London (change)
Today 23°C / 16°C
Tomorrow 19°C / 14°C

Job of the week

Summer prune apple trees

To give yourself the biggest apple crops from established trees, it's time to tackle summer pruning of spur-fruiting varieties. This encourages the development of short flowering shoots or 'spurs' that go on to bear clusters of fruit. Summer pruning is also ideal for keeping trees in shape.
Takes just 50 minutes for medium-sized tree

Flowers

  • Pick bulbils from lily stems and pot up for new plants
  • Give shrubs and perennial plants a liquid feed
  • Cut down delphiniums once flower spikes fade

Fruit & veg

  • Pick gooseberries when ripe
  • Prune bay trees to keep them in shape
  • Spray apples and gooseberries with a fungicide

Greenhouse

  • Hang up sticky yellow traps to catch whitefly and flying insects
  • Propagate houseplants
  • Repot any plants that are pot bound or getting top heavy

Around the garden

  • Pick herbs, lavender and everlasting flowers
  • Be on the lookout for developing pest problems
  • Dig out problem lawn weeds or treat with weedkiller