Winter In The Garden.

Trachelospermum jasminoides

I am sure this is news to a lot of people that winter is a very busy time of the year in the garden. As Horticulturists and Gardeners, this is a time of year used for preparation and restoration work as things over the warm growing season get generally prioritized over pressing issues arising in the garden. 

Here is a small list of some of the tasks to consider in the winter months and what we are thinking of undertaking within your garden.

Mulch

Soil Maintenance:

Perennials:

Mulching perennials with ¼ or greater particle size mulch or a fungal dominant compost.

Fertilise with a high-quality all-purpose fertiliser; we like to use Seamungus from Neutrog due to its wide range of micronutrients.

Application of Gypsum or preferred form of Calcium.

Aeration only if your soil is looking compacted it might be time to consider a light fork with either a garden fork or a broad fork (Be careful if you have drip irrigation).

Annuals:

Mulching annuals with bacterial-dominant compost and pea straw, lucerne, straw or lawn clippings.

Firtlise with a high-quality all-purpose fertiliser, we like to use Seamungus from Neutrog due to its wide micronutrients content.

Application of Gypsum or preferred form of Calcium.

Aeration only if your soil is looking compacted it might be time to consider a light fork with either a garden fork or a broad fork (Be careful if you have drip irrigation).

Lawn Care:

At the end of August, we can start with our lawn renovation Aerate, Dethatch, topdressing, and feed lawns with a lawn fertiliser-like Sudden Impact for Lawns + POPUL8 from Neutrog. 

Foilair Feed:

Keep up fortnightly to the monthly application of foliar feeding, particularly to your plants that are flowering, fruiting and susceptible to pests and diseases, including the lawn. Our mix uses Nutri-Tech Black Gold, Nutri-Life BAM, and Cloak Spray Oil.  

Salvia hybrid "Anthony Parker"

Pruning:

Traditionally winter has been the go-to time for pruning all deciduous plants though in recent years, a move to undertaking a light trim after flowering and fruiting either at the end of summer to autumn has been shown to produce less epicormic shooting making the plants more manageable over the following growing season. 

But we still suggest you undertake light pruning in winter, to as vision is better with all the leaves gone this will be to remove any crisscrossing or rubbing branches. Other parts to remove are any dead wood or branches reducing airflow.

Before you start any seasonal pruning, check your species and that you are using the correct technics and timing as removing the wrong branches can reduce flowering and fruiting in the following years or get damaged from frost here is a list of plants to consider pruning in winter.

Types/Genus

Deciduous fruit trees and shrubs - Prunus, Pyrus, Malus, Morus, Ficus, Rubus, Vaccinium

Deciduous Vines - Vitis, Wisteria, Parthenocissus

Deciduous ornamental trees, shrubs and Perennials - Hydrangeas, Rose, Chimonanthus, Dahlia imperialis, Salvia , Plectranthus, 

Ever Green - Fuchsias, Hibiscus, Buxus, Euonymus, Ilex, Camellia, Rhododendron, Artemesias

Evergreen Vines -  Clematis

Herbaceous - Hellebores, Chrysanthemum 

Grasses - lomandra, Dianella, Ophiopogon, Pennisetum, Miscanthus,Calamagrostis

Divide

Most perennials, such as agapanthus, orchids, bergenias, Japanese windflowers,Iris , Bearded Iris can be split and planted into space in the garden or potted up and given to friends; this includes our aquatic plants at the end of winter.

Propagate

Propagate hardwood cuttings such as hydrangeas, salvia, prunus, malus, acer and Rosa.

Sow some poppy seed, candytuft, larkspur alyssum, linaria, and Love in the Mist.


Plant

Winter is a great time of year to plant because it gives our plants a chance to establish before the warmer months when they have a real chance of drying out and going into transplant shock.

Plant summer flowering bulbs - lilium, callas, tuberoses, valottas nerines, hippeastrums, gladioli, canna lilies, alstromeria, Asiatic lilies and herbaceous peonies

Transplant/Move -  azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons

Bare-rooted - Rose, Fruit Trees, Deciduous trees

Flower seedlings - alyssum, candytuft, cineraria, lupin and stock

Pests and diseases - IPM(Integrated Pest Management)

We use an integrated pest management (IMP) approach to managing pests in the garden.

That means picking the right plant for the right place is paramount to preventing high pest numbers. Second is soil and nutrient management for the plants to help fight diseases and sustain their health. Third is having a biodiverse garden. This can significantly reduce pest pressure with the introduction of predatory species. One of the most common missing elements in the modern garden is plants that flower all year round. This is important because it creates habitat, particularly food for predatory species. The plant family particularly adept at this is the Asteraceae.

We like to use Erigeron and Brachyscome multifida; they can be put into shelter pots near susceptible plants as an added element to the garden or incorporated into the landscape.
 

Other conditions to consider are over-watering, making sure you turn your watering system off, and monitoring your moisture; some gardens under the eves of your house may need supplemental watering even over winter, and clearing fallen leaves from succulent gardens, if left damp, they will likely die. 

Low-impact prevention sprays to consider: If considering a prevention spray, it is recommended that you follow up with inoculants like BAM and Nutri-Life Platform, as most of the insecticides and Fungicides on the market have been shown to reduce soil biodiversity drastically, further weakening the plants so it can be a bit of a double-edged sword.

Peaches & Nectarine(peach leaf curl) - Lime sulphur

Rose(Black spot) - Lime sulphur

Keep growing,

Gavin Matthews.