Autumn Bulbs, Flowers and Trees

Autumn is the time of change and can be a very busy time in the garden. Here are a few tips on what to get done at this time of the year:

Spring flowering bulbs will all be available now. Daffodils, freesias, tulips, hyacinths and ranunculus will be in store now so buy them early for the best pick. Store them in a cool dry spot until you are ready to plant. Most spring flowering bulbs can be planted from April on wards but leave tulips and hyacinths until May or june when the soil is cooler. Always add a little bit of lime when planting bulbs and it is important to feed them after flowering for next year.

Lime is also excellent for the veggie patch and its time to look at all the cooler season’s crops. Broccoli, cabbages, snow peas and carrots can be planted from now on. Give the soil a dig over with manure or mushroom compost and don’t forget to mulch. If you struggled to grow lettuce or coriander through summer now is the time to look at planting them as they will perform much better in the cooler weather.

Spring and summer perennials will have just about finished up by now and it is the perfect time to lift and divide them. Agapanthus, Clivia, day lilies salvias and many others will respond well with a hard prune back and can be lifted and divided. This will provide you with extra plants to fill any gaps around the garden. In saying that it is also the time to relocate any plant that may not be suitable or has grown too big for its area. Make sure after transplanting any plant it receives plenty of water and regular doses of Seasol.

Autumn is also citrus time and as long as you looked after your citrus trees through the summer months they should all be in full flower and about to set fruit. It is important that citrus get a light feed at this time of the year with a well balanced fruit and citrus food and to ensure they receive plenty of water while they produce their fruit.

Lawns too will benefit from a final fertilize before the winter months set in and it is also the ideal time to keep an eye out for bindi and winter grass as these weeds will be actively growing from now on and need to be sprayed early to get on top of them.

If you are on the hunt for a deciduous tree autumn is the time to keep an eye out for what you want. The trees themselves will not be in stores until winter but you can get a good idea of the sort of thing you are after as they begin to show their autumn colour. If you see a tree you like take a picture of it and your local garden centre can identify it and order it in for winter.

Lastly give all your hedges and shrubs a final tidy up and general prune.