out runners at this time of year. If you’d like more strawberry plants simply peg them down and allow them to root, otherwise dispose of them before they make a tangled mess!
  • Continue to train and tie in the new soft shoots on climbing plants such as Clematis and climbing roses.
  • Divide your Bearded Iris now to allow them time to establish before winter.
  • If you have any gaps in your borders think about ordering perennials plants online ready for planting in the autumn.

Fruit and Veg

Trimming your herbs in July will make a fresh harvest in autumn possible.
Image source: ktkusmtku
  • Feed your fruit and vegetable plants regularly, especially those in containers, to ensure good cropping. July is also the time to start planting winter vegetables to allow them time to grow before the cold weather arrives.
  • Harvest your garlic and onions as soon as the leaves start to yellow and die back. If the weather is sunny then bulbs can be left on the soil surface to dry, otherwise space them out in trays and leave to dry in a cool and airy place.
  • Trim your herbs and freeze them in ice cube trays or dry them in an airing cupboard for use later in the year. Trimming herbs now will encourage a fresh flush of growth which can be harvested again in early autumn.

Trees, Shrubs and Grasses

Make sure your apricot tree has been pruned.
Image source: Copernicus Stock
  • Prune your apricot, cherry trees and plum trees; pruning now will avoid infection with silver leaf disease. It’s also a good idea to thin out the fruit on your fruit trees to allow for better air circulation and good sized crops.

Garden Maintenance

Summer in the greenhouse can get too hot, so improve ventilation this July.
Image source: sirtravelalot
  • Now is your last chance to feed your lawn with a high-nitrogen fertiliser to promote lush green growth. Feeding your lawn after this time will encourage too much new growth which won’t harden off in time for the winter.
  • Make sure you open the vents and doors of your greenhouse daily to improve ventilation. It also helps to damp down your greenhouse in hot weather by spraying water on the floor. The increased humidity deters red spider mites.

What’s your top priority for July? Let us know in the comments below, or share them with us over on our Facebook page.

Van Meuwen

Author: Van Meuwen

Horticultural mail order specialists. Working hard to bring you the best quality well-established plants as well as exciting new varieties.

10 thoughts on “What to do in the garden in July”

    1. Hi Patricia,

      Yes, runner bean crops have not been as “fleshy” this year due to the long dry spell. They have also gone to seed much quicker than normal too, and early ripening makes the beans tougher.

  1. How did your garden do at the Chelsea Flower Show and did you build another one at Tatton please. I hope you did well.
    Kind Regards,
    Marian.

    1. Hi Marian,

      Thank you for your interest. We haven’t had gardens at these shows, but you can keep an eye on what we are up to by following our upcoming blog posts.

  2. Thank you for the tips on growing rhubarb, I have never had a go yet we love the forced early in the year.
    I have a spare Compost bin at the moment, would that be okay to grow the rhubarb in, it is quite large.

    Thank you.

    1. Hi Marian,

      We think a compost bin would be fine, although may turn out to be a little wide. It’s definitely worth a try though, let us know the results!

  3. I have a question, my petunia flowers are been eaten but I can’t see an slugs , caterpillars and the leaves are all in tacked .
    Have you any suggestions.
    Regards
    Janice Mayne

  4. I have bought a polypolythene greenhouse. But as later in the year not sure what to put in ?
    Does it matter if not heated ?
    Thanks Patricia

    1. Hi there. Polythene greenhouses aren’t really suitable for overwintering tender plants as you can’t keep them frost-free. However, they can be handy for storing hardy plants and containers of bulbs which don’t like to be too wet in winter. By keeping the wet weather off of them, this can help their survival rate and prevent them from rotting. You can also use it to overwinter young hardy shrubs and perennials which aren’t quite big enough to be planted out in the garden yet. Basically, use it as you would use any cold frame.

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