In your garden December

Hydrate your garden

TOP UP MULCH AND APPLY A SOIL WETTER to your garden beds and pots. Bare soil is an open invitation for weeds, so cover it with a 10cm layer of mulch such as Neutrog’s WhoFlung Dung. Don’t leave a single centimetre exposed. Mulch insulates roots against extreme heat, helps the soil retain moisture and suppresses weed growth. If your soil is water-repellent (hydrophobic), apply a wetting agent, such as Richgro's Ezi-Wet Soil Soaker, to improve waterpenetration, boost fertiliser efficiency and reduce runoff.

 

Turn on the colour

PLANTERS BRIMMING WITH COLOURFUL FLOWERS set the scene for Christmas parties. Plant a set of terracotta pots now with a combination of zinnias, salvias, cosmos, miniature dahlias, petunias, calibrachoa, alyssum and lobelia. By Christmas, these planters will be overflowing with beautiful blooms for your garden. Use a premium potting mix and set your planters on pot feet. Water regularly with a liquid fertiliser to encourage bigger and more flowers.

Grow a hedge

For a hardy native hedge, low- to medium-sized bottlebrushes (Callistemon) are anexcellent choice, thriving even in heavy soils. Compact cultivars such as ‘Little John’and ‘Matthew Flinders’ are ideal for smaller hedges. December is the perfect time to clip them into shape, whether you prefer aneat formal line or a softer informal look.

Care for your gums

FLOWERING GUM(Corymbia ficifolia) isbursting into bloomacross much of southern Australia. Keep it well watered during the flowering season to help the display last longer. Buds and blooms can also be cut for indoor decoration – perfect for your Christmas!

Bring in wildlife

FROGS, BIRDS, LIZARDS and ladybeetles will happily move in if you make your garden welcoming. A pond is especially attractive, and planting waterlilies, lotus and water iris around it adds beauty and habitat. This magical space becomes a world of its own, shifting with the seasons. Place a chair and table nearby to enjoy the view year-round and be sure to position your pond in a sunny spot.

Bathe pot plants

HOT WEATHER DRIES potting mix and plants become stressed. Add seaweed concentrate to a bucket of water and completely submerge your pot plants. Wait until air has stopped bubbling and potting mix is saturated before draining them.

Trim your Christmas bush

THE NSW CHRISTMAS BUSH (Ceratopetalum gummiferum) makes a beautiful festive decoration, and cutting bunches also gives the plant a well-timed prune. Keep cuts light—nothing thicker than your thumb—and spread a layer of well-rotted chicken manure around the base to support strong new growth

Prune your paws

CUT BACK SPENT FLOWER STEMS of kangaroo paws, making sure to remove the old leaves attached to each stem. These often pull away easily by hand and are usually beginning to blacken by now. Clearing away this tired foliage helps stimulate new shoots from the base, which will grow on to produce the next flush of flowers inthe following season.

Boost your bottlebrush

ENCOURAGE A FLUSH OF AUTUMN GROWTH and flowers on your bottlebrush with a handful of fertiliser. Use a native-specific fertiliser, such as Neutrog’s Bush Tucker, which has been formulated to meet the specialised needs of all Australian native plants. After flowering, prune bottlebrushes back to just behind the spent flower heads. This prevents seed capsules from forming and helps maintain a compact, tidy shrub.

Pinch prune tomatoes

REMOVE SIDE SHOOTS from tomato plants to stop them putting energy into excess foliage and encourage larger, better-quality fruit. These small shoots grow in the angle between the main stem and a branch, and removal is especially important for indeterminate (vining) varieties. Pinching them out redirects the plant’s energy into maturing existing flowers and fruit, resulting in bigger harvests and a more manageable plant. Take them off while they’re small to avoid creating large wounds that could invite pests or disease. Always sterilise your hands between plants to reduce the risk of spreading disease.