As late summer is upon us there is still plenty to do to keep you busy in the garden.
Now is a good time to prune any hedges or climbers that have grown excessively including star jasmine tendrils and spent flower heads such as those on agapanthus, New Zealand Flax, Kangaroo paws and lilies.
If you have a vegetable or herb garden now is also a great for sowing seeds like parsnip, celery, leeks, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, spring onion, lettuce.
Summer salads are not the same without fresh tomato so don’t forget to fertilise tomato plants with a potassium based fertiliser to promote fruit. Feed citrus with a suitable citrus or complete fertiliser.
For that splash of colour snapdragon, dianthus, poppies, viola, pansies and allysum are suitable seeds to sow.
Pest control is often required especially on roses and citrus for infestation from aphids, scale and leaf minor, use pest or white oil to treat and spray confidor on azaleas to control lace bug and the silvery discolouration it produces on leaves.
While soil may appear moist on top it can still be dry further down and require a wetting agent to assist in retention. There are many forms of this like water crystals, hose on liquid for larger areas or granules cultivated through. Mulching will also help to retain moisture forming a thick layer of cover which will also suppress weeds.
It’s also time to enjoy plants flowering now which include, dahlia, frangipani, delphinium, gardenia, hydrangea, gerbera, lisianthus, roses, carnations and bouvardia.
Thank you for reading,
Written by Michelle Byrne.
Garden Maintenance Manager & Expert Horticulturalist.