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David Maher is our David also produces If your interested in Snail Mail - 16 Prentice Ph/Fax - 02 6766 2132 |
February in the Garden By David Maher As February is often a hot, dry,
challenging month in all Australian States, daily, early morning
watering may be necessary for shallow-rooted plants and for potted
plants, including azaleas, camellias, gardenias, orchids, young
natives and for some vegetable plants. For watering to achieve its
maximum benefits, mulching and gentle watering are essential.
It is difficult to achieve gentle watering with a bucket.
Certainly, continuous vegetable cropping will be dependent upon
generous mulching and disciplined watering. Camellias:
Progressively, all camellias, that is, sasanquas, japonicas
and reticulatas, should receive a dressing of
Camellia sasanquas: the application of a foliar spray of Searle’s Azalea, Camellia and Gardenia Soluble Plant Food or Soluble Potash or a similar product will assist their autumn growth and their flowering. Do remember to spray under the leaves because that is where most of the pores are located. Gardenias should now be in full bud, although adverse seasonal conditions can diminish flowering. Chrysanthemums: apply potash at the rate of 15 to 30 to 50 grams per plant and continue to disbud. Citrus: fertilize with citrus food or old poultry manure over moistened soil and in the outer foliage area of the trees at the end of the month, next mulch with lucerne hay. Citrus in containers are best fed with a slow release product such as Yates’ Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food pellets or Osmocote Plus. Cyclamens and Gloxinias: Plants that are coming into bud can receive a foliar spray of a weak solution of Aquasol or Searle’s Flourish. Cymbidium Orchids: Fertilize with Campbell’s Yellow, or Phostrogen, or Yates THRIVE Soluble Fruit and Flower product (26% potassium), or Manutec’s Orchid Food, as flower spikes will have commenced to form and to develop in most cultivars. Geraniums and Pelargoniums will benefit from either an application of Thrive Fruit and Flower or Phostrogen or Aquasol as foliar sprays. Natives: Young plants benefit from a small dosage, say 10 to 20 grams, of Searle’s Osmocote Plus Native Fertilizer which has low phosphorus content of P = 1.6. Mature plants need not be fertilized. (Never use a product on natives that has high phosphorus content.) Passionfruit
and Strawberries: As
passionfruit and strawberries are gross feeders, an application of
blood and bone (4 parts) mixed with potash (1 part) at six to
eight weeks’ intervals maintains foliage colour, plant growth
and fruit development. In between applications, a supplement of
potash at the rate of one to three heaped teaspoonfuls per plant
should increase fruit production provided an adequate moisture
level is maintained. Roses: In my garden, buds have formed for the autumn display. A soluble foliar spray of Yates’ Dynamic Lifter Seaweed Plant Tonic Food will assist bud and flower development. Prune out small, weedy growth that is cluttering the crutch area of bushes, remove any suckers and discard any leaves affected by black spot. SPRAYING Check azaleas for lace bug. It is identifiable by the silvery surface on the leaves. I have been spraying my plants with Lebaycid as a preventative measure since late October. Confidor is an alternative spray. Chrysanthemums/Perennials Phloxes, Geraniums, Pelargoniums and Cucurbits: Should humid weather occur, spray with Mancozeb Plus to prevent and control downy mildew and rust. Yates’ Fungus Fighter and Baycor are other suitable sprays. Roses: Examine plants for red spider and, if detected, use Kelthane spray. If the plants have developed immunity to the product, try Confidor. Tomatoes: spray to control fruit fly infestations with Lebaycid or Rogor. If using the Wild May Fruit Fly System or any other similar product, I suspect that you will still need to use one of the sprays. In my experience, lemons and grapefruit should also be sprayed at the same time as tomatoes because they seem to attract fruit fly from January onwards. On my site, other citrus seem not to attract fruit fly. MAINTENANCE Avoid heavy pruning in February generally. The exposure of sap to hot summer sun and dry conditions can result in die back. Restrict pruning to trimming or tip pruning, especially of long, straggly growth. Summer requires gardeners to be vigilant in the placement of plants in containers. Some may have to be moved to more comfortable positions, e.g. where they receive more water or more afternoon shade. I have had to do this with herbs in containers. Agapanthuses: remove spent flower heads, fertilize and apply Baysol, if necessary. If your plants failed to flower, it could be the result of overcrowding or overgenerous shade. In either event, lift, divide and replant in autumn or winter. In early spring, provide nutrients in the form of blood and bone and potash at the rate of five parts to one part, and apply a supplement of potash in late October. Alyogyne – ‘Melissa Anne’: This is an Australian native that I pruned in my garden in late January. Young plants should be pruned lightly. Beans: Maintain moisture levels to assist bean development. Bean plants can be affected by red spider. Be vigilant and spray with Rogor, if detected. January sown plants will be at a stage where they will benefit from a supplement of potash, half a teaspoon to each plant. Bougainvilleas: prune lightly after each flowering event. Camellia japonicas: disbud, leaving one or two buds per stem. Remove the weakest buds and retain those that are robust and have space to develop, being careful not to remove growth buds. Flower buds are fatter than growth buds. In order to obtain the best results from disbudding, commence as soon as a flower bud can be distinguished from a leaf growth. Flower buds are fatter than leaf buds. Chrysanthemums: Disbud heavily to produce quality flowers and spray with a fungicide if mildew is prevalent or likely to occur. Climbers: Long, straggly growth on climbers such as wisteria should be shortened severely, especially those long straggly pieces, as this growth will not produce flowers. If pruning is completed now, it will not reduce flowering potential. If pruned in winter, embryonic flowering buds will be removed. Hedges: Clip back hedges such as Photinias progressively so that they are controlled and so that hard pruning is avoided. Citrus: it is essential to maintain consistent soil moisture at all times to ensure that citrus fruit do not dry out and develop brown areas and shed fruit prematurely. Compost: If not using your mature compost for the growing of azaleas, camellias and gardenias mix into the heap a small amount of dolomite at the rate of 150 grams to a square metre. It will sweeten the mix and add magnesium. Grafted plants such as roses will occasionally produce suckers from below the graft. Remove these with secateurs. Grape Vines: Excess foliage above the bunches of grapes should be removed. Cut just above nodes, preferably one node above the bunches. This practice assists ventilation and reduces the incidence of fungal conditions and the amount of spraying. Preventative sprays are recommended. Grevillea ‘Sylvia’: My shrub flowers continuously from November through to the end of August. In consequence, I prune lightly each month because of its prolific flowering habit.
