Spring & Summer Garden Care

Our favourite time in the garden when plants are at their most energetic bursting into leaf and flower, wildlife is flitting and buzzing everywhere and we look forward to spending warm days and evenings enjoying the outdoors, relaxing or entertaining. Here are a few simple things you can do to ensure your plants stay healthy and your garden looks at it best.

April is generally the time to feed all your plants including the lawn, borders, rose beds, hedges etc. This is because most plants are now in active growth and the nutrient content in the soil is quite low after the rainy winter season.

For those container plants that you are potting up or repotting, it is easy to mix some fertilizer into the soil at planting time. For feeding established plants, lawns etc there’s a range of products to choose from. Check out the Feeding Guide for tips on choosing and some good options.

So which areas of the garden should we concentrate on? Roses, fruit trees and flowering shrubs certainly appreciate a boost now, Bio Toprose is good for all of these. If you followed this section since Autumn and your lawn is looking good then you are probably mowing regularly now and all you need to do is switch to a spring and summer lawn food. These are high in nitrogen and produce a beautiful rich green lawn. If not, don't worry, get out there this weekend and see what a difference feeding as well as mowing makes!

'Why': If you want your flowering displays to last longer, produce more and your plants to grow better all round then you can't ignore their nutritional needs.

'When': Just like us, plants need a regular supply of nutrients to stay healthy and grow properly and it's easy to ensure they get these either by feeding 'a little and often' or using slow release feeds which supply nutrients over a long period i.e. 'once in a while'.

'What': Most people want to know if there is one product you can use for all situations or do you have to have a whole range? There's a plethora of products on the market that all come with instructions for use but here's a little summary of good value products to guide you:

Granules e.g. Bio Toprose and many lawn care products. These are scattered on the soil surface or mixed in and tend to release feed slowly over a long time and are only used once or twice a season. Good for containers and borders when improving soil prior to planting or for borders as a mid-summer feed.

Soluble & Liquid products e.g. Phostrogen Plant Food and Baby Bio Original Houseplant Food to name two. These are added to water and watered on, so suitable for all round use. They are great for feeding established plants, containers, houseplants etc. and can be used a little and often i.e. at every watering or once a month,

Tablets, Nuggets, clusters e.g. Phostrogen Slow Release Clusters or Baby Bio House Plant Food Spikes. These are like granules in that they feed your plants over a long period but are great for established plants if you prefer to feed once in a while rather than a little and often.

Whilst your plants are making the most of the warmer weather, a host of bugs are making the most of the fresh plant growth too. Who's who in the bug world and what to do about them? Let’s take a look at a few unsavoury characters and methods of control:

Aphids (commonly known as greenfly and blackfly) - they love fresh green growth and can be seen crowding the growing tips. Ladybirds, hoverflies, blue tits etc love aphids but sometimes they get out of hand too quickly to deal with. Leafcurl common on apples, cherries, plums and their flowering relatives is one of the side effects of aphid damage. Controlling them is easy just squash them when you see a small colony starting up or spray if they are getting too numerous. If spraying avoid the main periods when bees are actively foraging or choose a product like Bio Organic Pest Control that doesn’t pose a risk to bees.

Red Lily Beetle - As May approaches this red devil on your lilies, Solomon's Seal and fritillaries may look like a ladybird from far but look a little closer. They aren't round like a ladybird and you won't see any spots, but you will see holes in your lilies! Provado Ultimate Bug Killer is probably the best cure but if you see any beetles squash those bugs before they bite…. but please make sure they aren't ladybirds first.

Slugs and snails - tender new growth of herbaceous plants like hostas and new plants going in are most at risk from ever present slugs and snails. A little protection really does make a difference and you can’t go wrong scattering a few slug pellets little and often until there is plenty of established healthy growth. Barriers and traps will help too as will encouraging birds and other predators into the garden by feeding and putting in wildlife ponds etc. For a free downloadable leaflet on controlling the slimy army click here.

Vine Weevil – one to watch out for in your containers. Sadly the signs of vine weevil attack are usually visible once it's too late to help your plants as the grubs usually chew the roots off however preventative treatment in April/May and again July/August time with Provado Vine Weevil Killer is simple and effective. If you discover vine weevil grubs in your pots birds like Robins and blackbirds find them a treat…every cloud has sliver lining!

For greenhouse owners Greenhouse sticky traps are a must. These trap early pests like whitefly and help delay attack but are a really good way of monitoring the influx of pests so that you can deal with them early before they become a problem.

Always Read the label. Use pesticides safely.