JANUARY - BEST PRACTICES and TIPS for the FLOWERING GARDEN (and LAWNS)
TIME TO....
Tame the garden
Just returned from holiday and need to tidy the garden?
Start with mowing the lawns but avoid mowing too low at this time of year, and if the lawn is very long, take it down in stages.
Tame the weeds...
Finish off the 'taming' phase with a torpedo or swan neck hoe to slice throught he roots of weeds and leave them on the soil surface to shrivel up.
TIME TO PRUNE...
Roses
Cut back to a set of 5 outward-facing leaves, and cut approx. 15mm above that point, followed by a feed and a spray where needed.
Feeding roses now will encourage more flowers and growth to harden before the first frosts.
When picking roses cut a reasonably long stem, making your cut just above an outward facing bud.
Summer Annuals and Perennials
Keep dead heading flowering plants - this will encourage more flowers to develop.
Trim any spent stems off Perennials and generally tidy them up.
TIME TO PLANT...
Replace Summer annuals that are finished or too stretched with more annuals (we have 3 months of warm weather ahead so there’s plenty of time for another flowering).
Zinnias, dahlias, marigolds, salvias, and petunias will all flower on for some time yet.
Zinnias are great for providing summer colour. They also attract butterflies, bees, and birds to your garden.
Plant gazanias and arctotis in drier, sunny spots of the garden for masses of bright colour during the hotter months.
TIME TO SOW...
Ageratum, alyssum, cineraria, cyclamen, forget-me-not, gypsophila, hollyhock, pansy, Iceland poppy, primula, stock, verbena, viola and wallflower.
TIME TO FEED...
With Summer being in full swing, your garden will be extra thirsty. Water early morning or early evening to reduce evaporation.
The strong growth recently depletes plants’ reserves so feed anything that’s looking a bit tired.
Give your flowering plants a 'pick me up' with a Daltons Liquid Seaweed feed once a week to promote and extend production, along with helping them keep pest and diseases at bay.
Give lawns a feed with a specifically-formulated lawn food.
Feed roses regularly with a specifically-formulated rose food.
TIME TO CONTROL...
Thrips
Yes, this is when the damage is being done so check out the foliage on Viburnums, Rhodos, Portuguese Laurels etc for any damage and get onto it before the Thrips really take hold – Groventive for serious infestations, Mavrik for the early stages of infestation.