July in your Sub-Tropical garden

Bud swelling on peaches will be occurring now. Spray throughout the tree canopy, including all twigs and buds, with Bordeaux or a similar copper-based fungicide. Only a single spray is necessary.

Remove old canes from abelias, kolkwitzias and philadelphus at ground level. This may remove a little flower but there should still be good flower on younger shoots.

Petal blight can disfigure camellias and azaleas, especially in wet weather. Good hygiene helps to control the problem. Avoid overhead watering. Collect and dispose of fallen flowers, and remove blighted flowers from the plant if infections become really serious. Spray with Bayleton every two weeks until the end of flowering.

To produce flowers on new season's growth, prune those shrubs that grow quickly, including Clerodendrum ugandense, Iochroma cyaneum and, where space is too restricted for normal growth, Lagerstroemia indica. Bur do note, in the latter case this pruning results in a loss of the beautiful elegance of the trunk.

Assess the areas of the garden that receive the best of winter sunlight and consider constructing a paved area or decking to allow you to sit outside and enjoy seasonal warmth.

Nip back pansies and violas as they become tall, to encourage tighter growth and more numerous flowers.

Plant asparagus crowns in rich, well-drained soils.

Beetroot seed can be sown thinly (ultimately plants should be 10cm apart) after soaking them overnight in water.

Sow spinach seed into beds well-fertilised with compost and manure and pre-fertilised with a mixed fertiliser. Seeds should be sown 1cm deep. Once they germinate, feed fortnightly with Phostrogen Plant Food to encourage vigorous growth.

Plant out zucchini seedlings into a site well-prepared with rotted manure or compost. Cow or sheep manure in a hole 60cm wide by 45cm deep would be ideal. Add a complete fertiliser and plant the zucchinis on a soil mound over this area, two plants per mound. Mulch well with Debco Mulch'n'Feed.