We have had some really scorching weather here recently – I hardheartedly watched my garden plants going dry and floppy and then BOOM!
A storm of torrential rain and they are all smiling again! Challenging weather aside, there are still tasks to attend to now, such as looking after lilies, preparing pots for your absence and feeding azaleas….
Lovely lilies
One of the glories of the July garden is a clump of beautiful lilies, always arresting and dramatic, and often scented too. But if you find that the leaves have got holes in them and the flowers are dangling by a thread, then you have probably got the dreaded scarlet lily leaf beetle whose adults (and particularly larvae) are voracious chompers of all kinds of lily (and fritillaries earlier in the season too).
These beetles are tricky little wotsits – the adults may be easy to spot with their pillar-box red backs, but they can detect movement close by, and will instantly drop to the ground on to their backs; their tummies are black so then you can’t see them any more. Put a bowl of soapy water underneath the plant before you disturb them, or at least a sheet of white paper so that you can see them once they have dropped and squash them.
The larvae have a more horrible way of disguising themselves – they cover themselves in their own slimy black poo! Yuck! If I find little piles of this (or groups of the tiny orange eggs) on the leaf-undersides, I tend to take the whole leaf off, because it is hard to be sure that you’ve squished the blighters amongst all the excrement!
By the way, when lilies have finished flowering, snip off the seedheads. but leave the stems and leaves to die down naturally as they will feed the bulb for next year. When they’ve withered away, you can usually leave them in the ground because they need a cold dormant period, but if you live in a area with bitter winters, it’s safer to store them indoors or at least in a much more sheltered position.
Being out there
There is always a point in the middle of July when all the big must-do tasks have been done (or shelved for another year!), and I find that gardening becomes more of a maintenance job. But oh my goodness, I so love doing it, and perhaps you do too?
There are a few simple rules to this deeply pleasant pastime: Always take your secateurs (I have two different sizes on holsters on my belt), some twine and small snips to cut it with, and a few paper envelopes or bags plus a pencil. If you think you may need a few more tools such as canes, a trowel or a razor hoe, that’s where one of the toolbags or small canvas bags in our online shop would come in really handy.
You’ll need a trug or bucket for weeds too, and probably a kneeler of some kind.
Then out you go for a potter. Trim or tie backward stems, dead head roses and perennials, pick off manky leaves, wipe off aphids, check any plants or newly-planted shrubs or trees that are looking like they’re struggling, cut back spent stems of perennials to let other plants shine through, put in a bit more support for late-flowerers, weed the veg beds……don’t forget to listen to the birds, watch the bumblebees at work, admire the way the grasses are dancing in the breeze….
Not a chance that you’ll make it all absolutely perfect and nor should you. We are talking about a garden, not an architectural drawing. But you’ll have a lovely time trying, and you’ll be so thankful that we’ve all chosen the best pastime in the world.
On the move
Are you going on holiday this summer? You may be lucky enough to have neighbours willing to water your pots in your absence, but you can help them do the job hugely by moving your pots and containers out of the sunny areas of your garden and into the shade.
Snip off any spent flowers or tatty leaves which will also help to reduce the plant’s need for water. Do be careful about moving heavy pots though – manoeuvre them on to castors if you have such a device, or a sack trolley. A ricked back would be a miserable way to start your hols!
While on the subject of moving plants, don’t forget to move houseplants away from sunny windowsills when it’s hot, into a shadier, airier place indoors. Alternatively, put up a bit of net curtain to defend them from the hot rays. Or even better maybe, give them a little holiday out of doors while night temperatures are warm. Make sure you put them out of strong sun or drying winds.
Gardening shorts
- I wonder if your herb-patch is starting to look a bit woolly and floppy by now – ours certainly is! – this is a good time to cut it back and encourage fresh new leaves to form before the end of the summer. Do this with all sorts of things like thyme, marjoram, rosemary, chives, sage and mint. If you want to intensify the flavour of your herbs (and who doesn’t?!), try not to let them flower.
- Now is a good time to give rhododendrons and azaleas a feed of acidic fertiliser. Something like Miracid or Sequestrene will give them a good boost to start producing buds for next year’s flowering. While we are on the subject of acid-lovers, help camellias to form more buds by making sure they don’t run short of water in the summer.
- Verbena bonariensis looks as fab in a vase as it does waving around above a summer border, but there can be a problem with falling petals. If you sear the ends of the stems in boiling water for a few seconds before arranging them, the petals are much less likely to drop.
- This is a good time to plant some of the lovely autumn-flowering bulbs such as Sternbergia, Amaryllis, autumn crocuses, Colchicum, and Nerine.
- Start house cyclamen back into growth during the next month by re-potting them and giving them a little water.
Great plants this month
Sometimes the uninvited guest can be the best company, and it’s certainly Louise’s view of this week’s Great Plant this Month. Here’s why…
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10 replies on “Looking after lilies – Gardening tips for July”
Thank you Elaine, I’ve written a note to myself to feed the azaleas ‘NOW’ xxx
Hi June, you are very welcome! I don’t know about you but I generally find it much easier to remember to feed plants that are in pots rather than when they are growing in the ground. A little aide-memoire is a handy thing to have! Happy gardening, all the best, Elaine.
I thought I had done a really good job of disposing of lily beetles early in the year and my first batch of lilies flowered beautifully with little damage. Went down the garden yesterday though and one plant is just covered in the larvae. Still flowering but looking very sick. They are disgusting creatures.
A cotton bud with something sticky like jam on the end catches them,
Great thinking, Lynn! Elaine here. I find that the problem is that it’s so difficult to get close to the wretched critters – they seem very quickly to detect someone’s presence and fall to the ground to escape. I might just try sneaking up on them with a thin cane smeared with jam though – I am very used to looking a bit bonkers in the garden – it will come as no surprise to anyone if I’m spotted 🤣. Very best wishes and thank you for writing in.
Couldn’t agree more, Rosemary! Elaine here. Aphids look okay, moles are actually quite sweet, even snails have pretty shells while they are chomping, but the mess that lily beetles make is utterly revolting. I hope you manage to save the rest of your lilies even though that one was beyond rescue. All the best for the rest of your gardening summer.
Used coffee grounds have done the job
Interested to know, please, how you used coffee grounds? Underneath the plants?
That is what I’m assuming too, Diana. Elaine here. The thing is that coffee grounds are rich in Nitrogen, so at the very least you are feeding the plants with an essential nutrient. If the caffeine deters the lily beetles too, then this is a win-win situation. My husband has been putting coffee grounds down mole tunnels to drive them elsewhere and it does work for a short while, but does need to be re-applied frequently. Good luck! All the best.
This is interesting, Janet. I am assuming that you put the coffee grounds as a mulch around the plants? I am glad to hear that it worked for you – this is an idea that is definitely worth a try – thank you! With best wishes, Elaine