Gardening Advice
What to do Now / June
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Put houseplants outside for the summer in a warm, sheltered spot to enjoy the fresh air and extra light
- Pinch out the sideshoots of cordon tomatoes regularly
- Harden off hanging baskets and pots of summer bedding that have been growing in the greenhouse
- Empty, mix and refill compost bins to speed up decomposition
- Spray roses showing signs of disease, such as blackspot, 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
