Garden Tips - June

Flowers

If you have to prune your ornamental Cherry trees for any reason, now is the time so do it with reasonable safety for the tree. At any other time there will be a serious risk of developing one of the many diseases this type of tree is very susceptible to. 

Quick growing annual flowers such as Cosmos and Marigolds can still be sown this month if a space becomes available and will still give a very good display in late summer and into the Autumn months.

Autumn bedding plants such as Wallflowers, Bellis and Violas can be sown now and grown on for planting out into their flowering positions in October or November.

Once Oriental Poppies have finished flowering, cut back all the growth to ground level and a fresh amount of growth will quickly appear with flowers later on in the season. If you have clumps of Daffodils which have not flowered well this Spring, now is the time to dig the clump up before all the foliage dies down and select the biggest bulbs. Replant them, spacing each one out about 10cms apart. The smallest bulbs which will not flower should be discarded or replanted in a nursery bed to grow on for a year or two.

A lot of variegated shrubs will at this time of year produce green shoots. These should be removed as soon as possible as they will cause the shrub to revert.

Vegetables and Fruit

A sowing of Carrots now, using a variety such as Chantenay, will provide young carrots for winter harvesting.

Strawberries should be netted now to avoid the ravages of birds taking all the ripening fruit. Straw placed around the plants will prevent rain splash and help ripening. Potatoes should not be allowed to dry out at this time otherwise they will become more severely affected with scab.

Feed Tomatoes regularly with a high potash fertilizer such as Tomorite and make sure that watering is done whenever it is needed otherwise Blossom End Rot will become a nuisance, together with splitting of the fruits.

General

If you have a problem with bindweed, ground elder and other invasive weeds, paint some of the leaves with Roundup. This is a translocated weedkiller and will be taken in through the leaf and down to the roots, killing the plant in this way. 

Mow lawns on a regular basis about once a week but avoid cutting too low, especially in dry spells. Also make sure any newly sown lawns or turfed areas are kept well watered.

In the greenhouse, damp down the floors to create a humid atmosphere and reduce the temperature. This also has the effect of reducing the likelihood of contracting the dreaded Red Spider mite.

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