Three plants to prune now before summer ends, according to gardening legend Monty Don
MONTY Don has revealed the three plants you should prune now before summer ends.
The TV star, 68, shared his best gardening advice for August – and you’ll be glad you followed his tips come autumn.
The host of BBC’s Gardeners’ World, posted his top tips for the month on his website.
This included sharing the three plants that need a good prune before before the season is over.
Monty said: “Summer pruning results in slower, less vigorous regrowth than a winter trim so clip hedges to the height and shape that you wish them to remain for the rest of the year.”
He recommended starting with the sides, so there is a “slight” outward slope from top to bottom, which ensures the lower section is not “shaded” by top growth.
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Monty noted that you should finish by cutting the top, before adding the hedge trimmings to compost or council green waste.
Next up, he suggested “deadheading” dahlias in order for them to keep flowering into autumn.
Monty recommended: “The easiest way to tell the difference between a spent flower and an emerging bud is by the shape: buds are invariably rounded whereas a spent flower is pointed and cone-shaped.
“Always cut back to the next side shoot – even if it means taking a long stem – as this will stimulate new flowers and avoid ugly spikes of stem.”
Finally, pruning lavender is important, Monty noted, for avoiding “woody, leggy plants”.
He explained: “The best time to do this is as soon as the flowers start to fade, which, depending on the variety, can be any time between midsummer and the end of August.”
But he warned against waiting for the seed heads to form or the flowers to turn brown as this facilitates the “maximum amount of time for regrowth” ahead of winter.
Monty recommended that the plant should be chopped back into a “compact” shape, but that you should leave some new shoots on each stem to come through.
He added: “These new shoots will grow fast and provide an attractive and healthy cover to protect the plant in winter and provide the basis of next year’s display.”