The Garden in August
29 July 2020 by Pennells Garden Centre
After all the hard work of the spring August has to be one of the months to really enjoy the garden and hopefully the weather will continue to favour us (with some rain as well!). Get the garden furniture out and plan a few barbeques with family and friends
There are a few jobs to do of course – one of which is pruning Wisteria. One of the keys to ensuring lots of flower is correct pruning. Wisterias are pruned twice a year, at this time of year and again in January and February.
When a wisteria has finished flowering it produces lots of long whippy branches. In the early years tie these stems to the trellis or wires to create the framework for the plant. As the plant grows it becomes necessary to prune in at this time of year to control the size of the wisteria and prevent it spreading onto roofs and gutters. The pruning also encourages the plant to form the flower buds for the following year. Use a pair of secateurs to cut each of the unwanted long stems back so that they have five or six sets of leaves and tie them back to the support.
The winter pruning is carried out in January and February when the plant isn’t in leaf with the aim of tidying the plant and ensuring that the flower isn’t obscured with leaves. Any long stems that grew after the summer pruning should be cut back to five or six buds from the main stem. The stems that were pruned back in the summer should be pruned back to two or three buds.
If there are gaps in the borders then the centre has lots of colourful bedding plants such as Dahlia or Cosmos that can be planted to give extra interest. Plant in groups of four or five to increase their impact. Don’t forget to water them (and any other recently planted trees or shrubs) if the weather turns dry
Here’s a checklist on a few other jobs to do in August
- Continue to pick sweet peas to prolong their flowering.
- Dead head flowers regularly – this really pays dividends in keeping plants in flower
- When watering containers and hanging baskets give them a feed at the same time with Miracle-Gro
- Harvest Vegetables and fruit as it becomes ready.
- Feed the soil with green manure.
- Lift and pot the strawberry runners.
- Remove the side buds of Dahlias if you want larger blooms.
- Make sure that your tomatoes are watered regularly to prevent blossom end rot.
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