Have your roses got scale - Jul 27, 2012
Dear gardening friends,
I just had a customer looking for Basil so spring is near. Basil is one of the most frost sensitive herbs so don't even think about planting this until the last frost has past. The big sheds will have it in stock in a week or two but that's because they are not gardeners. It is way too early to plant tomatoes too unless you have a glasshouse. You could plant tomato seeds now if you cover the tray with a sheet of glass or bring the pots inside at night.
I had a lovely email from one of our garden club members last week who has had success growing an African tulip tree in his garden at Harrington Park. I showed you a picture of a beautiful tree that I saw flowering in Queensland. Frank says he had to cover his African tulip tree for the first 3 winters to get it established. The tree is now 6 metres high and flowers its head off in the warmer months. In England they have to cover heaps of plants in their gardens to protect them from the snow. In Australia we are more inclined to hope for the best and if it dies we just try something else. If you live on any of the hills surrounding Campbelltown and Camden you are more likely to have success with these tropical plants.
It is National Tree Day this Sunday so perhaps you might like to plant a tree in your garden. If you have run out of room, plant a tree in somebody else's garden. I did a guerilla tree planting this week at a carpark in Campbelltown. I park my car in this carpark every morning when I drop off the boys at school. I planted Chinese Elms along the northern boundary so the trees will provide shade for the cars in summer. Chinese Elms are one of my favourite trees because they have a weeping habit and beautiful bark. A guerilla tree planting is meant to be secret so I shouldn't be telling you, but check out what my children and wife were wearing when they turned up to help!
Campbelltown Council has organised community tree plantings this Sunday. If you would like to help go to Jonathan Brooker Reserve in Woodbine, Edna Reserve in Ingleburn, Minto Basin at Bow Bowing and Campbelltown Golf Course in Glen Alpine. The Woodbine, Ingleburn and Bow Bowing events run from 9.30am to 12.30pm and the Glen Alpine event from 3pm. Contact council for more details 46454933. Contact your local council if you would like to get involved. Planting trees is a very rewarding experience.
There is an old saying "The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago the next best time is today".
Russell called in with his mother yesterday to show me a car he was test driving. I had a look at it then Russell decided to take a Lemon Tree home. I can't imagine what the Car dealer was thinking when Russell returned the car and unloaded his shopping from the boot!
We sprayed our roses and fruit trees with Lime Sulphur on Tuesday so if it smells like rotten eggs when you come to visit don't blame me. We had to spray our fruit trees urgently because the dwarf peach trees were about to shoot. To control peach leaf curl you have to spay at bud swell or it's too late. If you have peach, nectarine or apricot trees then you need to spray them urgently. Peach Leaf Curl is a fungus disease that causes the leaves to curl up and look very ugly. You can still eat the fruit but the quality will be poor.
We also sprayed all our rose bushes including the ones growing in our garden. Lime Sulphur cleans up any fungus diseases and scale insects that may be over wintering on your plants.
Our Flower Carpet Roses in our garden were covered in White Scale. Check out the photo. Scale insects suck nutrients out of the plants. Now they have been treated the plants will thrive.
Have a close look at your rose's stems for White Scale.
Noreen who works in our office picked a Camellia from her garden this morning. She brought it into the nursery to show off. Check it out. Reticulata Camellias are the largest flowering Camellias on earth. Noreen's variety is one called Dr Clifford Parks. We used to stock these but now they have become real collector's plants. Reticulata Camellias are the most sun hardy of all the Camellias.
I played golf with the boys at Leppington last week and noticed this spectacular flowering shrub growing in the garden. Aloe arborescens is one of easiest succulents to grow. Simply cut a piece off and plant it in a pot. They seem to flower all winter and spring. The flowers are very similar to Red Hot Pokers. The best news is these plants will survive on rainfall only.
You know spring is not far away when Magnolias start to flower. I have a white flowering variety in my garden called Magnolia denudata. If we get frosts the flowers get burnt but this year it is looking sensational. I rang a friend of mine who grows Magnolias in Monbulk Victoria. Ron has imported a bright yellow flowering Magnolia from New Zealand called "Yellow Bird". I have talked him into selling us 10 plants only. These are for plant collectors only because they are so exclusive! They will sell for around $120.00 each. They are not arriving until late next week. If you want one give us a ring. I will give you more information about how to grow Magnolias in next week's newsletter.
Happy gardening. Tim