Cape Town -
Midwinter may officially have come and gone, but for local gardeners there is still a lot of moist, cool weather to come.
Now is the time to look after indoor plants, colour up corners around the patio, plant up containers with indigenous flora and repaint garden furniture in readiness for spring.
What should you be doing this weekend?
Here are few green ideas:
l Colourful containers:
There is still time to plant colourful winter bedding plants. Established colour bags of these winter flowering annuals can be planted directly into a prepared bed or container. Pansies, petunias, calendula and kale do best in a sunny corner, whereas fairy primula will do better in the shade.
l Plant lilies:
There is still time to plant the bulbs of tiger lilies and tall white St Joseph lilies.
If planted now, these exotic members of the lilium family will be flowering by December. Lilium bulbs need good drainage so are best planted in containers where they will be protected from snail and slug damage when the summer rains arrive.
l Think design:
Winter is an excellent time to go shopping for the garden. Install a wrought-iron gazebo or add an archway at the end of the vista. Revitalise the furniture by painting it in a new colour, or find an attractive set of three containers to create a focal point on the patio. Garden centres are quiet this month, so you can roam without crowds and have staff to help at every corner.
l Pot up local flora:
Revitalise your pots and containers by planting up indigenous flora. For a shady container, consider plectranthus ( P verticillatus and P. strigosus), asparagus ferns or streptocarpus. For the sun, pot up a Cape reed (Chondropetalum tectorum), Elegia, buchu, Erica nana, E blenna, Acmadenia or even the Agathosma ovata, which cascades over the container’s edge bearing a mass of pink flowers.
Pelargoniums make fabulous pot specimens. Try the lemon-scented Pelargonium crispum or P. fulgidum, which flowers at the end of winter. For larger pots, consider Melianthus major, Acridocarpus or the mickey-mouse plant (Ochna serrulata) with its yellow flowers.
Bulbs are especially suited to containers. Horticultural legend Rod Saunders suggests that you plant pairs of summer and winter flowering bulbs in a single container. His now famous recipe combinations include the following pairs of potted bulbs as suggestions for year-round colour: Amaryllis and Babiana, Clivia and Crinum, Cyrtanthus and Freesia, Geissorrhiza and Galaxia, Gladiolus and Ixia, Lachenalia and Lapeirousia, Moraea and Ornithogalum, and Romulea and Veltheimia.
l Pruning:
Late winter is traditionally the time to prune roses, but avoid the temptation to prune your roses until the last week of next month – at the earliest. Pruning demonstrations are by far the best way to learn the art of pruning, and are ideal for gardeners wanting to rejuvenate their basic skills or learn a new skill. By all means, attend a demonstration and get your shears sharpened, but leave the real practising until late next month.
l Indoor plant care:
Have you noticed any wingless, white oval insects covered in white waxy filaments that resemble cotton wool on the stems or leaves of your indoor palms? Known as mealy bug, they suck the sap of indoor plants in warm, shady environments, causing plants to yellow, wilt and die.
The best way to rid plants of mealy bug is to take a cake of sunlight soap, rub it on to a cloth, sponge or toothbrush, and rub them off. Hose down large patio plants with a strong jet of water.
Keeping plants clean is a major deterrent.
Many homeowners complain that the tips and edges of leaves on indoor plants such as ferns and palms go brown in winter. Invariably, the plants are reacting to low humidity in the house caused by the heaters. Keep indoor plants away from heaters and watch the level of light in the house.
Drawn curtains or a sudden drop in light will make plants such as the Ficus benjamina go into shock and drop its leaves.
l Watering indoor plants:
Did you know that watering plants with icy tap water in mid-winter causes huge stress for plants? Warm or luke warm tap water is far better for indoor plants.
As indoor plants go into a state of semi-dormancy in mid winter, they can be watered less frequently.
Reduce further stress by cleaning the leaves of indoor foliage plants. If leaves are covered in dust, a plant will never be able to breathe through the tiny holes or pores in their leaves.
Cleaning your plants with margarine, milk or furniture polish can completely block these pores and will eventually suffocate the plant.
Commercial leaf polish is entirely safe to use, but environmental critics in the US argue that shiny leaf surfaces reflect light away from the plant. In dark corners, reflecting light away from the plant is regarded as detrimental to its health.
Cleaning foliage with warm water is clearly the best and most natural option available. For large indoor plants use cotton wool, a soft rag or tissue paper, and allow the plant to dry in a shady spot.
Smaller indoor plants can be put in a bath or shower, and give them a gentle spray of luke warm water.
Tips:
l The warmth of orange and red is particularly welcome in the winter garden. Look out for the many striking plants available in these shades, including the aloe, erythrina, red hot poker (Kniphofia), Protea neriifolia, Erica, lion’s ear (Leonotis leonurus) and poinsettia. Berries on bushes and hedges provide enticing pantries for birds.
l Succulents have the ability to store water and food in their leaves and stem roots, and many are able to withstand frost and fire. The winter-flowering pig’s ear (Cotyledon orbiculata) has grey-green fleshy leaves and clusters of hanging, bell-shaped orange-red flowers that attract birds and bees.
l Make sure secateurs, loppers and pruning saws are sharp in preparation for next month’s pruning. Buy heavy-duty gloves to avoid infection from thorns.
l Water indoor pot plants less often, but do not allow them to dry out completely. Move plants away from windows, electric heaters and open fires.
l Grow the English daisy, Bellis perennis, with dainty flowers of pink and white as an attractive edging along paths and in the front of borders.
l The slightly nodding apple green, pink or wine flowers of hellebores add colour in winter gardens.
l Flowering in winter, Camellia japonica is an upright shrub with glossy green leaves and single or double flowers in white, pink or red. They do best if they are protected from cold winds, and a position in dappled shade, or on a south wall suits them. Early morning sun shining on the flowers can burn the petals. Water regularly and spread a thick mulch of pine needles or bark chips around the root area to retain moisture. - Weekend Argus