July is the height of summer in the UK, and the garden rewards those who keep up with it. Borders are in full swing, roses are putting on a second flush if you treat them right, and the lawn is doing its summer best. The jobs below will help you stay on top of things and make the most of what is genuinely the most spectacular month in the gardening year.
Roses: Deadhead, Feed and Protect
July is peak rose season and also the point at which a little neglect might start to show. The two most important jobs are deadheading and feeding, and they work best done together.
Deadheading keeps the energy going into new flower production rather than seed setting. Cut spent blooms back to the first outward-facing leaf with five leaflets, using clean sharp secateurs. Do this every week or two and most modern roses will reward you with a strong second flush through August and into September.
Feeding is equally important at this stage of the season. Roses are hungry plants with very specific nutritional requirements, and a general-purpose fertiliser will not do the job properly. They need a high potash formulation to fuel flower production, the correct soil acidity to unlock nutrient uptake, and sulphur to protect against the fungal diseases that peak in warm, humid summer conditions.
July is also when black spot and powdery mildew are at their most active. Both are fungal diseases that thrive in warm, damp conditions – exactly what the UK provides in summer historically! Prevention is far more effective than treatment so our Sulphur Rose is the professional grade solution used by leading rose growers: a non-chemical wettable sulphur formulation applied monthly to stems, foliage and surrounding soil that keeps fungal spores from establishing. A 250g pack treats up to 20 roses for a full year!
Pair it with NutraRose Micro, a specialist rose fertiliser with a high potash content and a formulation designed to maintain the slightly acidic soil pH that roses prefer. Apply at 42g per square metre – 1kg covers 20 rose plants. Together, these two products cover everything a rose needs through the growing season, and you can buy them as the Rose Bundle for £44, saving you the hassle of ordering separately.
Lawns: Mowing, Watering and Feeding
A good lawn needs consistent attention in July, but it also needs a light touch. In dry spells, raise the cutting height on your mower, scalping a dry lawn causes stress and browning that takes weeks to recover from. Aim to cut no more than a third of the grass height at any one time.
Watering is better done thoroughly and infrequently rather than a light sprinkle every day. Shallow watering encourages shallow root growth, which makes the lawn more vulnerable to drought. Water deeply in the evening or early morning to reduce evaporation.
The problem many gardeners hit in July, though, is that watering does not seem to help. Dry patches persist even after rain or irrigation, the water runs off rather than soaking in, and parts of the lawn stay stubbornly brown. This is a wetting agent problem, not a watering problem. As soil heats up and dries out it can develop a waxy coating on the soil particles that repels water rather than absorbing it, the water washes off the surface instead of penetrating to the roots.
That’s where our Satugran comes in! It’s a granular wetting agent carried in zeolite, which holds the active ingredient and releases it once irrigation occurs, helping water spread evenly through the soil profile and making nutrients available to the grass again. Apply at 25g per square metre, a 1kg bag covers 40 square metres, and a single application gives around 90 days of effect.
Borders: Deadheading, Staking and Watering
Summer borders need regular deadheading to keep them flowering. Perennials like geraniums, salvias and delphiniums will often produce a second flush if cut back after the first flowering. Hardy geraniums can be cut right back with shears and will regrow quickly.
Tall perennials and dahlias will need staking if you have not already done so. This is better done earlier in the season, but it is never too late, a storm in July can flatten unprepared plants overnight. Use bamboo canes or grow-through supports and tie stems loosely with soft twine.
Containers and hanging baskets dry out very quickly in July. In warm weather they may need watering twice a day. Feed weekly with a liquid fertiliser to keep them looking their best through the summer or use our Bags of Goodness for a feed throughout the season.
Fruit and Vegetables: Harvest, Water and Tie In
July is the start of the main harvest season for many vegetables. Courgettes should be checked daily, they go from finger-sized to marrow-sized in 48 hours! French beans, peas and salad leaves should be picked regularly to keep production going.
Tomatoes need tying in to their supports, side shoots removed (for cordon varieties), and consistent watering as irregular watering causes blossom end rot and splitting. Feed with a tomato fertiliser weekly once the first truss has set.
Strawberries will be finishing their main crop. Remove the runners if you do not want new plants, or pin them into small pots of compost to root if you do. Clear the straw mulch from around the plants once fruiting is over.
Trees, Shrubs and Hedges: Summer Pruning
July is the right time to prune wisteria if you did not do it in June. Cut back the long whippy growth to five or six leaves to keep it in check and encourage flowering spurs for next year.
Rambling roses should be pruned after flowering. Remove the oldest stems at the base and tie in the new growth that will carry next year’s flowers. You can read more about how to do that here.
Formal hedges, box, yew, hornbeam, can be trimmed in July. Top Tip: Do it on a cloudy day to reduce the risk of scorch on freshly cut leaves.
Ponds and Wildlife
Pond levels can drop quickly in July. Top up with rainwater where possible rather than tap water, which can encourage algae growth. Oxygenating plants may need thinning if they are covering the surface.
Keep a shallow dish of water out for birds, hedgehogs and other wildlife. Refresh it daily in hot weather.
Quick July Checklist
- Deadhead roses and apply Sulphur Rose monthly to prevent black spot
- Feed roses with NutraRose Micro
- Raise mower height in dry spells – do not scalp a dry lawn
- Water lawns and borders deeply and infrequently rather than a light daily sprinkle
- Feed containers and hanging baskets weekly
- Harvest vegetables regularly to keep production going
- Prune wisteria and rambling roses after flowering
- Top up ponds with rainwater and keep fresh water out for wildlife
For rose care through the season, take a look at the Greenacres Direct Rose Bundle – Sulphur Rose and NutraRose Micro together for £44, covering up to 20 roses for the full growing season.
