Summer wouldn’t be the same without sweet peas and the best way to get bushy plants and lots of flowers is to pinch out the tips several times while the seedlings are growing. Once in the ground tie in the lower tendrils to supports to encourage them to cling. Water them well and, once the buds begin to form, apply tomato feed regularly.
As the flowers start to open, pick punches regularly and this will encourage more flowers to form but if you want to save the seeds then leave a few flowers to form seed pods, which you can harvest later in the summer and keep in a cool, dry place until it’s time to sow them.
TOP TIP
Cyclamen that have been grown as houseplants can be moved out of doors now. Place them somewhere sheltered and begin watering when new growth starts to emerge in summer.
WHAT TO DO NOW...
- Climbers are putting on rapid growth now, so tie in tendrils to supports and pinch out the growing tips of clematis.
- Cover carrots with fleece to protect plants from carrot fly.
- Harvest asparagus when the spears are 20cm tall, cutting them off beneath soil level.
- Collect seed from Oriental hellebores and sow while still fresh.
- Stake perennials before they become top-heavy and begin to flop.
- Make full use of space in the vegetable garden by planting quick-growing salads between rows of winter vegetables.
- Set out hanging baskets and tender bedding plants but be alert to late frosts and cover with fleece on cold nights.
- Earth up potatoes as they grow, feeding and watering those in sacks regularly to prevent the compost from drying out.
- Pinch out the tips of fuchsias to create bushier plants. Once new shoots grow pinch these too for maximum flowers.
- Remove the faded flowers from rhododendrons and camellias and prune camellias lightly if they need reshaping.
- Hoe regularly between flowers, shrubs and vegetables to remove annual weeds while they are still small.
- Line terracotta pots with polythene before filling with compost to reduce evaporation and cut down on watering.
- Sow basil under cover, using deep pots. Open vents to reduce humidity and prevent seedlings from damping off.
- To prevent sedum plants from flopping over when they flower, remove half the shoots now.
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