11:07 - 30 July 2010
Most summer gardens are at their peak and looking colourful and fantastic in June and July, but it doesn’t need to be downhill from there. With some careful but minimal plant maintenance you can keep your garden borders, pots and containers bursting with colour right through to the first frosts.
Dead heading
Most plants have one aim in life, to make seed to create the next generation. The flowers that they produce are simply a flag waving exercise to encourage pollinators to visit their nectaries and in the process pollinate the flowers and enable the plant to make seed. Once a plant has seed maturing in its ovaries it stops producing flowers and diverts all its energy into the maturing seeds. That means if you want your plants to keep on flowering and to direct their energy into flowers, foliage and new growth, you need to remove the spent flowers and prevent the plant from making seed. This is called deadheading and is simply the removal of the whole flower including the developing seed capsule or pod at the base of the flower. For some plants like flowering shrubs, deadheading mostly just tidies up the plant, although some such as roses may have a second later flush of flowers. But for other plants such as bedding plants, patio plants and many fruit and vegetables, the more you remove the dead flowers, or pick the produce in the case of vegetables, the more productive the plant becomes. This is especially important with plants such as runner beans, peas, mange tout, sweet peas, tomatoes, courgettes and summer basket plants. It also keeps the garden neater and tidier.
Feeding
Keep your border plants blooming with quality feeding. Even though you may have used a long-term fertiliser, you can still give your plants a boost by adding a liquid feed to the watering can when you water.
Pay attention to any plants growing in containers, they will quickly use up the fertiliser held in the compost. For the best results you need to feed them regularly throughout the growing season. For convenience you can choose to use controlled release plant food tablets. These convenient clusters of slow release fertiliser are specially designed for pots and containers and actually regulate the rate of nutrients that are delivered to your plants, encouraging the correct rate of growth according to the environmental conditions. Simply push the tablets into the compost and they will feed your container plants for up to 6 months. They are also ideal for hanging baskets, which have, even less compost for the plants.
Don’t forget to feed any potted shrubs, trees and perennials. Top dress the compost surface with fresh compost and use slow or controlled release plant food tablets. Keep the pots well watered.
If your plants are starving and showing signs of stress you can apply a foliar feed to their leaves on evening. This is quickly taken up into the plants and will give them a much-needed boost. It’s also important to identify the cause of the stress, usually it is related to the watering, if the compost dries out too quickly then your plant cannot get enough water to support its leaves or to grow. You may need to consider repotting your plant. Devise a watering system that supplies your plant with the right amount of water. This may mean standing it in a water tray while the weather is hot.
Watering
Plants in containers are the first to suffer in hot sunny water, as they are dependent on the gardener for water when it doesn’t rain. Keep an eye on any new plants in the garden and be sure to water them if the weather is dry. They need time to establish a good root system before they can fend for themselves in a dry spell.
If it is very hot and dry keep a close eye on hanging baskets and containers. Drying winds will quickly desiccate the compost and hot weather can scorch plants that have no shade. Move exposed baskets to a more sheltered position. Make sure they are thoroughly watered. Bring them down off their brackets in the evening. Stand them on buckets and give them a really thorough soaking until the compost is saturated. Collect any run off in the buckets below and use this water for other container plants. Re-hang the baskets at night to keep them away from marauding slugs. Water pots, planters and baskets at dusk, and make sure that the compost is thoroughly soaked. If the weather is intense, consider moving the planters into the shade so that the plants do not suffer. Group planters, pots and baskets together to make it easier to water them, especially when you have to use a watering can during a hose pipe ban.
