Ideal winter planting season ahead
Gardeners who love growing their own vegetables, herbs and flowers have been presented with a unique planting opportunity.
If climate models are correct, the likelihood of late summer and early winter performing plants being ruined by a continuation of summer’s extreme heat is now very low.
It also means productive crops and ornamental plants established early in autumn can take full advantage of soils that have been continually warmed by the summer’s sun.
Currently topsoil temperatures are fluctuating between 22 and 23°C.
This is an ideal level for stimulating most plants into producing strong vigorous growth.
All you need to do is add water.
. . . but don’t wait too long
During autumn topsoil temperatures drop by around 4°C each month.
By the end of autumn garden temperatures are likely to be around 12°C and plant growth will be coming to a standstill.
Vegetable plants established during March are likely to end up twice the size or with twice the production of those planted out early in May.
Cool season crops now available
Don’t be surprised if garden centres now have a reasonable range of cool season vegetable seedlings on display.
According to SA vegetable seedling supplier Living Colour, most major centres should have good supplies of broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, silver beet, lettuce and salad greens.
March and April are recommended planting months for these crops and seedlings established soon should provide a welcome change to your summer garden harvest.
Again the proviso is to make sure the newly established plants you select are protected (ideally with shade cloth) if temperatures suddenly spike into the thirties.
Crops planted in the absence of rain will need to be watered regularly.
So that was summer
Not a single heatwave was recorded in Adelaide this summer.
Even the heat spikes were limited – only one day with a maximum temperature over 40°C and only 8 occasions when the thermometer exceeded 35°C.
As for summer rainfall: Adelaide (West Terrace) recorded 134 mm – 68 mm above average.
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Weather observations: BOM, West Terrace, summer 2023 – 2024
| Month |
Rain (mm) |
Maximum ºC |
Minimum ºC |
| |
Av. |
Actual |
Av. |
Actual |
Av. |
Actual |
| December |
26.2 |
73.4 |
26.9 |
25.5 |
15.2 |
14.8 |
| January |
19.8 |
61.2 |
28.6 |
29.3 |
16.6 |
17.0 |
| February |
20.6 |
0 |
28.5 |
30.1 |
16.9 |
15.8 |
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A good season for gardeners
Overall, it has been a good growing season for ornamentals, vegetable crops and fruit trees.
However, periods of below-average temperatures, (day and night) during December affected fruit set for flowering vegetables, while the absence of sustained high temperatures resulted in below average soil temperatures.
In many gardens this reduced the size and slowed the maturity of both fruit and vegetable crops.
Make room for a raised garden bed
You don’t need much room to install a small raised garden bed.
Yet you will be surprised at the amount of fun, food or flowers they can sustain.
Because the beds are raised they provide ideal aeration and drainage – essential for healthy plant growth.
Ready-to-assemble kits are available in a range of shapes and sizes from larger garden outlets.
Make sure the bed is placed in a sunny location and it’s quite OK if it is assembled on pavers or cement.
Fill the bed with a blend of two parts potting mix and one compost - not garden soil, which provides poor aeration and drainage).
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Soil temperatures
Provided by Living Turf, national turf specialists.
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Yesterday's readings °C
(Last week’s in brackets) |
| Soil depth |
10 cm |
20 cm |
| Gawler |
23.6 (22.8) |
23.0 (22.3) |
| Walkerville |
23.0 (22.3) |
22.3 (21.7) |
| Glenelg |
24.5 (23.5) |
23.9 (22.9) |
Average
last week |
22.4 |
22.2 |
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Last chance for a couple of beauties
There comes a time when rose growers delete old popular roses from the catalogues to make room for new releases.
Before deleting they are often sold as “last chance roses”. These are two last chance roses selected by Brian Wagner.
A beautiful Hybrid Tea rose with very large exhibition style flowers, on long strong stems.
Old Gold coloured blooms are borne on a vigorous, healthy, large foliaged bush and it is one of the most popular in this colour range.
Valencia has very dark green, tough, leathery foliage which ensures that the bush remains healthy in all weather.
Fragrance is strong and sweet. Height to 120cm.
The glowing cherry red buds of Unconventional Lady develop into lovely large, deep pink blooms.
The bush produces nice long stems – suitable for cutting- and is quite vigorous with great disease resistance.
Light fragrance. Height 170cm.
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Old-fashioned elegance and charm
Colourful stocks growing in the garden not only add a touch of elegance, they also provide a delightful fragrance.
As a bonus they attract beneficial pollinators, improving the garden’s biodiversity.
Imagine the tapestry they provide with tall spikes of flowers in shades of pink, blue/purple, white and apricot, offering charming old-fashioned appeal.
As colourful cool season annuals stocks are relatively low maintenance and thrive in a range of climates and soils.
Varieties from Living Colour include:
- Column Mix – A lovely mix of white with shades of pink and purple, tightly packed in columns and delightfully scented. Ideal for cut flowers growing to a height of 50cm
- Imperial – Tall columns of elegantly perfumed flowers, mostly double, in shades of blue, pink, and white. An excellent border plant, ideal for cut flowers.
