Last month I began by pointing out that it was the driest start to the year ever recorded; although, officially, I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration! I’m glad to say that, since then, the rain Gods have answered my prayers and provided some much needed rain so that now we seem to be enjoying a more ‘normal’ English summer. This should mean that plants growing in beds and borders, except for those that are newly planted, will not need supplementary watering. Anything growing in pots or containers will, obviously, require watering by hand as rain alone is seldom enough to keep these plants reliably moist.
Although we are now in ‘high summer’, it’s a sobering thought that we have now passed the longest day so that, in fact, every day is now becoming shorter than the one before. Shortening daylength is a signal for some plants to switch from vegetative growth into flowering mode so the palette of flowering plants shifts more towards the late summer bloomers. Traditionally this has led to there being something of a hiatus in floral borders, as early summer flowers fade and the later ones are yet to kick-in.
I’m not sure this is such a problem anymore because the traditional herbaceous border, characterised by the statuesque delphiniums and the more obscure Galega (Goat’s Rue), only really features in historic gardens and most domestic planting schemes are much more ‘mixed’ with shrubs, trees, bulbs, annuals, biennials and every other type of plant all planted together. In the past I would have suggested phlox as a good candidate to span the gap between early and late summer, I still have a soft spot for them, but in most years later flowering plants, such as heleniums, are often flowering early enough to fill any perceived gap and then go on flowering well into late summer.
There are also herbaceous perennials, especially geraniums, which flower early and are then cut back, almost to the ground, so that they bounce back again and bloom for a second time. If the cutting back is phased, so that not every specimen is cut back at the same time, then a progression of flowering can be achieved to fill in any possible pauses in the flowering continuum. As a general principle, cutting back and deadheading should be carried out on any plant that is prone to setting seed, but which will keep on flowering as long as they are prevented from doing so. Summer bedding plants and tender perennials, grown in pots and containers, can be kept flowering until autumn if dead-headed and fed, with a liquid feed, all summer.
If you have a pond, or any sort of water feature, in your garden, they are a great way to add to the biodiversity of even the smallest plot, then July is a good month to assess how it’s doing and tackle any thinning or replanting jobs because it’s more pleasant to do this when the water is comparatively warm, rather than when it is uncomfortably chilly. It’s generally recommended that about half of the total water surface should be covered by floating plant growth in order to prevent rapid changes in water temperature and to reduce the likelihood of excessive algal growth. Water lilies are useful in that their ‘pads’ are good at covering the water surface during the summer months, when their cooling effect is most beneficial, but they require a good depth of water in order to thrive. Only the smallest, pygmy, forms are suitable for tiny ponds or container water features. July is a good month to see them in bloom, at specialist aquatic nurseries, and then choose the right one for your pond.
Another ‘timely task’, on a completely different tack, is taking cuttings. The theory is that at the height of summer, with good light levels and the longest days, there are the highest hormone levels within the plant tissues and this infers the best conditions for cuttings to produce new roots and shoots.
There are almost as many ‘cuttings taking’ techniques as there are types of plant in the garden. I tend to stick to one method and experiment with taking cuttings from anything that seems to have the right sort of propagating material. I take non-flowering shoots, where possible, thick enough to withstand pushing into loose compost, and then trim them up so that they are about finger length, with a couple of leaves at the shoot tip, but with all the lower leaves removed. Always trim below the lowest leaf joint with a sharp blade and also reduce the leaves at the tip if they are particularly large; this is all about reducing water loss from the cutting while it is in the process of growing new roots.
Insert these prepared cuttings into moist compost, such as multipurpose compost ‘loosened’ by the addition of 50% grit or perlite. The compost should only be lightly firmed into the pot so that it remains full of air pockets and is able to drain freely when watered. Insert the cuttings around the outside of the pot, rooting tends to be quicker at the edge of the pot, and water in well with a fine nosed watering can or a spray bottle.
Finally, place a polythene bag over the whole ensemble, to prevent the cuttings from drying out before they have a chance to root, and tie at the top. A length of cane pushed into the centre of the pot keeps the bag off the cuttings and gives you something to tie against. Place somewhere inside, such as on a light windowsill, but not somewhere where they will roast in full sun because, just like for the pond, massive temperature fluctuations may prove fatal to the cuttings before they get a chance to grow new roots.
One last thing that you’re meant to do in July, if you have one, is to remove all the whippy, long, growth from wisteria. This shortening prune helps to keep its growth in check and will reduce the likelihood of the wisteria from peeling itself from its support, be it a wall or a pergola, between now and next February when it gets pruned back even further. Elsewhere in the garden it’s just a question of carrying on with all the tasks that you’ve been doing thus far and, hopefully, finding time to just sit and enjoy the fruits of your labours whenever the sun is shining.
