Spring is almost here.
That means it is time to give your garden some attention. By doing some essential gardening chores over the next few weeks, you can get you garden back to its “glossy green self”.
Nature always celebrates with flowers and over the next few weeks, it is as if the garden threw a party and everyone arrived in full bloom celebration.
What you should be doing in your garden
Get a few jobs done now to wake up your garden and let the new season take hold around your home. Skipping essential jobs now will mean more work throughout the summer. Late August and early September is sort out the lawn time. Get the grass greener on your side with simple steps. Traditionally, most lawns in our local area are Kikuyu with evergreen lawns such as Shade-Over and All Seasons Evergreen as options for small spaces and problem areas. LM Grass as a runner lawn in semi-shade has also become popular as it establishes fast. It is also water wise.
Spring treatment for Kikuyu and LM Grass
Scarify to remove the dead mat. This can be done with a rotary lawnmower set low. Rake with a metal rake or hand broom to remove any long shoots and mow again. By removing the dead mat, the lawn will be healthier and easier to mow throughout the summer. Aerate with a spiked roller or garden fork, especially in compacted, high traffic areas.Top dressing and lawn dressing will help the condition of the soil under the lawn and help with moisture retention in early summer. Well-irrigated lawns are fertilised with Wonder 7:1:3 Lawn & Leaf fertiliser, repeated every six to eight weeks. Alternatively, use Neutrog Sudden Impact for Lawns every four to six weeks. If you have not pruned roses, you need to do so. Pruning roses is the only way you can get more flowers and stronger plants. Modern roses in our climate require a cutback. Use sharp secateurs and cut back Hybrid Tea roses by half and Floribunda roses by a third. Ground covers get cut back by about two thirds while Climbers just need shaping.
Wax flowers
Chamelaucium, also known as wax flowers, originate in Australia but are well-suited to local garden conditions. They have aromatic leaves and soft branches, which sway in the wind adding an interesting texture and feel in the garden. The flowers are borne on-mass all along the stems and cluster on the tips with a waxy finish that gives them their name. Wax flowers need sun for best flower displays. It must have well-drained soil. Trim outer branches lightly after flowering to encourage bushy growth but do not cut into old wood.
Clivias for shade
Indigenous Clivias will perform well planted in the garden or in containers and normally flower from the end of August through September. They do best in well-drained soil and will handle most water conditions. The plants will do well under trees or against an east facing wall. Feeding of your Clivias improves flowering and the number of flowers. Feed them with Sudden Impact for Roses and Flowers as an organic flowering fertiliser which has the higher potassium content needed for flower production. Always add bone meal at planting for strong root development. For Clivias in containers, a liquid feed such as Nitrosol or Multifeed Classic every 10 to 14 days will help you grow the best. The biggest pest is the lily borer, a black caterpillar with yellow bands. They will tunnel into the leaves and burrow down into the core of the Clivias. They can appear any time from September and can destroy your plant. Use a systemic insecticide such as Koinor or Efekto Plant Protector as a precaution at least twice a summer.
Information from Eckards.
