Toss on a jacket and head out this winter. Here’s a list of essential garden tasks to focus on in July.

July garden tasks

 

The Essentials

Prune deciduous fruit trees (if not already done) and spray with lime sulphur 1:10 two weeks after pruning.

Feed citrus trees with an organic fertiliser or 8:1:5 as they are developing fruit now and need a high supply of nutrients.

Continue to deadhead winter flowering annuals to encourage more blooms.

Foliar feed annuals and Clivias, and feed spring flowering bulbs with a slow-release organic food like Talborne’s 2:3:4.

Take hardwood cuttings of Hydrangeas, Hibiscus, Solanum (Potato Bush) and Buddleya species and place in a warm sheltered spot to root. 

Water and feed cool season lawns with a light sprinkle of 3:1:5 fertiliser.

Continue to clean out debris and dead leaves from gutters and down pipes, and sweep out the openings of storm water drains outside your property to help prevent flooding in heavy rain.

Find a supplier of compost and order a load – spread it over the surface of garden beds as an organic soil conditioner for new spring planting.

If you are considering planting a fruit tree, now is the ideal time for it. Consider using the espalier method of training the tree if you are short of space.

See the full article in the July issue of Garden&Home magazine – on sale now!
Feature image: Anderson Guerra/pexels.com

ALSO SEE: WINTER FAVOURITES: GROWING PRIMULAS 

Winter favourites: Growing primulas