IT’S been a pleasure bringing you gardening tips and information for another year, and I look forward to an exciting 2023.
I wish all a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year.
Make sure you get out and enjoy your garden over the holiday period… maybe even start a new project.
Don’t forget that you can send me any gardening queries, problems or questions – or just something interesting from your garden – to reception@gcnews.com.au
All the best from Brownie.
Prune your flowering shrubs such
as azalea, gardenia, camellia, ixora,
bottlebrush, tibouchina, brunfelsia and
grevillea.
Tip prune poinsettia to make them bush
out and produce more flowers this winter.
Make a note of frangipani plants with
flower colours you like so that you can
take cuttings in winter.
Protect developing soft fruit from
fruit fly by maintaining fruit fly traps,
destroying spoiled fruit and treating
plants with Eco-naturalure.
Cover fruiting trees with a bird net to
prevent developing fruit being attacked
by parrots.
Do not feed your garden in very hot
weather as it will place too much stress
on the root systems.
Do not use chemical sprays once the
temperature reaches 28 degrees as you
will burn your plants. Best time is early
evening.
Water your plants and not your garden.
Give your prized plants a watering can
full of diluted seaweed solution once a
week in very hot weather.
Azaleas will be making quite significant
growth and need fertilising now. Stop
fertilising when they form flower buds.
Trim runaway shoots on wisteria
only up until late February / early
March, otherwise you’ll prune off flower
budwood.
Water roses during dry weather in the morning, giving a good soak and avoid
wetting the leaves.
Roses will be looking for nutrients so
apply an organically based fertiliser
every 6-8 weeks from August right
through to March. Give them some extra
sulphate of potash at the rate of about
150g per bush, four times a year.
In subtropical areas, prune roses in
January and February. This gives an
autumn flush of flowers, which will hold
on the bushes better.
Citrus trees need to be fed this month
with a citrus and fruit tree fertiliser
at the rate of 125g per year of the tree’s
age (up to 1.25kg). Always sprinkle the
fertiliser evenly around the area
covered by the leaf canopy. Citrus has
shallow roots so never dig the fertiliser in.
Now is the time when lawns will
respond to aeration and for those
gardeners who wish to work off some
of the excesses of Christmas, going over
it with a fork will do the trick.
Watch out for signs or lawn grubs. If
present, spray may be required to keep
them in-check.
Help lavender survive the wet season by
sprinkling a little lime or dolomite
directly over the foliage and around the
roots.
Sweet corn is one vegetable that can
be planted right through until the end
of February. Adequate ground
preparation is the first step and this
should involve digging in animal
manures and dolomite four weeks
before planting. Remember to always
plant sweet corn in a block rather
than rows for better pollination. Plant
seedlings deeply to encourage stronger
roots to grow.
Parsley plants may just suddenly die.
This is normal as they do fall victim to
summer heat and humidity. Replant
with fresh seedlings.
Red-shouldered leaf beetles are on the
increase. The mustard yellow beetles
have a red band on the shoulders and a
spot on each wing. They can damage
the leaves of a lot of garden plants and
can be treated using a pyrethrum spray.