Gardeners are being urged to carry out one simple job during August to help flowering plants stay looking their best as summer continues. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has included deadheading among its top gardening jobs for the month, with faded flowers needing to be removed regularly.
Deadheading simply means taking old blooms off a plant once they have finished flowering and started to look past their best. It is a relatively quick job and doesn't require any specialist gardening equipment in many cases.
Why deadheading helps
The RHS said: "Most flowers lose their attraction as they fade, spoiling the overall appearance of beds, borders and containers. Removing these, by deadheading, helps keep displays looking better for longer."
It continued: "The simplest method is to just pinch off the faded blooms, or snip back to the first leaf below the flower for a neater finish."
Keeping on top of the job can immediately make flower beds, borders and containers look tidier rather than leaving dead or fading blooms sitting among healthy flowers.
Other August tasks
August is also typically one of the hottest months of the year, meaning gardeners have a few other jobs to keep an eye on while enjoying their summer displays. Watering is particularly important during warm and dry spells, especially for containers and newly established plants.
The RHS recommends using stored rainwater or recycled grey water where possible. Water butts may already be running low following a particularly dry summer, making careful use of water even more important.
Holiday and pruning tips
Those heading away on holiday may also want to arrange for a friend, neighbour or family member to keep an eye on plants while they are gone.
Other jobs worth tackling this month include pruning wisteria to keep its growth under control and improve its flowering display. Summer-flowering shrubs such as lavender can also be pruned once they have finished flowering.
Gardeners growing fruit and vegetables have plenty to do as well, with August a time to harvest crops such as sweetcorn and cut out old fruited raspberry canes. But for anyone wanting a quick job that makes an immediate difference to their flowers, regularly removing tired blooms is one of the simplest places to start.
