Tim retiring soon? - Sep 26, 2013
Dear gardening friends
I have fallen in love with Azaleas this week. Every couple of years you get perfect conditions and the Azaleas just put on the most magnificent show. This spring we have had almost no rain so the Azaleas have been free from a fungus disease called Petal Blight. This disease causes the buds and flowers to turn brown. There is a fungicide available called Zaleton to control Petal Blight but is doesn't come cheap.
My next door neighbour has some of the best flowering Azaleas in Macarthur. She grows them in pots and in the garden in a morning sun position. Azaleas grow best on the eastern side of your house but you will see the old fashioned single flowering varieties thriving in full sun positions too. Azaleas like lime free soil so they are more reliable if you grow them in pots. Use Tim's Best Potting mix and feed them with a little Cow Manure every spring and autumn. Like all pot plants they need to be watered often especially during summer.
I was driving through Camden this week and spotted possibly the best Azalea ever. It is growing out the front of Charlie and Helen Cowells house. I rang Charlie to see if he would mind me attaching this photo to our newsletter. Helen and Charlie used to own Cowells Camellia and Azalea Nursery at Theresa Park so they are real experts. This apricot pink variety is called "Peach Blossom". I doubt you would find this any where these days. Charlie did offer to give me some cuttings. Gardeners are the most generous people. He trims this variety back after flowering and Helen does all the watering to keep it alive. Charlie feeds it with a little cow manure and some slow release fertiliser. He said you have to be careful fertilising Azaleas because you can kill them easily.
Azaleas have been on the nose recently because the leaves get attacked by Lace Bug. This insect sucks nutrients from the leaves causing them to turn silver. Yates helped solve this problem when they released Confidor Tablets. You just put one at the base of the plant and it releases over several months preventing Lace Bug attack. Plants grown under cover seem to be more prone to attack. If you have a better Azalea growing at your place, send us a photo. We have a good selection of Azaleas here at the nursery so come and see us if you need help.
You may have noticed in the Chronicle that we are giving away a pair of Vintage Style Secateurs when you purchase 2 bags of Tim's Rapid Results Lawn food this weekend. The seceteurs are worth $25 so this is a real bargain. We have 150 pairs to give away so this isn't one of those offers when you have to line up at the door. We are not turning into Aldi. I am not knocking Aldi they have the cheapest bananas according to my mother!
I don't understand "The Chilli Thing". But it seems every chilli lover out there wants to get the hottest chilli. I nearly got 3rd degree burns at a Thai Restaurant in Camden about 2 years ago and even thinking about it now makes my eyes water! Any way for all you chilli lovers out there we have a chilli plant called "The Ghost Chilli". Even the name is suggestive. It rates 10/12. It is so hot it comes with a warning on the label not to eat it raw. Lisa has only been able to get 12 plants and more won't be coming for 2 weeks. I think you may have to line up for this one. I take that back about Aldi. Plants cost $5.25. They grow best in a full sun position that is protected from frosts in winter. Chilies grow well in pots and they look very ornamental. Keep them away from little kids.
You know your getting old when you start growing Geraniums. It is only one step away from Gerberas and the retirement village. But I have had great success growing Oasis Geraniums in pots around my place. They are available in a punnet so they are super cheap. You get 3 plants and they cost just $7.25. I haven't told Lisa I am writing this story so we may not even have any this weekend. But they grow beautifully in terracotta pots in full sun. I have had mine for at least 5 years. Every time they look ratty I just cut them back to almost ground level with the hedge trimmer and then feed them with Tim's Fast Food and some cow manure. I mulch around the base with some sugar cane and within 4 weeks they are shooting out with fresh new growth. They flower throughout the warmer months and it makes my place look like Italy. Cheapest holiday I ever had.
Ryan has spent all week moving rose bushes apart this week. He has been spraying them with this secret concoction that has them blooming like never before. They are growing so big we have to keep moving them apart to stop them getting fungus diseases. If you love roses come and talk to Ryan. He may give you his secret recipe.
I have a mate who has been trying to get a mention in this newsletter. He sends me weekly ideas. He could only be described as a non gardener so this confuses me. But last week he actually planted a tree in his garden. A Manchurian Pear tree of course. He sent me a photo too. He built a box around it and mixed Greengold Planting Compost into the soil and then mulched with sugar cane. He had to put a fence around it to stop Dexter doing what dogs do best. Dexter has been waiting for at least 5 years to have his own tree. I have advised Nathan to prune off the lower branches because trees look so much better when you can see the trunk.
Pig got left out on the lawn again during the week. Luckily I noticed him asI drove past the nursery. He had a little tear in his eye as I picked him up and returned him to the safety of the car park. Pig hasn't spoken to Blake since. There is a bit of confusion at the moment because we discovered that Karyn has actually taken pig to Japan. She sent us a photo of pig and herself posing in front of Mt Fuji. Pig has obviously got one of his cousins to do the Queen St Job while he lives it up in Japan. Pig is big in Japan! Hope he keeps away from any thing sweet and sour.
Happy gardening
Tim