Tomorrow is the first day of November – it’s still spring, but we have already experienced heat and hot winds and very little rain.
This time of year should be pleasant in the garden as summer shrubs and roses begin to bloom, which should appease the passing of pansies and the disappointment felt when spring bulbs begin yellowing and dying off.
However, last weekend’s heat and drying winds left many gardeners worrying about tomatoes being burnt by the hot wind and azaleas getting burnt when normally they keep flowering through spring.
If azaleas and daisies are covered in brown and half dead blooms and clivias and camellias have finished flowering, then camellias, particularly, should have been fed with cow manure and mulched with peat moss.
Daisies could be cut back lightly and fed with an all-purpose foliant fertiliser such as Flourish to encourage new blooms.
Presently we need to be conscious of current water restrictions which still allow us to apply water in the morning and afternoon but, more importantly, mulch the garden with sugar cane, also applying Saturaid and water crystals to store the precious water applied to the gardens and lawns.
Agapanthus are budding to burst into colour for Christmas. Hopefully they were fed with cow manure at the beginning of spring – keep a watchful eye out for mealy bug, which can often be hidden deep down in the plant’s base.
Gardenias and hibiscus will both benefit from an application of cow manure – gardenias setting buds and displaying yellowing leaves can be lacking water or may need fertilising with cow manure or magnesium.
Have you checked your indoor plants? Repot, if needed, turn over the topsoil that has become hard and crusty, top up with new potting mix or peat moss, fertilise with Green Flourish.
Christmas is looming; fertilise beds with cow manure, wait one week and plant out colourful annuals. If you live in an apartment or villa, pot up bowls of annuals, petunias, begonias or lobelia – always use a premium potting mix and apply Flourish for flowering each week to give a brilliant colourful display for the festive season.
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