- Spellbound – A colourful multi-branching variety with charming old fashion appeal. Produces over 55% double flowers in shades of lavender, lilac, red and white.
 Stocks are available at Heyne's Garden Centre, Beulah Park, Semaphore Pets & Gardens and Barrow & Bench, Malvern and should be available at other good gardening centres.
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Gaura blooms that flutter like butterflies
For a sunny garden, make sure you have room for a group of the latest high performing gauras – known as Bellezas.
Belleza White and Dark Pink are particularly attractive because of their compact but upright stem growth.
These are covered with butterfly like blooms that flutter in the breeze through spring, summer and autumn.
Belleza gauras are great sun lovers, although during summer in SA they will benefit from afternoon shade.
They are also extremely hardy, with excellent tolerance to pests and disease.
At the end of the first spring flush of flowers, the stems should be cut back by about one third. This will establish a new flowering cycle and if you prune by 50 percent towards the end of summer, there should be a wonderful display most of the year.
Belleza Dark Pink and White are ideal for mass planting in the landscape, creating a cottage garden or old fashioned perennial bed effect or maybe using as feature plants in courtyard containers.
Height 30 - 40 cm, Spread 40- 50 cm
Gauras are in stock at Heyne's Garden Centre, Beulah Park, Semaphore Pets & Gardens and Barrow & Bench, Malvern and should be available at other good gardening centres.
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Long term soil improver
In many home gardens, fruit trees are expected to get by with minimum attention after harvest.
But keep in mind the potential for next year’s harvest would be at stake.
The cropping potential for most fruit trees can be increased quite dramatically simply by incorporating organic matter and a small amount of nutrition into the soil (under the tree's canopy) as soon as possible after harvest.
The easiest way of achieving this is to cover the ground underneath the canopy with a 2 cm layer of soft mulching material such as lucerne or pea straw.
Before spreading the straw, boost the soil is nutrient levels by adding a small quantity of fertiliser for fruit trees.
As a guide consider half a kilogram of organic pellets for fruit trees per square metre
During autumn and winter, much of this material will be incorporated into the soil by beetles, worms, and a range of beneficial microorganisms.
As it breaks down, it will significantly improve the soil’s structure and provide the tree with essential nutrients for the following season.
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The best pest control is prevention
Summer has merged with autumn creating ideal conditions for gardening.
But it will also activate a range of potentially damaging garden pests.
In this situation the best form of control is prevention.
Edible produce can be protected from birds and large insects by creating a physical barrier such as a bird-safe net.
Consider adding plants to the garden that attract beneficial insects that feed on pest insects.
Lavender, salvias and plants with daisy flowers all attract beneficial insects.
Plants that are continually damaged by pests should be removed and replaced with different species.
Keep an eye out for small pest infestations. Check plants regularly and remove pests by hand (wear gloves) before they build up in numbers.
If the infestation takes hold, apply EarthCare White Oil insect spray. 
It helps to control pests, including aphids, scale, mealy bugs, whitefly and citrus leaf miner.
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Time to give rose bushes a trim
It has been a very good season for roses, thanks largely to soaking rains during December and January.
In many gardens the bushes have respond by producing an early flush of autumn blooms.
This coincides with the time that many rose lovers trim their bushes all over to encourage a magnificent display of roses – ready for the many rose shows in April.
However, if you already have a reasonable number of roses on your bushes and you would like to maintain this display through early autumn consider trimming your bushes – but only lightly.
Keep in mind roses produce their blooms at the end of each new branch.
Start this weekend by trimming any spent blooms.
At the same time, trim back any branches that do not have any newly formed flowering buds.
The aim at this stage is to trim back about one-third of the total branches on each bush.
Over the next three to four weeks, trim all blooms as soon as they fade, or even better, pick the flowers just as they open and use them for indoor decoration.
This way you should have a continuous supply of blooms on your bushes through autumn.
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Lawn care
Stefan Palm, Paul Munns Instant Lawn
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Act quickly to control winter grass
It is now possible to achieve effective winter grass control in your lawn.
But you need to act now if you are to succeed.
Until recently, when winter grass invaded a lawn control was either extremely difficult or completely futile.
In this week’s lawn blog turf consultant Stefan Palm provides the information that many gardeners have been looking for and explains why the process is so effective.
In essence, it involves controlling the weeds before they start to grow, using what is known as a pre-emergence weedicide.
As Stefan explains the timing of this weedicide is critical.
It must be applied before autumn rains stimulate dormant winter grass seeds into activity.
Make sure you also read the many winter grass weed comments at the end Stefan’s blog
More information »
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Get those bearded iris in now
Hurry if you want to plant new iris varieties in time for a stunning display in spring.
We’re talking about the ever-popular, easy-to-grow bearded iris that seems to thrive in SA gardens.
