Gardening – Spring heralds busy season

Late spring is when everything really gets into gear in the garden, including me! There are so many jobs to do before summer arrives. Indoor and outdoor pot plants need re-potting and fertilising to give them room and food to support their growth spurt. I use a three to four-month slow-release fertiliser that is high in nitrogen for any leafy plants such as ferns, palms, monstera, philodendrons and the like. For flowering plants and bulbs such as frangipani, hippeastrum, anthurium, orchids and so on, a fertiliser high in potassium and lower in nitrogen is used, as this supports the flowering process without generating too much leaf growth.

Late spring is when I prune hibiscus and several other subtropical shrubs. Pruning now rather than in winter, like most other trees and shrubs, allows me to remove any frost and kereru damaged branches without exposing the new growth to further damage, as the frost should be well and truly over, and the kereru have usually moved on to other plants by then. Cannas and ornamental gingers are due a clean-up at this time. In many gardens these are left to themselves, with the result that they usually look very messy with lots of dead foliage detracting from the glossy new leaves and showy flowers. Anything that has already flowered is cut off at the base, removed and composted or mulched back into the garden.

Some fertiliser and mulch applied to the bed at this time will reward you with even lusher growth and flowering throughout the summer and autumn.

Pests and diseases are also waking up at this time of year. By late spring, many of the bugs will be establishing their first generation. Get these under control and the rest of the year will be a lot less buggy! A spray of neem oil and insecticidal soap around the whole garden is worthwhile to get the first wave of passion vine hoppers, aphids, tomato/potato psyllid, various caterpillars, whitefly and thrip.

After the first general spray, I can then spot spray later on plants that need the extra attention. For example, my citrus are sprayed with this mix three times between Labour Weekend and the end of November to get the citrus whitefly under control. Likewise, I will use Yates Success Ultra on the apples at bud burst and again on the young fruit for control of codling moth and guava moth.

Any insecticides I use are carefully chosen for minimum impact on beneficial insects such as honeybees, bumble bees, parasitic wasps, lacewings and ladybirds. These are an essential part of my garden and are encouraged further by having lots of flowering plants to complete their lifecycles on. Amongst the best plants to have flowering in your garden are borage, cornflower, alyssum, coriander, bok choi, phacelia, echinacea, Queen Anne’s lace, marigold, arugula, rosemary, thyme, chives and many more. Right now is a good time to get these plants established with the warming soils, regular rainfall and mild conditions. In fact, right now is the best time to be getting anything done in the garden – best I get back out there!