Time to prune mock orange (philadelphus) to stop it becoming too congested. Cut out 30 to 40 per cent of the recently flowered growth to leave an open-textured crown in which the new long shoots can receive good light.
Snap out the spent flower stems of pinks such as the heady ‘Mrs Sinkins’ and, if the plants are old, take cuttings for next year now, using new shoots pushed into a 50:50 mixture of compost and sand.
Make sure the long wands of growth on climbing roses are tied in or shortened, before winds can rip them down.
Summer heat means red spider mite in greenhouses.
Ventilate well and damp down regularly. Biological controls will do the rest.
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Who is watering your patio pots while you are on holiday? Line someone up to do it or install a dripper irrigation system on a timer.
Readers’ queries
I planted a tree peony in my garden six years ago. It has never produced any flowers, despite its vigorous leaf growth. Last autumn, I cut it back quite severely in the hope that it would produce blooms this summer. Despite this, and adding fertiliser around the base of the plant in early spring, it still shows no sign of flowering. It’s about 8ft high. I’m willing to give it one more year, but after that, that’s it! Mrs J. Condliffe, Blewbury, Oxon
A tree peony that grows so easily and happily to that height must be the yellow Paeonia ludlowii. It produces masses of fat black seeds and that is how it is usually propagated, so there is often variation in the progeny, for better or worse. Some have really miserable little flowers, some are fine. As long as your plant has good light and is growing healthily (remember, the foliage is always pale green) then, if it does nothing next year, write it off as a dud and scrap it. No pruning in the meantime – hard pruning positively discourages flowers.
In June last year, I followed your advice and grew a crop of morning glory ‘Heavenly Blue’ from seed, in a pot and against a stone wall. As there were still lots of buds at the end of October last year, and as the packet suggested sowing indoors in April, that is what I did this year, hoping to get a longer flowering season. The seeds germinated quickly and I hardened them off outside, transferring them to the large pot during the hot weather at the end of April. Since then, they haven’t made much progress and look rather unhealthy and yellow, despite watering. Do you have any suggestions? Mrs E. Allchurch, Redditch, Worcs
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Isn’t it a glorious sky blue? It’s wonderful scrambling up among the stems of the hardy passion flower Passiflora caerulea when the apricot-coloured fruits have formed. But it’s one of those annuals that hates to be chilled by too early a start or a cold spell once it has been planted out. Next year, stick to sowing them well into May or even in June; I would be tempted even to try them now. Soak the seeds for half an hour before you sow, and get the young plants out into the garden as soon as they’re strong enough.