Nursery and Garden Open Saturday 4 August 2012

We will be around the garden again this Saturday 4 August, so please come and visit, walk the garden, buy a few plants. Our camellias are flowering their heads off, some are pretty much finished and some are in full flight, including most of the reticulatas. Retic Valentine Day Variegated is a sight and so is hybrid Nicky Crisp – just covered in flower – Royal Velvet, Midnight Magic, Cherries Jubilee – the dark black/reds – are looking great.

We have had a number of folk visit during the season, and it is great to be able assist so many people with their camellia needs. Without doubt, the camellia is growing in popularity among keen gardeners and novices alike. With so many varieties that suit SE Queensland conditions, there is normally plenty of choice. We are running out of some varieties, but we are confident of having an even larger range in time for the 2013 season.

Now that the sasanquas have pretty much finished flowering, these can be pruned back to a desired size and shape – so long as you are not in an area that will still get frosts, as the new growth can get damaged. Leaving for another month or so will not hurt as the new season growth will not be started by then. Leave your japonicas until they have finished flowering – just be sure to do your pruning before the new growth starts – it is psychologically difficult to prune off new growth. If you  are wanting to fertilise, early spring is the best time – and don’t forget to keep keep your plants well mulched. This keeps the weeds down and soil moisture in.

Still a great time to wander the garden full of camellias – ours is full of colour with the camellias, vireya rhododendrons, magnolias, michellias and now the peach blossom is magic.

Get out and enjoy it!

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>