Blooming Times: Tidy Up Time

Scorching weather often reduces gardens (and gardeners!) to a parched, shabby mess, but a targeted programme of watering and cutting back can work wonders, says Flo Whitaker

After a manic growing season, plants often appear tired and straggly by August. Old or damaged foliage of herbaceous perennials that have been flowering their socks off, including alchemilla, delphiniums, lupins, dicentra, nepeta, heuchera and hardy geraniums, can be removed now. Give these workhorses a drench of water, and they will quickly develop fresh new leaves – a welcome replacement for tatty ones. They may also reward you with a late-season flush of flowers. Don’t casually sprinkle water around – it’s wasteful and can do more harm than good. Instead, give a generous weekly soaking at soil level. This will deliver moisture directly to plant roots where it’s most needed.

Keep up with the deadheading – especially with annual bedding. If faded blooms are left in situ, an annual’s natural inclination is to put energy into producing seed at the expense of flowers. A weekly feed of fertiliser (tomato food is ideal), will encourage the formation of new flowering shoots on annuals and dahlias, but cease feeding shrubs, roses, hedges and other permanent plantings now. These characters are naturally slower-growing and young shoots formed in late summer may not have time to develop sufficient robustness before the first frosts arrive.

Your wisteria may have responded to the extreme heat by producing a second display in July. It will have also made yards of annoying whip-like growths. Cut these back to within 5 or 6 buds of the main stems before they smother nearby plants, or remove them entirely if the area is overcrowded. Wisteria produces flowers on sun-ripened growth made the previous year. Removal of excess foliage now will increase light levels and encourage the formation of new flowering stems.

Spring flowering shrubs are currently far from our thoughts, but, like wisteria, they are strategic forward-planners and are already making flower buds for next year. The buds remain dormant throughout winter, then magically burst forth in spring. However, they may fail to develop in summer drought, so put rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias, etcetera on your watering list. Well-established shrubs cope well with recycled ‘grey’ water, but never use dishwasher residue or very greasy washing-up water.

Rambling roses (or any type that are single-flowering) can be wrestled back under control now. Don’t get secateur-happy – a general tidy-up will suffice. Leave hip-bearing roses and plants with interesting stems and seed heads to give visual appeal in the border and food for wildlife.

Finally, keep bird baths clean and topped up. It’s not just flowers that are feeling dusty and fatigued; your feathered friends will also appreciate some help. After the hectic breeding season, this is their opportunity to renew their feathers and build up reserves. Regular bathing is essential for plumage maintenance; after all, who doesn’t appreciate a refreshing shower?