Gardening calendar December 2020
Hot weather is a reminder to plant more trees for shade next year. It's the most efficient way of air-conditioning the outdoors. Plant some pots for summer colour with annuals and perennials.
Planting
Flowers
- Plant up geraniums and petunias for instant Christmas colour.
- Plant some pots for summer colour with annuals and perennials.
Vegetables & Herbs
- Vegetables to sow or transplant as seedlings include: sweet corn, rockmelon, watermelon, cucumber, squash, eggplant, asparagus pea, rosella, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, leeks, radicchio carrots, fennel, tomatoes, English spinach, capsicum, chilli, celeriac, choko (plant the fruit), okra, rocket, kohlrabi, loaf, Swiss chard, beetroot, spring onions, lettuce and radish.
- Sow a brand new herb patch with basil, dill, borage, chamomile, chervil, coriander, tarragon, parsley, chives, rue, lavender, sage, fennel, sweet marjoram, lemon balm, oregano, summer savoury, thyme and lovage.
Fruits
- Tropical trees including fruiting exotics can be planted now that the weather is warm. A few examples: avocado, mango, lychee, guava, banana, Aztec fruit (casimiroa), papaya, passionfruit, acerola, tamarillo, custard apple, black Zapotec, longan, babaco, soursop, Java plum, dragon fruit, pineapple, water apple or wax jambu, sugar cane, monstera, loquat, feijoa, Natal plum, five corner fruit, Surinam cherry, sapodilla, Brazilian tree grape and ice cream bean. You may not recognise all of these but everyone has been grown in Perth.
Feeding
Fruits
- Feed citrus trees with Baileys Rose and Citrus fertiliser. Make this part of a regular program by applying half the recommended quantity every month of the growing season which is September to April.
Potted Plant
- Feed potted plant to keep them growing actively during the warm season. Liquid fertilisers such as Baileys Vitaplant are suitable for small plants including herbs and vegetables.
Suggested Products
Pruning and Maintenance
Soil
- Water repellent soil is a real issue in early summer and can be fought with a quality wetting agent such as Baileys Grosorb Wetting Agent, in either granular or liquid form. This also works brilliantly for potted plants and lawns too.
- Top up mulch levels to a depth of 75 to 100mm. If there is no bare soil in your garden you are well on the way to conserving water like a pro. Use Baileys Moisture Mulch.
- A hoe can be a great tool to control weeds popping up in your garden. On hot days weeds die fast after having their root system cut off from the stems and leaves.