Gardens across the country are in full bloom as summer has finally arrived, with Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton VCourt Flower Show heralding the peak of the season. But that doesn't mean gardeners can sit on their laurels.
BBC Gardeners' World expert Monty Don has shared four plants and trees you should be pruning in July to promote regrowth and repeat flowering - making sure they stay in peak performance for months to come. Monty has highlighted specific jobs to complete this month to keep your gardens healthy and full of colour, in his latest blog post.
Pruning should be completed throughout the year to encourage health and flowering in plants, flowers and trees, with July being the ideal time to tackle summer shrubs. Several trees prone to bleeding due to pruning at other times of the year will also benefit from a cut this month.
And it's also a great time to pick up any pruning jobs you intended to get around to last month, as it's still not too late. Monty Don shared his tips in his latest blog post, recommending that gardeners prune several plants and trees this month.
1. Apple and pear trees
Pruning apple and pear trees in early summer will prove 'useful' for trained forms, including espaliers, cordons, fans or mature trees that are too large or crowded; cutting back in this way will not encourage vigorous regrowth – unlike winter pruning. Monty said you should remove all of this year's growth to a couple of pairs of leaves (around two to four inches) unless you're training a specific shoot, but don't get rid of any ripening fruit.
Monty said: "If you are training the fruit to a particular shape, tie desired but lose growth in as you go. Cutting it back now also allows light and air onto the fruit that is ripening and stops your trees from becoming too crowded with unproductive branches."
2. Early flowering perennials
Perennials like oriental poppies, delphiniums and geraniums require cutting to the ground to promote regrowth and repeat flowering. Monty said it creates room in your borders for tender annuals and perennials.
He said: "Remove all cut material to the compost heap, weed around the base of the plants, water if necessary and do not plant too close to them so that they have light and space to regrow and flower again at the end of summer."
3. Rambling roses
Monty highlighted the importance of continuing to dead-head roses because the petals fade to boost flowering, yet some types of roses have finished for the year by this time. If you're unsure if your rose is a rambler or a climber, Monty said ramblers are more vigorous and 'always have a mass of small flowers that never repeat once they have finished'.
Many should be left to grow into trees and left unpruned, except straggly, unkempt growth, but if you're training a rose or you haven't got much space, you should tie or cut back this year's shoots, removing any damaged or old shoots and cut them back to the ground.
4. Currants
Red and white currants and gooseberries will have been harvested by the end of this month, so it's worth giving them a prune after this has been completed. You should remove any new growth crowding the centre of the bushes and cut back the new shoots you want to keep by around a third.
Monty said: "This will let light and air into the plant, encouraging the wood to ripen and spurs to form, which will carry next year's fruits. Blackcurrants can be pruned hard, removing up to a third of each bush immediately after harvest."
