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- This is Weedbuster Week, a time to reflect on containment of plants that
could well become local weeds unless pruned or disposed of responsibly. I
see lots of the ‘Three cornered Garlic’ in gardens at present and few
folk growing it realize how invasive it is and what a threat to our
remnant vegetation, not to mention how it out competes most of our garden
plants for space too.
- Unley & Burnside City Councils now collect green organics on a
regular basis, so use your MGB wheelie collection to get rid of weeds.
That green material is then windrow composted at 60oC that
kills the weeds, so it’s not as though you are consigning them to
someone else’s garden.
- With all this recent rain, it’s an ideal time to clip that
slow-growing hedge or climber. Once clipped it will bounce back, but
obviously you will loose some flowers if it’s a spring flowering
variety, but that’s good practice every now and then, especially when
the resultant growth will add years to your plants.
- The lovely orchid like flowers in all our streets at present is the
Bauhinia purpurea (purple flowering butterfly tree) and Bauhinia
variegata (the white flowering butterfly tree). They are seldom offered
as pot plants, since the seedlings resent root disturbance and usually
die, so mark your tree, collect the seed in six weeks and spot sow some
where you want one to grow.
- Roses are riddled with fungal diseases at present and that requires a
spray of Triforine systemic fungicide, followed by one of the copper
based fungicides next week, such as Kocide™ or Yates ® Fungus
Fighter, then in two weeks spray Mancozeb. That will break the resistant
cycle of fungus diseases on your roses, grape vines and your stone
fruits. Use in a similar rotation as necessary, but don’t resort to
using the same fungicide all the time.
- Grape vines are making too much growth at present and will usually
need some thinning or the long canes just snap off in the wind.
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