There is always a lot to be getting on with in the garden. The RHS says these are the top ten things you should be doing in your garden during August:
- 1. Prune Wisteria
- 2. Don’t delay summer pruning restricted fruits
- 3. Deadhead flowering plants regularly – see our article for more tips on this
- 4. Watering! Particularly containers, and new plants – preferably with grey recycled water or stored rainwater
- 5. Collect seed from favourite plants
- 6. Harvest sweetcorn and other vegetables as they become ready
- 7. Continue cutting out old fruited canes on raspberries
- 8. Lift and pot up rooted strawberry runners
- 9. Keep ponds and water features topped up
- 10. Feed the soil with green manures
We also recommend you consider some of these jobs this month:
- Get rid of vine weevils with biological control as the larvae eat roots of plants. Wilting leaves may be a sign that they are present – look for 1cm creamy white grubs with brown heads or adults which are dark grey and mottled
- Trim hedges, especially if they have grown into roads and are limiting visibility for drivers
- To ensure a great display of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias next year make sure you water them well in dry weather and feed them with an Ericaceous feed such as the Scotts Liquid version
- Stop feeding roses and prune rambling varieties which have finished flowering – take off long old stems only
