As the first signs of summer flowers begin to wane, it’s time to prepare your autumn and winter garden.
GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS:
BELLADONNA LILIES, EARLY NERINES, EARLY CHRYSANTHEMUMS, DAHLIAS, SUNFLOWERS, BORDER PHLOX, HIBISCUS, LACEBARKS, OLEANDERS, KING PROTEAS.
ORNAMENTAL GARDEN
Plant
Clear away the rest of the summer annuals and apply plenty of compost before setting out winter/spring bedding plants. Make sure the beds are thoroughly moist before planting. Set out plants of any of the following: antirrhinum, calendula, Iceland poppy, stock, pansy, primrose, Primula malacoides, polyanthus, viola and wallflower. Start off anemones and ranunculus in a seed-raising mix to assist germination. Sow directly in beds, alyssum, calendula, candytuft, clarkia, dianthus, hollyhock, larkspur, linaria, linum, poppy and virginia stock. Complete planting of all spring bulbs except tulips. This is the best time to plant hardy evergreen shrubs, especially conifers. Make sure they never lack moisture during their establishment.
Prune
Prune bush marguerites, pelargoniums and geraniums. Take half-ripe cuttings from a variety of shrubs and root under shelter.
Fertilise and watch out for
Give fortnightly liquid feeds to chrysanthemums, delphiniums and gerberas until buds show colour. Many summer pests and diseases which are still around, should be kept on top of.
EDIBLE GARDEN
Plant
Cabbage (flower of spring, spring hybrids), celery (plants), kohl rabi, lettuce (winter), onion (spring, PLK seeds), radish, spinach (prickly seeded or hybrid), turnip (late).
Fertilise
Give liquid feeds to all new plantings and any established crops that are flagging in growth. Liquid feed fruiting citrus trees and passionfruit.
Things to do
Finish harvesting tender vegetables. Harvest apples, pears and late peaches. Begin grape harvest. If wasps are a nuisance, protect ripening bunches with old pantyhose. Water citrus and passionfruit as necessary. Wrap corrugated cardboard strips (corrugation inward) around trunks of late apples and pears to trap hibernating moths.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Watering
Watering may still be necessary in many areas, especially for new plantings.
Lawn Care
Oversow old lawns and sow new ones (as soon as possible in the colder areas of the region). Established lawns may be fed in the organic way, by applying half a bucket of sifted compost to each square metre. Test the acidity of poor, weedy grass, which may need dolomite lime to bring the pH up to 6-6.5.
Rose care
Deadhead lightly or let hips form ripen the wood. Continue watering if necessary.
Things to do
Disbud chrysanthemums, except spray types, leaving only the main bud. Lift and dry summer gladioli before storing.
Need assistance
Get in touch with the team at Lawn King.
