I'm a royal gardener, important task will help your plants adapt to the heat and when it's time for the ‘Chelsea chop'
GREEN DAYS I'm a royal gardener, important task will help your plants adapt to the heat and when it's time for the 'Chelsea chop'
IT'S not just us humans that need to adapt to the warmer weather, the plants in your garden will need to adjust too.
With temperatures soaring across the UK this weekend, former royal gardener Jack Stooks has opened up to Genting Casino about the hot weather jobs that could save your plot.
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Jack Stooks who previously worked for the King shares his top tips
Credit: Getty
Jack - who previously worked for King Charles at Highgrove for over two decades - also shares insight into the 'Chelsea Chop' method, and why it's important for maintaining plants.
Read on to discover how to get your garden summer-ready…
Plant feeding
In June, much of the focus will be on staking plants and keeping them well watered.
You might also start feeding your pot plants around this time, as you'll likely notice things beginning to grow in the pots.
When to water
As we've had fairly dry weather in recent weeks, it's important to water your garden either in the mornings or evenings.
The plants aren't yet at the stage where you're supporting them with stakes - for example, all the roses in my garden are still quite low - so they may struggle in the heat.
I'd avoid overwatering, as the goal is to help the plants adapt to having less water.
That said, you still need to water them, otherwise they'll just die. The main priority is making sure everything is well watered.
The 'Chelsea Chop'
Around this time of year is normally what gardeners refer to as the Chelsea Chop, which is when certain herbaceous plants get a little bit big and you have to chop them down.
This helps them come back a lot bushier and helps to control the size of the plant, shape, and flowering time.
6 ways to get rid of slugs and snails
In weather like this, it's often not necessary, as the plants haven't grown as much - but it an important task to be aware of.
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