It's time to: July

All areas

Attend to indoor plants: dust leaves, top up potting mix, or repot if necessary. Rotate the pot too – the plant will appreciate sunlight from a new angle.

Visit gardens to get winter plant inspiration, borrow some great ideas, then go shopping.

 

Cold

Keep shade cloth free of leaf litter to ensure the health of the plants below.

Spray with caffeine spray, or scatter snail pellets to keep snails and slugs at bay.

 

Temperate

Deadhead camellias.

Aerate lawns using a garden fork. An application of watered-in dolomite lime will sweeten the soil (and neutralise the acid profile of fertilisers).

 

Subtropical

Increase plant numbers by taking cuttings of frangipani and roses.

Cut back carambola trees. They can be heavily pruned so don’t hold back!

Remove fast-growing weeds before they have a chance to set seed.

 

Tropical

When planting in the dry season, add compost to the soil and renew mulch to retain moisture.

Plant a green manure and dig in to the garden bed in 4 – 6 weeks.

 

When you have 10 minutes

Make use of deciduous plant prunings by using them as cuttings. Select plenty of healthy, firm, 30 cm long stems with fat buds. Dip the end of the cuttings into hormone powder or gel (or try honey, as an alternative) and place in a dibbled hole in seed raising or propagating mix. Pot on when roots are well-established, then swap with friends.