February in the Garden

What fruits to harvest now:

The stone fruit and berry seasons continue, with more varieties ripening their crops this month. Pick fruit early in the day, while it’s still cool, leaving that still firm to the touch on the trees until fully ripe. Pick and discard any diseased or damaged fruits immediately to reduce the potential spread of diseases. 

Some of the very early cropping varieties of apples and pears may be ripe enough to pick from mid-February onwards. Passionfruit will also mature and falling to the ground now, and there may also be good crops of lemons and oranges in some areas. Tropical fruits and citrus are still cropping in warmer areas, and honeydew melon, watermelon and cantaloupe are still in season in hot, dry climates.

What fruit to plant:

Citrus trees, passionfruit vines and other evergreen fruiting trees and shrubs may be planted from the middle of the month. Water in well and keep moist (but not wet) until they are well established.

What flowers to plant:

Sow seeds of the following into seed trays mid-month, for planting in Autumn:

• Arctotis
• Alyssum
• Antirrhinum (snapdragon)
• Aquilegia (granny’s bonnet)
• Calendula
• Canterbury bells (campanula)
• Carnation
• Cineraria
• Delphinium
• Gaillardia
• Geum
• Gypsophila
• Iceland poppy
• Larkspur
• Nemesia
• Nigella
• Pansy
• Polyanthus
• Primula
• Scabiosa
• Sweet William
• Verbena
• Viola

Tips for Indoor Plants:

• Water indoor plants when the top 5cm or soil of potting mix feels dry to the touch. Allow excess water to drain freely from the base of the pot. Don’t leave pots standing in saucers of water.
• Keep the air around indoor plants humid by regularly misting plants with a water atomiser.
• Feed fortnightly with ready to use Osmocote Pour+Feed Indoor Plants – no mixing required. There are also Pour+Feed products for orchids and cacti.
• If indoor plants need reporting, use Osmocote Professional Indoor Plants Potting Mix, made from coir fibre not composted materials that may provide shelter for fungus gnats.

Maintenance tips:

• Make sure the lawn is well watered at least once a week, if local water authorities permit or there’s no rain. The earlier in the day you water, the less risk there is of the sun burning the grass through moisture droplets. 
• Watch for bindii spreading through lawns and get on top of any incursions quickly with Lawn Builder Bindii, Clover & Broadleaf, a ready-to-use, hose-on lawn weeder that’s safe to use on all grasses.

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 Things to look out for and do during the month:

• Pick up and dispose of any fruit on the ground under fruit trees – they may be diseased or harbouring insect pests. Discard in the household rubbish – DO NOT put them in the compost bin!
• Cut out and dispose of galls (stem or branch swellings) on citrus trees to help eradicate gall wasps.
• Tidy up the garden by removing spent flowers and flower spikes from perennials and annuals.
• Dahlias and chrysanthemums may need staking and/or the ties checking to ensure they are not cutting into stems.
• Fortnightly applications of Osmocote Boost+Feed All Plant Types will keep your garden healthy and growing well.
• Continue regularly trimming evergreen trees and shrubs to keep them neat, particularly hedges, buxus balls and mop-tops.
• When high temperatures or strong winds are expected, take down hanging baskets and move them together with outdoor pots to a shady, sheltered spot where they won’t get burned to a crisp.

Pest Control:

• Watch for thrips and aphids on flowering plants. Defender Pyrethrum Insect Spray will control them. Don’t forget to spray the undersides of leaves as well as the top surface.
• If you don’t want to use chemicals, hang yellow sticky traps among plants to attract and catch pests.

• Watch for powdery mildew on roses and other plants including pumpkins and zucchinis, especially when nights are warm and humid. Use a copper-based fungicide to control them.
• Newly planted seedlings may be targeted by snails and slugs. Protect them with Defender Snail & Slug Pellets.