Get the garden shovels ready

By Jillian Coomb, Searles Gardening

Get out the shovels! Now is the time to get into the garden and do all the tasks that you have been putting off during Brisbane’s hot summer days. Autumn and winter are the best times to introduce new plants to your garden in Brisbane. It’s the perfect time for planting fruit trees and roses, with many nurseries featuring the latest varieties and old favourites. Planting now gives these plants time to adapt to a new position, without suffering from the heat of summer.

For transplanting plants, these are the ideal months, as the plants are not in an active growing period. Losing a little root matter is not as drastic as it is in spring, and plants do not suffer from transplant shock as readily at this time of the year. Give transplanted plants a thorough drenching with Searles SeaMax Fish & Kelp at the time of planting to settle down the soil and promote new growth. Repeat this every fortnight until they are settled in.

A controlled release fertiliser, such as Searles Robust, should be sprinkled around the plants at the time of planting, then every three months for a continuous feed. Follow these simple tips for a beautiful garden, without breaking a sweat!