Little Bibi is coming! - Nov 01, 2013
Dear gardening friends,
My next door neighbour's knee was playing up last week. Charlie tells me when his knee gets sore rain is coming!
Well it did rain, but nowhere near the knee unfortunately.
Everywhere I go I see plants turning grey and leaves drooping. You will notice that gum trees are starting to drop leaves in profusion. They are doing this because it is just too dry to support so many leaves. Some of these plants will get attacked by borers and other insects while they are in this state. Some will even die.
If you have a tree at home that is under stress adjust your garden hose to a drip and leave this under your tree overnight. This will create a wet patch and it will keep your tree alive.
Always water in the same spot, It is much easier to rewet soil that already has some moisture in it. This is why drip irrigation systems are so successful.
We have had numerous people contact us about plants loosing leaves in their gardens. These plants have only been planted for a couple of months. They are often hedging plants. The tips of the leaves turn brown first and then the plants start to drop all their leaves. Customers don't believe us when we tell them that the plants just need more water. Their defense is that not all the plants are dieing. If 5 of us stopped drinking water we all wouldn't die at the same time. Soils can be different only a couple of metres apart and if the garden gets protection from the sun for even an hour extra during the day then the plants in this part of the garden will be looking better. Also if you have a tree growing in your garden then plants growing within 10 metres will need more water because of root competition.
I took a great photo of a hedge on the way to work this week. It was planted beside a fence and it was growing beautifully near the house but then as the hedge got closer to a tree growing on the other side of the fence it stopped. It was so obvious the trees roots were stopping the hedge from growing. The solution is to water the garden more often near the tree. This might sound funny but tree roots don't stop at the fence. Gum tree are the worst offenders when it come to making soils dry.
I just had some customers in who had a problem with Mealy Bug on their Gardenia plant. This white cotton wool like insect sucks nutrient out of the plant and eventually the leaves will get covered in black sooty mould and the plant will die. I asked them if the plant was growing under the eaves of their house. It was and it was in a pot. Plants growing under the eaves get less water because they miss out when it rains. Insects attack these plants first because these plants are under stress. First job is to treat the soil with Wetta Soil. This allows the hydrophobic potting mix to accept water again. Next job is to spray the plant with Confidor. This is a system insecticide so you don't have to actually hit the insect for it to work. If your plant is only just starting to get Mealy Bug or scale insects then Pestoil is a much friendlier alternative.
If you have sick plants then start watering them with Seasol. This natural tonic containing seaweed encourages plants to grow new roots. One of the reasons it works so miraculously is you have to add it to water!
Blake was off work for 2 days last week because he damaged his eye wiper snipering. He had to go to the hospital. We always make him wear protective eyewear here at the nursery but he doesn't use it at home. If you are using your blower or wiper sniper at home make sure you put glasses on. It is a good idea to wear long pants too. When it gets dry you are more likely to get hit in the face with sticks and stones. I wanted Blake to wear a pirate eye patch just for fun but he refused.
We have an exciting new plant arriving here at the nursery tomorrow. It's called Polygala Little Bibi and it has been promoted in all the spring gardening magazines but it hasn't been available in nurseries until now. We will be one of the first places in Australia to have it. This hardy dwarf growing compact plant can flower all year round if it has perfect conditions. It has pretty mauve / purple pea like flowers in profusion. It thrives in full sun or part shade and it is heat and frost tolerant once established. You can plant it as a border or just grow one in a pot. It only grows one metre high by one metre wide but it can be trimmed to any size. We have had a lot of interest in this new shrub so it will sell fast.
We are also finally getting Daphne Eternal Fragrance. This is grown by the same nursery in Victoria. We have this Daphne growing in our garden out the front in full sun and it spot flowers all year round. The main flush of flowers is in spring. The flowers are white and they have the most amazing fragrance. This is much easier to grow than the original Daphne which has a real reputation for dropping dead over night. Ours have been thriving in the garden for about 5 years now. Check them out before you buy.
Our famous Lemon Myrtle Soap is back in stock! We have had people who have refused to bathe ever since we ran out of this hand made soap. Lemon Myrtle has a beautiful lemon fragrance and it is also antifungal and antiseptic. When you put it on your washer you get these lovely bubbles that really do clean you. If you haven't tried it it's time you did. We always sell out leading up to Christmas because it makes such a nice gift. My wife puts the soap in draws to make the clothes smell nice. You get 3 cakes for $9.00.
Christmas is not far away so you will be tempted to buy cut flowers as easy gifts in the coming weeks. Cut flowers are poor value for you and your friends because they are expensive plus they drop dead so quickly during hot weather. I took a potted Hydrangea to a friends place on the weekend. We gift wrap these for free. The Hydrangea will flower for up to 6 weeks then they can plant it in their garden or grow it in a pot. This gift costs less than $25.00 so it is real value.
Our potted NSW Christmas is flowering in the nursery. These make excellent flowering gifts too. Simon has found a new variety where the flower bracts go a darker shade of red as they age. It's called Red, Red, Red Christmas. We have huge plants covered in flowers now for $29.99.
Karyn has been busy in the garden pulling out all the spreading pansies. These really have been very successful this year despite the heat. She is preparing the soil first by digging in Greengold planting compost and some cow manure. She always Wetta Soils the ground prior to planting and puts on fresh sugarcane mulch. Her plants always grow! This season she is planting Oasis Spreading Petunias, Marigolds and Petunia Raspberry Blast. This latest petunia has striped raspberry coloured flowers for 9 months. Each plant can grow one metre wide. We have planted these in our hanging baskets at the front of the shop this week. These are very easy to grow. We may run out of stock this week because I didn't tell Lisa I was going to use them in the baskets. You can get 2 big plants for $30. Once you have one they are easy to grow from cuttings. That is a secret so please don't tell anyone. Simply dip the cuttings in honey then put them in a small pot of seed raising mix. We sell this; get a pot from our recycling bin. Put at least 10 cuttings in the pot. This helps them stay moist. Place the pot in a shady spot in the garden and water twice daily.
Come and see us for more gardening tips.
Happy gardening
Tim