The Gardener South Africa – September 2019

More

to do

• No need to replace frost-damaged bedding begonias with new
  plants. Simply cut them back to remove the damaged parts and dose
  them back to health with a water-soluble fertiliser.


• Start spraying fruit trees against fruit fly and codling moth once about
  75% of the blossoms have dropped off. Spray every 10 – 14 days.


• Divide and re-plant Zantedeschia aethiopica (white arum lily) into
  boggy areas of the garden – you can never have too many of these
  veld beauties, which also love to grow on the southern side of the
  house.


• By the end of this month you can prune away the frost-damaged
  parts of affected plants to tidy them up and encourage new growth.
  Give them all a feed with a slow-release fertiliser, mulch well with a
  fresh layer of compost, and water deeply.


• With this season’s rapid growth, hedges, topiaries and standards will
  lose their shape. Don’t allow this to happen: rather clip regularly and
  lightly than one drastic hack now and again. The best way to keep the
  shape of flowering standards is to regularly pinch out the growing
  tips of stems and wait until after each flower flush to give it a good
  clipping.


• Plant charming perennials in your spring garden, like columbines,
  gauras, carpet geraniums, bearded irises, giant statices and sweet
  violets.

Zantedeschia aethiopica

Statice

14

for DO’s and DON’Ts of pruning