Indoor or House Plants: In extreme heat, it is a good practice to soak containers in a bucket of water; place the containers in inside another pot and pack sphagnum moss around the inside of larger pot. Liliums: plants that have to be relocated should be lifted now while still visible, otherwise it may be difficult to locate their precise sites. The accidental piercing of the bulbs with a fork can be a distressing experience for a plant and the gardener. Nectarines:
As sweetness does not improve after harvesting, pick while they
are plump and firm but ripe. A red blush does not necessarily
indicate that they are ripe. Ripeness can very often be detected
by a nectarine aroma in the Petunias and Lisianthuses: Cut back in summer to encourage regrowth and re-flowering. Roses: Established rose bushes, which have been affected severely by black spot and/or downy mildew, can be hard pruned to remove almost all their leaves. Feed immediately with rose food and spray the remaining leaves and the soil with Yates’ Rose Shield or Triforine. Alternatively, you might wish to test the effectiveness of a mixture that The American Rose Society recommends: 3 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda plus 2 to 3 tablespoons of Pest Oil in 4.5 litres of water. Soil Improvement: Garden beds and containers that are to be used for Spring-flowering annuals & bulbs and summer vegetables can have animal manure and/or compost dug into the top 15cms of the soil. This will decompose, attract earthworms, and improve the soil structure and the soil’s water-holding capacity. Sweet Peas: apply lime or dolomite in preparation for March or April planting. (March 17th is the traditional target planting date for some gardeners.) MULCH garden beds with Queensland sugar cane mulch, or lucerne hay, or pea straw, or compost, or cow or horse manure, to conserve moisture and to attract earthworms. Always wet the soil thoroughly before mulching. Powdery mildew can affect cucurbits such as cucumbers, melons, marrows and pumpkins, and apples, roses and grapes in moist, humid February weather. Spray infected plants with Mancozeb Plus. My plants have not been affected thus far this summer. PLANTING Sow cineraria and pansy seeds in late February or early March, depending on your climatic zone, so that the seedlings are ready for transplanting in April. In my climatic zone, the first cineraria flowers will appear in mid-August. Bearded Irises not already divided in November/December can be lifted, divided and replanted. Discard old and spent rhizomes. Retain young, fresh rhizomes from the edges of clumps. Ideally, wash the rhizomes in diluted bleach and dust the moist surface with sulphur powder. In the cooler climatic zones, that is, where the winters are cold and the summers are mild, plant some delphiniums. These will last for years in such climates. Delphiniums come in blue, white and purple and are a superb flower for decorative purposes. If you choose to grow them in warmer climatic zones, e.g. Tamworth, plant in a container and delay planting until March, mulch well and treat as an annual. Every garden should boast some spinach plants. In most climatic zones, it can be grown throughout the year. For an autumn crop, plant now. Yates’ Fordhook Giant is my preferred variety for all seasons. Six weeks after planting, the first of the leaves can be picked. Seeds or plants are available. Moisture levels must be maintained and fortnightly soluble sprays of products high in nitrogen are recommended. PROBLEM SOLVING: During most tomato growing seasons, I lose a small number of fruit because of blossom end rot, that is, the brown to black patches at the bottom of the fruit. As soon as this blemish is observed on fruit, remove and discard otherwise it will weep and rot. The cause of this condition is a puzzle for me. Literature says that it can be caused by erratic watering or a deficiency of calcium in the soil. As I always use dolomite in vegetable garden beds and as I water consistently, these may not be the only causes especially as some tomatoes on a truss can be infected and others can be perfectly clear of the condition. Hence, I cannot offer a definitive solution to the problem.
Happy gardening!
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potash, ranging in
quantity from 10 to 50 grams, depending upon the age and size of
the plant.
These times
should be adjusted for the different climatic zones.
Hydrangeas:
orchard. Store in a fruit bowl at room
temperature until ready to eat.