It was a huge show today with a full board of terrific callers....
Like Trish, who has Buxus turning brown. It's a common problem, and the RHS have identified this problem as a fungal disease. Don’t forget to wipe secateurs with methylated spirits between pruning to stop the spread of fungal spores between plants, and dispose of clippings in the bin.
And this advice is important for roses too. Diane from Caloundra will be pruning her rose today. Anne at Currens Hill lost 2 out of 7 roses after transplanting
them, and one of the remaining roses looks a bit sick. There’s a bit of clay there and I recommended ‘OCP Liquid Gypsum’. Dilute the concentrate and
water it around the roses. Feed the rose as soon as the shoots come away. Sue in Queensland, a first time caller, just flew back from Hawaii and noticed
her struggling roses. Like our other 4BC listeners, Sue’s roses have already put on growth. If your roses have growth coming away after pruning paint
Lime Sulphur onto the trunks rather than spraying.
Whip those roses into shape now and you could be rewarded like this.
We sent Diane, Anne and Sue some Lucerne pellets from ‘Majors mulch’. In Sydney ‘Balconies in Bloom’ are stocking Majors Mulch, and you can find Major’s
Mulch in your local area on their website under stockists.
Hellen at Turramurra has a Magnolia souliangiana and the buds on the shady side are eaten out. I think it's a ringtail possum. Remember when the bulbul
would eat your magnolia flowers? Well, they’re gone, and the possums have muscled in. Strayban is the one thing that works for me.
Its citrus harvest time of course, and we have mountains of citrus overflowing bowls in our kitchen. Tom at Liverpool called about citrus today, he has
citrus leaf minor. The OCP Citrus Leaf Minor trap catches
the moth that lays miner larvae. Use it in tandem with Eco-oil.
Not a citrus leaf miner in sight!
Lots of camellia calls today. Lee at Narrawarra, has a high fragrance camellia. It’s a stunning informal double, with pinkish white flowers. Lee wanted
to know about Linda's comfrey tea recipe, which is
on the Garden Clinic website, but be careful because it's really smelly. Patrisha from Hornsby is hoping to take her camellia with her in pots. My
advice, get some help from a horticulturist and propagate some cuttings.
As far as pruning your camellias, you can go quite hard. My latest article, about Australia’s first camellia,
I have photos of my ‘C. Aspasia Macarthur’ which I have given a renovation prune. The key thing is not to prune beyond the last leaves. Sprinkle
Kahoona, water with a mixture of Harvest and Eco- Hydrate together in a watering can. The Eco-Hydrate is Efficient at getting the nutrient to the roots.
Graham's C. Aspasia Macarthur.
It’s been frosty on the rock lately. Deb called from Alice Springs. She's a listener from the red-center who's plants are not happy with over-night
NT temps getting down around minus 5, and day temps way up high. Deb can water with seaweed to help protect her plants from the cold. We sent
deb some OCP Eco-Seaweed, and we joined Deb up to the Garden Clinic for a whole year! Way to go, Deb. Thanks for calling in.
Greta in Fairfield has Jacaranda roots lifting a pathway in the yard. She needs a good arborist who can prune the root without killing the tree. Alex Bennett is a pruning master, his number is 0401 275 313
We talked about The wiz, the latest Kangaroo Paw and Rampaging Roy, profits from which go to supporting Autism Australia. Rampaging Roy is a Big, tall, vigorous grower by Angus Stewart, developed for disease resistance.
Rampaging Roy, with Rampaging Roy!
There are two members-only Garden Clinic classes coming up this month at Tim’s garden center, and the Sydney Wildflower Nursery. Details are on the
Events page, and bookings are a must. Don't miss out.
Ron at Como called. He has a strawberry mango that fruits it's head off! He wanted to know if he can strike successful cuttings. But i think seeds will probably
be better, and it will be true to type with a mango. But if you can’t wait for seeds try Semi-hard wood cuttings, green shoot turning brown. Use
hormone gel and put it under a glasshouse.
In the Veggie patch its all about sowing seeds for summer. Sow your tomato seeds now, but bring them inside until it warms up. And there are mountains
of varieties to choose from, including some very interesting heirloom varieties. I sowed mine in a small tray with good seed raising mix and covered
the tray with a sheet of glass to protect them. Of course, Linda's are inside by the fireplace, all snug and warm.
Linda in her veggie patch.