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Remember to water during dry periods.
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Continue dead heading flowers to encourage them to continue flowering and also prevent any mould growing especially in damp warm weather.
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Herbaceous perennials which have finished flowering can now be lifted and divided. This rejuvenates the plant and encourages fresh new growth.
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Check the weather forecast for potato blight warnings. Spray as necessary.
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Keep spraying your roses, taking care to spray on a calm day and when the bee activity is low.
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In warm weather, when water is in short supply, try mulching flower beds, and around delicate plants to try and retain the moisture in the soil.
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Continue to feed onions with a general organic based fertiliser to encourage the bulb to continue swelling.
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Dahlia shoots should be thinned to prevent overcrowding, particularly if they have been grown from tubers rather than rooted cuttings. This should be done before they get too big.
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When your black currents have fruited and all the fruit has been picked you should begin to cut out the old shoots. They fruit best on new wood so by doing it now you are allowing the plant to grow before the end of the season.
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After pruning, feed the plant with a general organic based fertilizer.
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Many plants can be propagated now from cuttings. Try some of the following, using semi-ripe wood: Forsythia, Weigela, Duetzia, Viburnum tinus and Ribes sanginium. Pull off the shoots with a heel of older wood attached.
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Continue to train wall-trained fruit trees, tying in shoots which are to be retained as evenly as possible over the space available.
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When dessert cherries have finished fruiting spray the trees against black fly if this is still troublesome. Derris or Malathion can be used for this purpose.
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Shallots have now finished growing and can be lifted carefully and laid out in the sun to dry.
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Now is a great time to pick herbs and hang them up to dry.
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Camellias growing in pots should be fed once a week throughout the summer.
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Tomatoes which are carrying heavy crops may need extra feeding with nitrogen to help the top trusses.
