January Diary

Crepe myrtle

Enjoy the sun-soaked garden this month, but spare a thought for your plants in the heat! Keep your eyes peeled for signs of sunburn or heat stress, keep up the seaweed health tonics and consider providing your plants with some temporary shade.

What's flowering in January?

• Trees & Shrubs:
  Crepe myrtle, frangipani, fuchsia, gardenia, hibiscus, hydrangea, lavender, murraya, roses, tibouchina, NSW Christmas Bush, wattle, grevillea, native hibiscus.
• Annuals & Perennials:
  Begonia, geranium, impatiens, Marguerite daisy, marigold, petunia, alyssum, verbena
• Bulbs:
  Agapanthus, canna, dahlia, daylily
• Climbers:
  Bougainvillea, mandevilla, nasturtium

What to plant in January

• Create a garden full of colour with ageratum, alyssum, calendula, French marigold, Iceland poppy, linaria, liriope, petunia, primula, snapdragon, stock, sweet pea and verbena.
• Plant beans, lettuce (summer and loose-leaf varieties) and sweet corn.
• Sow seeds of next winter's vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower and lettuce, into seedling trays. Keep in a shaded spot.

Which plants to fertilise in January

• Nourish your plants with a complete slow-release fertiliser.
• Fertilise azaleas, daphne and camellias with a specially-formulated product, such as Kahoona. Camellias should be well watered this month to ensure good flowering from late autumn to spring.
• Apply complete rose food or a mix of 3 parts blood and bone and 1 part potash around each plant. Roses are heavy feeders, so this treatment is needed to encourage more flowers. Sugar cane mulch is also beneficial.
• Keep leafy vegies thriving with regular watering and a foliar fertiliser.
• Feed hungry hibiscus, passionfruit, dipladenia and tomatoes with a fertiliser high in potassium.
• Feed palms, ferns and salad greens with seaweed, worm juice or fish emulsion.

Which plants to prune in January

• NSW Christmas bush can be pruned as soon as the ‘flowers’ have finished.
• Deadhead your roses by cutting back to the nearest bud below the dead bloom. This will help produce a good autumn flush on roses that repeat their performance, including all modern roses.
• Prune agapanthus flower heads to prevent seeding through the garden and bush.
• Trim whippy growth from wisteria back to 30 centimetres.
• Prune lavender into globes and dry flowers to use in potpourri.

Garden pests, weeds and diseases to look out for in January

• Watch out for cabbage white butterfly and treat with Success Ultra or derris dust.
• Spray azaleas and rhododendrons for lace bug.
• Remove any built-up scale by spraying or wiping foliage with white oil.
• Fruit fly can be controlled using bait.
• Use Success Ultra on citrus that’s being attacked by leaf-miner, which appears as leaf curling and silvery trails on foliage.
• Be vigilant against rust on frangipani, canna and fuchsia. Treat rust before it becomes prevalent by spraying a mix of eco-fungicide and eco-oil, and bin any fallen infected leaves.

General garden and lawn care in January

• If lawn grub beetles are attacking your lawn, use a grub and insect control product like EcoGrub 2 in 1 for Lawns and Gardens. 
• Remove spent flower heads from summer annuals to promote more flowers.
• Stake your dahlias and chrysanthemums.
• Divide perennials such as agapanthus, day lilies and bearded iris.
• Water your fruit trees regularly to ensure a good crop.
• Check your drip irrigation system to ensure there are no blockages.
• Top-up your mulch to conserve moisture and help stop the weeds.

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Courtesy of Flower Power: https://www.flowerpower.com.au/