Gardening Jobs: June

Flowers

• Lift and store tulip bulbs after flowering
• Give wisteria its summer prune, cutting all the long sideshoots back to 20cm, to promote flowering next spring
• Plant up a new tropical display with tender exotics, including bananas, ricinus, coleus, cannas and amaranthus
• Support tall-growing perennials, including hollyhocks and delphiniums, with a sturdy cane
• Continue planting summer bedding in pots and borders, and water regularly to help plants establish quickly
• Cut back spring-flowering perennials, such as pulmonaria, to encourage a fresh flush of foliage
• Tie in new stems of climbing and rambling roses horizontally to supports, to encourage more flowers
• Take cuttings from pinks and carnations, selecting non-flowering shoots, which should root readily
• Pinch out the tips of fuchsias and bedding plants to encourage bushier growth
• Give container displays and hanging baskets a liquid feed every few weeks to encourage flowering
• Fill any gaps in borders with pots of tall bulbs, such as fragrant lilies, to add instant colour
• Prune late-spring or early-summer shrubs after flowering, such as weigela and philadelphus, thinning out the older stems
• Add marginal plants, such as arum lilies and marsh marigolds, around the edges of your pond

Fruit and veg

• Plant out sweetcorn after hardening off, arranging plants in blocks to aid pollination
• Cover developing and ripening fruits with netting or fleece to protect them from birds
• Enjoy the last harvests of asparagus this month, then leave the ferny top-growth to grow up over the summer
• Spread mulch around thirsty crops such as beans and courgettes to hold in moisture around their roots
• Check for woolly aphids on fruit trees, and treat infestations with soap-based spray
• Water vegetables and fruit in containers regularly, especially during dry sunny weather
• Go on regular snail hunts, especially on damp evenings, to reduce populations
• Tie in new shoots of blackberries, raspberries, loganberries and other cane fruits
• Apply tomato feed regularly to fruiting veg crops, including tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins and chillies
• Plant up an edible hanging basket with trailing tomatoes and herbs, and keep it well watered all summer
• Rejuvenate chives by cutting the clump down to the base, for a fresh crop of new leaves in just a few weeks
• Water beans and peas as they start to flower
• Pull out any raspberry canes sprouting up out of their dedicated area
• Take softwood cuttings of herbs such as marjoram and sage, plant in gritty compost and place on a sunny windowsill

Greenhouse

• Sow herbs in pots to grow on your kitchen windowsill, such as coriander, parsley and basil
• Plant out tender vegetables raised indoors, including beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, courgettes and sweetcorn
• Pinch out the side shoots of cordon tomatoes regularly
• Harden off hanging baskets and pots of summer bedding that have been growing in the greenhouse
• Sow biennials, including foxgloves, honesty, wallflowers and sweet rocket, in seed trays
• Water plants daily in warm weather, ideally in the evening or early morning, and avoid splashing the foliage
• Introduce biological controls to the greenhouse if you have pests such as whitefly or red spider mite
• Take softwood cuttings from hydrangeas and pelargoniums and stand the pots on a bright windowsill or in a greenhouse
• Increase greenhouse shading and ventilation to keep temperatures down on hot days
• Feed flowering and fruiting plants weekly with tomato feed
• Water greenhouse tomatoes regularly to prevent split fruits and blossom end rot
• Treat pots with vine weevil control if this pest has been a problem in the past, as larvae become active this month
• Water tomatoes regularly to void splitting and blossom end rot.

House plants

• Start feeding houseplants once a week with liquid fertiliser, continuing through to autumn
• Water your house plants more regularly as the temperatures warm and light levels increase, check the soil before watering.
• Repot any houseplants that have become top heavy or pot bound into larger containers
• Ensure house plants are not getting scorched by summer sunshine. Either move further from the window or choose house plants that will thrive in a sunny spot
• Some house plants, like snake plants, are particularly prone to collecting dust on their leaves. So be sure to give these a wipe regularly
• Put houseplants outside for the summer in a warm, sheltered spot to enjoy the fresh air and extra light
• Take leaf cuttings from houseplants, including African violets and begonias
• Check your house plants for pests like aphids, scale insects, thrips and mealybugs

Garden maintenance

• Empty, mix and refill compost bins to speed up decomposition
• Spray roses showing signs of disease, such as black spot, powdery mildew or rust
• Continue watering any new plantings until they’re well established
• Water newly laid turf several times a week, for at least the first month
• Trim fast-growing hedges, such as privet, every six weeks over the summer
• Put stakes in to support tall, large-flowered dahlias and tie in stems as they grow
• Prune spring-flowering shrubs, such as kerria, choisya, chaenomeles and ribes, after flowering
• Check hedges and shrubs for nesting birds before you start any trimming or pruning, so you don’t disturb them
• Remove any all-green shoots on variegated shrubs, cutting right back to their base
• Treat patio pots with vine weevil control if this pest has been a problem in the past, as larvae become active this month
• Dig out perennial weeds, such as couch grass and bindweed, as soon as you spot them
• Feed lawns with a liquid or granular lawn fertiliser
• Prune evergreen Clematis armandii if it has grown too large

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