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Timing is everything in gardening — for best results. But there is some leeway. In this section, Garden.ie offers accurate horticultural advice reminders on the main groups of plants under Irish conditions, week after week.

  • Trees, Shrubs and Roses
  • Flowers
  • Lawn
  • Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs
  • Greenhouse and House Plants

Lawn

  • Mow the grass regularly during this period of rapid growth.
  • It is essential to keep ahead of growth to have a good quality dense growth of green grass. If too much growth is allowed before mowing, the lawn will look very shabby when the grass is eventually cut.
  • Poor growth indicates that feeding with high-nitrogen fertiliser is needed.
  • Control weeds before they get too advanced by using lawn weedkiller in a settled spell.

Flowers

  • Plant out summer bedding plants and plant up pots and other containers, except in the colder inland areas.
  • Watch for slug and snail damage immediately after planting out, and water shortage.
  • At ten days to two weeks after planting, run a hoe over the ground to knock out weed seedlings before they take hold, and hoe every week or so until the plants are well grown.

Greenhouse and House Plants

  • Pot up some bedding plants such as busy lizzies, begonias and petunias for greenhouse display.
  • Remove excess shoots of a grapevine every couple of weeks to keep it under control and tie in new shoots that are needed for extension growth.
  • Plant out tomatoes and peppers in a greenhouse, if not already done.
  • Water all indoor plants regularly and feed every two weeks or so.

Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs

  • If there is wet weather, especially in warm conditions, apple and pear trees will need spraying against apple and pear scab, especially if the scab disease is present on the leaves and has affected the fruit in recent years.
  • Continue to sow vegetables such as lettuce, radish, carrots, peas, french beans, cauliflower and parsley.
  • Sow seeds of winter cabbage and cauliflower.
  • Watch for greenfly on apple trees too but do not spray until the petals fall.
  • If codling moth grubs in apples has been a problem in recent years, spray with a caterpillar spray at the end of flowering and two weeks later.
  • Strawberries may need netting against bird damage.

Trees, Shrubs and Roses

  • If it is necessary to reduce the size of shrubs, ‘prune’ them as soon as they have gone out of flower.
  • Check that recently planted trees and shrubs are securely staked, if necessary, and have not run short of water. They are not out of danger until they have made some new growth at the branch tips.
  • Check Japanese maples for greenflies and also chestnut scale on the branches and control these with insecticide if large numbers are present, as both can cause severe dieback of branches.