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Now that your early Narcissus or Jonquils have finished flowering, it’s time to
feed them, so that they flower in profusion next year. Using a watering can with 5 grams
of a water-soluble fertiliser, like Aquasol™ or Thrive™ add a few drops of a
wetting agent (but not household detergent) and water the foliage to run-off.
Repeat that on each of your bulb varieties as they complete flowering and remove seed
heads if they start to appear. The seed-set only saps the vigour of your bulbs and reduces
subsequent flowering.
You probably have leaf-burst on your peaches, nectarines and apricots, grapevines and
plums, so its time to give them another spray of a fungicide to prevent fungal leaf
diseases, such as leaf blister on the vines and peaches and shot-hole (which is actually a
bacterial condition) on the apricot, almonds, nectarines, cherries, plum and early
flowering peaches.
Spray a copper compound to control these early fungal and bacterial diseases, such as
Bordeaux Mixture, Copper oxychloride, Kocide® or Yates Fungus Fighter™ and spray it
onto your roses too. I know it leaves a grubby blue residue on those lovely new maroon
rose leaves but it will protect them from the blackspot and mildew that they are so prone
to in a few weeks time.
On any newly planted roses, that have started to grow, it’s now time to spread the
organic pellets around under them and feed them with a water soluble fertiliser. It’s
still too early to spread slow release fertilisers on them. That comes next month, when
soil temperatures rise above 15° C. Under 12° C and the slow release pellets, such as
Osmocote™ and the likes virtually stop feeding your plants.
Your "Woolly Bear Caterpillars" are probably back again too and another spray
of Dipel HG® is needed. It washes off in the rain and the caterpillars re-colonise your
garden every two to three weeks, so spraying every three weeks is needed to control them
at this time of year.
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