"Winter Gardening Delights: July Edition"
We are all awaiting the first signs of frost in our gardens … the evidence of the bitterly cold winter. But there are still a lot to do in the garden to prepare for the coming spring and summer.
Lawns: Order your fertilizer (2:3:2) for application next month and make sure that the mower is in a good condition.
Roses: Any newly planted roses should be pruned.
Fruit: Give citrus trees a dressing of 2:3:2 and a good soaking. Thin out fruit that could cause branches to break. Pick up fallen fruit. Bare rooted trees should have any damaged roots trimmed.
General:
Take the first bud of annuals so that healthy foliage are ensured.
Day lilies should already have been divided. Remove dead foliage.
Tibouchina grandiflora is winter blooming and takes the form of a slender tree with a mass of deep violet flowers with reddish centre. It cannot take heavy frost and should be protected.
The English daisy, bellis perenties, has low rosettes of leaves, sending up short stems of daisy flowers. They will form compact clumps which should be divided and planted out as soon as possible after flowering.
Primula malacoides and polyantha will be in bloom in the cooler garden. Malacoides should be left to set seed which can be kept for next autumn, or shaken over the beds. Polyantha clumps should be divided after flowering.
Azaleas can be planted, even if they are flowering. Water well and give them mulch. Give one handful of ammonium sulphate when established.
Some camellias will be in bloom, and should be mulched and watered thoroughly.
Some bougainvillea’s will also be in full bloom this month. As soon as flowering is over, cut the flowered heads back or re-shape.
Pruning
July is the month of the shears and the clippers, when roses and other plants are pruned. Mid July is usually the right time for pruning, but where frost is heavy, pruning should only be carried out at the end of July or into the first week of August.
Roses: Roses are the main subjects for pruning. If a rose plant is left unpruned, it will grow into a wild unkempt bush, with a tangle of dead and live wood, which is prone to attack by insects and disease. A pruned rose bush however, will give rise to healthy stems and leaves, and eventually, large well-shaped blooms.
There are two main stages of pruning: the removal of all dead, spindly or diseased stems and the cutting back of several healthy young stems (which will give rise to the new season’s growth). Only the new stems, produced during the last growing season should be retained (they are green or dark pink, with smooth bark). A well shaped bush starts its growth from close to the ground, so any healthy buds rising close to the ground should be retained.pruning-rose21
The first task is to cut off any old unsightly wood from the base of the plant. Then remove any unhealthy, spindly, dead stems, cutting them down to ground level. If there are more than three or four sturdy green stems left, choose those which will make for a good shape, and cut these back to about 25-40 cm (always cut at a slant just above a fat bud). After three or four week, examine the plants and remove any unnecessary twiggy growth. Flowered stems (of climbers) should be cut down to three of four buds. Lay young stems horizontally to encourage new shoots to arise. From then on, the main task is to keep rose bushes fed, watered and mulched.
Fruit Trees: Deciduous fruit trees are pruned during the winter months. Young trees need to be pruned to create a good shape. Aim for an open or vase shape. The main stems should be shortened to knee height, and any laterals should be cut back to half their length. Apples and pears bear their fruit on old wood – so take out any old or weak growth, then cut back the ‘fruitful’ wood to two or three buds. Peaches and nectarines bear on new young wood – aiming to have a vase-shaped tree with a good supply of new wood arising from the framework. Plums and apricots do not need to be pruned except to remove unnecessary wood and to keep the trees in shape.
Other Shrub: Can be tidied and pruned if necessary eg. abelia, spiraeas, fuchsias, coprosmas, leonotis and other summer flowering shrubs are among these. Take out all untidy or twiggy growth and cut back any stems or branches which are not performing well.
Winter Gardening
The July Garden – Some areas may suffer from the onslaught of gales and rain, while other parts are bitterly cold and dry. The gleaming beauty of frost and the deep white silence of snow are evidence of a garden world asleep. But for the committed gardener, there’s much to do!
Lawns: Order fertiliser (2:3:2) for application next month and make sure that the mower is in a good condition.
Roses: Any newly planted roses should be pruned
Fruit: Give citrus trees a dressing of 2:3:2 and a good soaking. Thin out fruit that could cause branches to break. Fruit trees which are bare rooted should have any damaged roots trimmed.
As bulbs send up their leaves, try sowing alyssum seeds between them.
Take out the first buds of annuals, so that all their energy can go into making healthy foliage.
Plants should be protected against frost during the night and removed in the morning.
Pruning: This the month of the shears and the clippers, when roses and other plants are pruned. It is a task which many gardeners view with dismay, but it is worth remembering that bad pruning will not kill a plant.
Experience is the best teacher, and anyone who takes on this task will soon learn by his/her mistakes and successes.
Deciduous fruit trees are pruned during the winter months. Young trees need to be pruned to create a good shape. Aim for an open or vase shape.
Apples and pears bear their fruit on old wood, so it is necessary to take out any weak growth, then cut back the ”fruitful” wood to two or three buds.
Peaches and nectarines bear on new young wood, so leave a good supply of new wood arising from the framework.
Plums and apricots do not need to be pruned except to remove unnecessary wood and to keep the trees in shape.
Other shrubs can be tidied and pruned if necessary – abelia, spiraeas, fuchsias, coprosmas, leonotis and other summer-flowering shrubs are among these. Take out all untidy or twiggy growth and cut back any stems or branches which are not performing well.
