What to do in your garden in July.
July, traditionally the month of pruning roses and the time of the year where we start revitalising our lawns for the onset of warmer days and the promise of spring. With pruning top of mind it is a good idea to look at large trees and shrubs in our gardens with the view of getting in professional tree fellers to shape and remove dead and diseased branches.
Flowers
- Plant Lilium bulbs.
- Prune Roses from mid to end July, this will exclude rambling and Old English Roses that are forming buds now to flower in early spring.
- Prune Hydrangeas from mid to end July.
- Plant flower seedlings like Alyssum, Cineraria, Chrysanthemum, Delphinium, Primulas, Primula Obconica, Phlox, Petunia and Viola.
- Feed your winter flowering annuals with Multifeed Flowergro or Margaret Roberts Supercharger.
Lawns
- In the Highveld continue to water Kikuyu lawn at least twice a month.
Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit
- Plant vegetable seedlings like Cabbage, Leeks, Onions, Moss-Curled Parsley, Swiss Chard and Spinach.
- Water citrus trees.
General Tasks
- Water and fertilise plants, herbs and annuals in outdoor containers regularly.
- Continue watering spring flowering shrubs regularly, at least once a week as they are starting to form buds for flowering in early spring.
- Protect your frost sensitive plants.
- Re-pot indoor and outdoor container plants.
- Improve soil structure by digging in generous amounts of compost and well rotted manure.
- Continue mulching soil with compost, sawdust, bark chips and fallen leaves – this will prevent solid moisture loss and keep the roots warm through the winter.
- Continue spreading Insecticide Granules around the base of your Conifers, this will prevent aphid infestation.
This Post Has 8 Comments
I have bought Bounce back for my lawn. When is the right time to use it? TIA
Hi Linda, you can apply early August. We’re just waiting for the temperatures to warm up a bit for the active growing season to begin. Such a great product btw!
Good day,
If I don’t seal my rose trees after pruning; will they die?
Someone prune some of it in this week and did not seal it. Will it be to late now to seal it?
Kind regards
Ann Jackson
No they will do not die, did you spray Lime Sulphur when you completed your pruning?
Are the wounds bigger than your little finger, if so don’t worry but if larger I would apply before the end of the week.
Orchid care: i noted through the internet that when re-potting orchids, growers favour spraying the plant and roots with Peroxide 3 volume. the peroxide kills off nasties like spider mite etc. What does the 3 volume or percent mean and where are we able to access peroxide of this strength in Gauteng? i intend re-potting a number of my orchids in Spring.
thank you!
Hi Chantel, I would suggest a liquid general branded fungicide like Funginex where will be able to soak the roots of the orchid for 10 minutes. Good luck with your repotting.
is there any specific method for pruning iceberg bushes? Thanks. Salome
Use a sharp clean pair of secateurs to cut the whole iceberg bush by two thirds. Continue by cutting out all older branches at their base then all dead and weak looking stems and any other branches that criss-cross. Unless the cuts are larger that you little finger aloo them to seal themselves. Apply a sealant to larger wound to prevent infection. Lastly spray your Iceberg rose bush and the surrounding soil with Oleum. This is done in order to kill all unhatched “goggas’ and fungus around the rose. Mix according to recommended dilution rates and thoroughly coat the plant.