Gardeners' notes - jobs to do in June
Take cuttings of pelargoniums
Pelargoniums are a great addition to your summer garden, enjoying a warm and sunny spot in a pot or in the ground. Their bright colours and interesting, sometimes scented foliage conjures Mediterranean islands or Alpine chalet window boxes.
Pelargoniums cope well with drought but they’re tender plants and need to be brought inside to a conservatory or greenhouse during the colder months. Taking cuttings of pelargoniums is a good insurance policy against losses, as well as increasing your stock of these pretty plants.
Using a sharp knife, remove strong, young shoots from the parent plant, snapping off any flower stalks and all but the top pair of leaves. Trim the stems so that the end is immediately below a leaf joint, and insert around the edge of a pot filled with gritty, free-draining compost.
Water them in and then place the cuttings in a bright place inside a propagator with a plastic lid – alternatively secure a plastic bag over the top of the pot with an elastic band – until the cuttings begin to grow, when the cover can be removed.
Earth up potatoes
As potatoes continue to put on growth, it’s a good idea to earth them up; in other words, rake up more soil around them to cover the stems and foliage. This protects the developing tubers from being exposed to light, which turns them green and makes them inedible. It also extends the lengths of the stems underground, enabling them to bear even more potatoes.
This practice works whether your crop is in the ground or in a bag or container. If they’re growing in a bed, use the soil between the rows, mounding it up to form a ridge along the row of potatoes. If they’re in a bag or large pot, simply add more compost to the top, ensuring it covers the stems and foliage as much as possible. Earthing up can be done at 2-3 week intervals for a healthy crop of spuds.
Give your houseplants a holiday
When the nights get warmer, it’s worth leaving some of your houseplants outside for a spell – they’ll benefit from the additional light and any rainfall. As long as your plants can survive temperatures around 10 degrees or slightly lower, they should cope with being left out day and night. Check each individual plant’s tolerance for low temperatures, and if in doubt, bring them back inside before dusk.
Many succulents, such as Aeoniums, Echeveria and Crassula will enjoy a summer holiday outside. Place them in a bright, sheltered spot and keep an eye on them: watch out for signs of scorching from direct sun, and remember to protect them from heavy rainfall or high winds, which could knock over their pots and cause damage.
