Monty Don shares essential gardening task for August so plants can 'retain extravagance' - encourage flower formation into autumn
Complete this task for a prettier garden through the rest of summer and into autumn
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August is well underway and there are important tasks to complete now to guarantee a beautiful garden.
British horticulturist Monty Don shared an essential job to get done this month with your plants growing in containers.
When the weather is scorching hot, it's important to take steps to mitigate any negative effects this could have on your plants.
Monty said: "August can be the hottest month of the year and although the nights are starting to be cooler (and noticeably shorter) the days can be sweltering and many gardens start to show the strain of drought.
'Plants in pots do need regular watering and feeding to sustain the extravagance of their late summer display'
GETTY IMAGES"Any plants in pots do need regular watering and feeding to sustain the extravagance of their late summer display.
"I feed all our containers weekly (on Feeding Friday) with liquid seaweed or homemade comfrey feed."
The essential gardening task is all about cultivating long-term results. Getting this key job done now could spell great things for months to come.
The expert continued: "Both are high in potash [fertiliser potassium] which encourages flower formation and helps keep the display going strongly right into autumn."
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shared some important information about feeding container plants during the summer.
Experts said: "Plants in containers need attention all year, but summer is the most critical period as they can soon run short of water and nutrients." Gardening enthusiasts can also consult the RHS' information on watering plants in containers in the summer.
Feeding
Ensure you check your compost bag to see how long added fertilisers will last.
Fast-growing bedding plants, edibles and hungry plants benefit from frequent feeding with a general-purpose proprietary liquid feed between April and the end of August.
To care for long-term plants, a controlled-release fertiliser should be added when planting, topdressing or repotting.
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Monty Don feeds his container plants weekly with liquid seaweed or homemade comfrey feed
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With composts that don't include soil, fertiliser should incorporate essential trace elements.
Bedding plants and other short-lived annuals will still benefit from feeding until early autumn.
Finally, gardeners should feed their plants when the compost is moist.