Jump right in with our gardening tips below. Hot summer days require a few additional measures of protection for your flowers and plants. If you are heading on vacation this month, don’t forget to get a friend to come by to care for your plants!
Garden
- In August, you can begin again with propagating cuttings. Take cuttings of about 10 cm from healthy plants and remove any flowers. Remove the lower leaves and cut the lower stem with a sharp pair of thinning shears. Place the cutting in a pot with specially formulated soil for propagating, water it well, and cover the pot loosely with plastic. Place your cuttings in a well-lit place, but not in direct sun. After 3 to 4 weeks, the cutting will develop roots.
- If you want to plant trees and bushes in your garden, do this including the root ball covering from the pot, as the soil can be too hot for the roots.
- Sunflowers grow fast and strong and regularly need water and fertilizer. Make sure they cannot blow over by supporting them with sticks. Wilting flowers can be dried and used for bird feed.
- You can also collect seeds from wilted flowers such as the poppy, dry them and store them for next year.
- Regularly change the water in the pond and bird bath.
- If you encounter a lot of knotweed, your soil is most likely very acidic. Sprinkle some lime to improve the soil.
Pruning
- Near the end of August, you can do your final pruning. Prune the corners of hedge walls at right angles for a tight shape. Prune conifers on the top, so the lower branches can get enough sunlight as well.
- For larger grapes, prune away two leaves after the bunch at the end of August.
- Remove wilted and dead blooms from your plants.
- Prune Wisteria by trimming the green shoots from this year’s growth to about 15 cm from the old wood.
- Lavender is usually finished blooming by August. Prune the wilted tops off, but make sure to keep enough green and never prune the woody core. This way the plant will grow nicely next year. More intensive pruning will take place in the following Spring.
Lawn
- Mow the lawn twice a week
- Water the lawn after a hot summer day in the morning or evening. It is better to give the lawn a deep soak 1 or 2 times per week than a little bit of water every day.
- You can treat your lawn with a bit of fertilizer once a month. Keep a close eye on the weather – doing this just before a soft rain shower is great timing. The rain draws the fertilizer deeper in the soil.
