15 Gardening Tips For July

July brings holidays, sunshine (fingers crossed!), and long days – perfect for soaking up the beauty of your garden. While weeding, watering, and deadheading are essential for a flourishing display, don't forget to schedule some relaxation time to admire your handiwork! Here are our top 15 tips to make the most of your July garden.

Top 15 gardening tips for July

1. Get a head start on next year's flowers! Sow foxgloves and wallflowers in seed trays or modules within a greenhouse for easier germination and stronger seedlings.

2. For continuous blooms, deadhead your roses regularly. Don't forget about sweet peas and cosmos! Deadheading these beauties will extend their flowering season, and you'll be rewarded with gorgeous cut flowers for your home.

3. Don't wait for your hardy geraniums to lose their luster! A hard cutback when they start to look leggy will trigger fresh growth, giving you a new wave of flowers and vibrant foliage to enjoy.

4. After bearded irises stop blooming, it's time to divide and replant any overgrown clumps. When placing them back in the soil, position the rhizomes (rootstalks) with part of them sticking out - this allows them to soak up the summer sun for better growth.

5. Summer prune your wisteria by cutting back this year's long shoots to just above 5-6 leaves from the main branches.

6. To maximise your cordon tomato harvest, pinch out those new shoots that appear between the main stem and leaves. This ensures the plant focuses on ripening existing fruit.

7. Prevent fruit splitting in your tomatoes by keeping the soil consistently moist, especially for container-grown plants. Regular watering is key!

8. During dry spells, give your container plants a good soak in the morning or evening. Prioritise using any saved rainwater to keep them hydrated.

9. Enjoy a steady stream of summer salads! Sow lettuce seeds every few weeks, and to prevent bolting during hot spells, offer your leafy greens some afternoon shade.

10. To encourage abundant flowers and fruits, boost your tomatoes, beans, courgettes, peppers, blueberries, and gooseberries with a high-potash liquid feed every two weeks. Tomato feed is a great option as it provides the essential potassium these plants crave.

11. Harvest your courgettes and beans often to encourage continuous growth.

12. Give your broad beans a boost! Once you see the first pods forming, pinch out the growing tips. This helps them grow bushier and stronger, while also discouraging blackfly. These pests love feasting on young, tender shoots, so pinching them back keeps them at bay.

13. Don't forget to earth up your maincrop potatoes! Mounding soil around the stems (earthing up) prevents sunlight from reaching the tubers and turning them green – remember, green potatoes are poisonous. For early potatoes, it's harvest time! Start by digging up one or two to check their size. If they're not quite there, give them a few more weeks to grow.

14. Even though it's July, brighten your autumn with a splash of colour! Plant bulbs like nerines and colchicums now for a dazzling floral display later in the year.

15. Maintain a healthy lawn by mowing regularly and adjusting the cutting height based on weather conditions. In dry weather, raise the mower blades to promote deeper root growth and reduce stress on the grass.

Our garden centre in St Albans has everything you need to make the most of your summer, from vibrant border plants to stylish furniture for outdoor entertaining.