Gardening

Pruning time

July is the perfect time to plant deciduous trees, including deciduous fruit trees and citrus. Remember to get your roses pruned, and strawberries can be planted from July through to October.

Key points for the month:

• Continue to plant garlic and shallots, it’s not too late. • Strawberries can be planted from July through to October. • July is the perfect time to plant deciduous trees, including new seasons deciduous fruit trees and citrus.

• It is rose pruning time and time to plant new season roses. • Prune hydrangeas. • Protect frost tender plants from frosts. Kitchen Garden

Protect all seedlings from slugs and snails, they love tender seedlings and the wet weather. Leave the soil alone when it is wet, working with wet soil will compact the structure making it clump. Dig in any green crops that are ready, roughly turn in the soil and leave to rot into the soil before cultivation takes place. Sow seeds of broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, cauliflower, peas, lettuce, onions, radish, spinach, silverbeet, swede and turnips. In warmer districts sow carrots, parsnips and beetroot. Protect from the cold, transplant to the garden as the weather warms and when they are showing at least two sets of true leaves. Broad beans can be planted directly in to the soil, stagger sowing for a continuous harvest. If you have plants already underway pinch out the first flowers to improve cropping. Plant seedlings: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, silverbeet, silverbeet. Protect from the cold when they are young. Garden Colour

Sow seeds: Polyanthus, delphinium, dianthus, primula, larkspur, nemesia, pansy, salvia, snapdragon, and wallflower. Protect from the cold, transplant to the garden as the weather warms and when they are showing at least two sets of true leaves. Plant seedlings: Pansies, primula, polyanthus, calendula, stock, lobelia, violas. Protect from the cold when young. Towards the end of the month plant gladioli, tuberous begonias, dahlias and calla lilies for summer flowering. Tidy and replant any pots as necessary. Feed spring bulbs with a side dressing of bulb food as they start to make an appearance. Finish any rose pruning. Finish cutting back all perennials. Feed all the flowers with liquid fertiliser every two weeks. Trees and Shrubs

Finish pruning all hydrangeas. Check over your larger trees for any wind damage, prune and seal any larger cuts. Plant new deciduous trees, stake well. Finish pruning all fruit trees and spray with copper spray and winter oil to stop bugs and diseases burrowing in for the winter. Cover frost tender plants with frost cloth; drape the cloth over but not touching the plants. If it is too close a hard frost will freeze it to the plants.