No nuts for Xmas - Dec 05, 2013
Dear Gardening Friends
I was having a coffee in Queen St Campbelltown this morning and one of the locals had a pot plant at his feet. Queen St is a very interesting place these days. I remember the footy show filmed a segment in Queen St a few years ago and everyone they interviewed had missing teeth. Even more teeth are missing now, but I have grown to love it. Any way, this pot plant wasn’t really a pot plant. The owner was telling everyone that it was a Macadamia nut tree. He had quite a gathering all listening to how he was going to be eating nuts very shortly and how he got it off a friend for free. I became interested in this unusual looking nut tree too. The closer I got the more it looked like a Photinia Superhedge! He is going to be waiting a lifetime to get nuts off this tree but it will screen out his neighbours fast.Fruit trees can be tricky, if they are not grafted they can take up to 10 years to fruit and some trees like apples won’t fruit at all unless you have cross pollination from another apple tree. Even then the apple tree has to be the compatible variety for pollination or you could have two trees that never get apples! If you are planning on buying fruit trees come and see us for advice or you might end up looking like the guy in Queen Street.
Simon is in the wars down here today because he fell out of a plant display truck on Monday. He claims that if he hadn’t lost so much weight recently he could have been really badly injured.
He got rushed off to the doctor by Blake and came back a couple of hours latter with his foot in plaster. He gets this off next week so we hope he makes a speedy recovery.
You may have seen photos of my smoke bush flowering recently. This purple foliaged, fast growing shrub has these fluffy purple/grey flowers that seem to float above the bush. Purple foliaged plants contrast beautifully with the green plants in your garden. Smoke bush has become hard to get in recent years but Simon has found some beauties. These are a real collectors plant so if you want something a bit different this could be it. We have nice bushy plants for just $23.99.
I have spoken recently about how productive one of my potted Blueberry plant has been this spring. In early spring I was picking at least 10 to 15 fresh blueberries every morning. Recently the fruit have stopped turning purple. Well that’s what I thought because every time I checked there was none ready. I even interviewed Renee and the boys to see if they were sneaking out in the morning. Well during the week I discovered that a feathery friend also loves to eat blueberries. It is not the Bull Bull this time but rather a large green bird that looks very clever. I have taken some bird netting home to keep the bird out. We sell this at the nursery for $2.99 a metre by about 3 metres wide. I have used a few cane stakes to keep the netting away from the fruit.
If you have fruit trees then you might need to net them too to stop the birds from enjoying the fruits of your labour.
Snails are having the best season ever. If you get up early in the morning you will notice the last party goers sneaking off to find a hiding place. You can squash them with your shoes or put out baits. Multiguard Snail and slug pellets are the safest option because they don’t kill animals like dogs, cats, birds and lizards. We have been selling heaps of this.
Keep an eye out for fungus diseases at this time of year too. Your cucumber and zucchini plants will be susceptible to powdery mildew. So will your Hydrangea plants.
Roses and Geraniums are getting black spot, rust and powdery mildew too. This is caused by hot humid weather. We have an Eco Friendly fungicide that will control these fungus diseases without killing you. Also keep an eye out for Dollar Spot on your lawn. The lawn goes yellow and then brown in round patches. Early in the morning you will notice a fine spider like webbing. This fungus disease spreads quickly. Lawns that are thick and spongy are more susceptible. We have a product that controls this too.
Karyn’s garden is looking sensational out the front of our nursery. The petunia baskets have really loved the recent rain and the summer flowering annuals have all started to flower now. Our gardens are going to look spectacular over Christmas. Our nursery is a welcoming sight as you drive into Queen St. It is not too late to transform your garden with a few flowering plants.
Our nursery has got so much Christmas colour at the moment. I have attached a photo for you to enjoy.
Agapanthuses have burst into flower this week. These hardy plants are often scoffed at, but you can’t deny that they flower beautifully without a fuss. Blaxland road looks sensational this week with the Agapanthus flowering at the same time as the Jacaranda trees. Agapanthus was once considered disease free but lately they have been attacked by Mealy Bugs. This white cotton wool like insect lives between the leaves and causes the foliage to become stunted and distorted. Spray infected plants late in the afternoon with Confidor. This spray kills bees too, so only use it when they are not active.
Crepe Myrtles are starting to flower this week. This is one tree that gardeners are still happy to plant. The Indian Summer range which we stock can flower for 100 days or more and they are resistant to powdery mildew. These hardy fast growing small trees have been planted by Campbelltown Council throughout the Macarthur district. They are drought hardy trees making them a perfect choice for our hot dry climate. We have a couple of beauties growing in our gardens at the nursery. Check out 'Tuscarora' a watermelon pink variety flowering on our front lawn when you visit.
More cut Christmas trees are coming this weekend. We will have 100 to choose from every day, so come early for the best selection. The biggest ones always sell out first. Trees are $59.99 this year and they are looking good. If you buy a tree keep it away from north or west facing windows. Refill the bucket every day to keep your tree looking fresh. A Christmas tree is just like a bunch of flowers!
Our NSW Christmas bushes are selling fast. These make the perfect flowering gift and they are cheaper than a bunch of flowers. They can be fussy to grow in the ground but they are easy to grow in a big pot. Use Native Potting mix for best results.
We are very busy today.
Happy gardening
Tim