Cuttings: Weekend work

SECATEURS need to be sharp for this weekend's work. The blue mallow may need cutting back ruthlessly if it is smothering close neighbours. All the mallows are bullies, even the pale, innocent-looking 'Barnsley'. Watch for reversion on this. It happens very easily, and cutting out the offending growths will not always stop the problem.

Roses still need dead-heading, particularly those such as the hybrid musks that you hope will give another show later in the season. Cut out old raspberry canes at the base and tie in the new canes, topping them if they have grown too tall. They should not stand much above the top wire of the support. The weight of fruit will drag them down and make it difficult to get between the rows next summer.

Cut back loganberries in the same way, taking out entirely the stems that have fruited and tying in the new stems. Cut back some of the leafy growth on fruiting vines, shortening the side growths to just above the place where you can see the bunches of grapes have already set.

Cut down the flower heads of plants such as Jacob's ladder that you do not want to seed about too freely. Where alchemilla is badly battered and discoloured by rain, this can be cut back, too. The plant will make a fresh crop of leaves, usually of more manageable size than its first growth.

Continue to pick sweet peas if you want the plants to continue to produce them. Cut off the flower heads of parsley and, if necessary, cut back any tarragon that has reached an unmanageable size. In this wet month, many plants will be more floppy than they should be.