- It’s a good time to fertilise and prune hibiscus so they develop a bushy habit and produce lots of flowers in summer.
- If you have a vege garden don’t forget to water it at least twice a week. Although it’s cooler, the drier winter winds will drain the moisture from the soil.
- If you’re growing pineapples, give them a side dressing of complete fertiliser in late August. They like acid soils, so avoid using lime or dolomite.
- Spray the flowers of your mango tree with a copper-based spray to fight anthracnose disease.
- Plant your new roses now. Bagged and bare-rooted roses are in plentiful supply.
- Fertilise your existing rose bushes by mulching around them with cow manure.
- Keep your strawberries fruiting with a fortnightly feed of fish and seaweed solutions.
- Prune passionfruit vines of unwanted growth, mulch and water well. Prune by cutting all laterals (shoots coming from the main stem) back to two buds.
- Plant rhubarb crowns in soil enriched with old manure and blood and bone. Established plants also need this as a mulch.
- Plant potatoes, sweet potatoes, leeks and spring onions in the vegetable garden.
- Pruning acalyphas (Fijian fire plant, copperleaf) now will ensure they have great flushes of new colourful foliage next spring.
- Take cuttings of frangipani to grow new plants. Leave it under the house or similar for two weeks before potting.
- Give your cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli a boost and feed them some sulphate of ammonia.
Vegetables
Plant carrot, lettuce, radish, beetroot, capsicum, celery, cucumber, eggplant, beans, pumpkin, silverbeet, spring onion, leek, choko, squash, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini, broccoli, Asian vegetables, cabbage, peas, spinach, coriander, rocket and turnips.
Flowers
Plant marigold, petunia, calendula, bedding begonia, Californian poppy, carnation, chrysanthemum, coleus, dahlia, gaillardia, gazania, gerbera, kangaroo paw, phlox, portulaca, snapdragon, zinnia, amaranthus, salvia and statice.
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