New plants established early in autumn have plenty of time to re-establish their root system and build enough energy for a spring performance.
The same advice applies when the root system of well-established plants need dividing because they are so congested that flowering is being affected.
While bearded iris can still be divided (or planted) late in autumn, there is little time left for plant recovery, particularly if the variety flowers early in spring.
Beware of windfalls
During harvest a certain percentage of the fruits fall to the ground. Most of these have already been damaged by insects, disease or quite likely birds.
These “windfalls” should be removed on a regular basis as they are usually quickly infected by fruit rotting fungus.
If the fruits remain on the ground it’s likely the fungus will be spread by scavenger insects, and infect healthy fruits remaining on your tree.
Prepare now for spring bulbs
It will soon be time to plant out spring-flowering bulbs.
New varieties are being featured in nursery catalogues and in many retail outlets.
Now is the time to dig the ground and incorporate compost, aged animal manure or complete fertiliser.
Boosting buds on chrysanthemums
The size of individual blooms on chrysanthemums bushes can be increased if the number of buds on each flower head is reduced.
Keep the plants growing vigorously by applying a small quantity of a liquid fertiliser for flowers.
These plants thrive in the heat
Semi-tropical plants such as frangipani, bougainvillea, crepe myrtle and hibiscus can be planted out now.
These are heat-loving shrubs and thrive when the going gets hot.
It is also a good time for establishing subtropical fruits including citrus, avocados and passionfruit.
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Please keep your questions
for Talkback Gardening
Good Gardening is unable to answer individual reader's questions via email. If you're looking for specific advice please give me a call on ABC Radio Adelaide's Saturday morning Talkback Gardening or ask at your local garden centre.
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Talkback Gardening tomorrow
 ABC Radio Adelaide Talkback Gardening this Saturday, 8 am to 9.30 am – phone Deb Tribe and me on 1300 222 891 and have your own gardening question answered.
What kind of weather can gardeners expect during autumn and early winter? Don’t miss what consulting climatologist Darren Ray has to say when he presents his three-month weather outlook for home gardeners.
Plus: SA Rose Society president Gavin Woods will explain how you can produce a magnificent display of rose blooms in autumn.
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Garden centre directory
Leading Adelaide garden centres recommended by Good Gardening newsletter.
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Heyne's Garden Centre
283-289 The Parade, Beulah Park. (08) 8332 2933
If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise!
Teddy bear magnolias have just landed at Heyne’s and they look spectacular.
Evergreen magnolias make an instant statement in the garden or decorative pots with the teddy bear variety featuring a rounder leaf and sweetly scented flowers.
Come and check out our range this weekend!
South Australia's oldest established garden centre. Huge range. Expert staff on hand for personal advice. Visit online »
Semaphore Pets and Garden
119 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore. (08) 8242 7302
The garden looks so good, full of so much colour.
I've been shopping up a storm in Sydney, fantastic stock is arriving on a daily basis.
Come on in and find a unique treasure. Open 7 days, see you soon!
Always a great selection of plants, pets and giftware – all under the one roof. Open 7 days.
Facebook »
Barrow & Bench Mitre 10
321 Unley Rd, Malvern. (08) 8272 8566
Looking for a great range of Australian native plants? Look no further.
Beautiful SA-grown plants in store this week, including some harder to find varieties.
Looking divine are: Davidson’s Plum (Queensland variety as well as the smooth leaf), Ziera Carpet Star, Hymenosporum Gold Halo (variegated), Brachychiton rupestris, Isopogon Pink sparkles, along with Grevellea Stripy, RSL Spirit of ANZAC Grevillea and so much more.
Open 7 Days. See you in store soon.
Specialising in providing quality plants and expert garden advice. Follow the Instagram feed »
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Coming soon
Saturday & Sunday, March 23 & 24
Bromeliad Society Annual Show and Sales
Maltese Cultural Centre, 6 Jeanes St, Beverley. Sat 9am to 3pm, Sun 10am to 3pm.
Free entry both days. EFTPOS available.
Sunday, May 5
Adelaide Hills Garden Affair
Stangate House and Gardens, Aldgate. 10 am to 3 pm
More information and tickets »
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Regular garden attractions
Adelaide Botanic Gardens – free guided walks
Friends of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide guided walks for the public at Adelaide, Mount Lofty and Wittunga Botanic Gardens, and Botanic Park.
More information »
Carrick Hill
Heritage house museum and garden, the former home of Sir Edward and Lady Ursula Hayward. Open weekends & public holidays. Free admission into garden and grounds. 46 Carrick Hill Drive, Springfield.
More information »
Cummins Historic House and gardens
23 Sheoak Ave, Novar Gardens. Gardens open and plant sales on 1st & 3rd Sundays of each month (except Dec & Jan) 2 pm - 4.30 pm. Plant sales also available every Friday morning 9 am to noon. More information » | Facebook »
Heysen - The Cedars
The historic home of two of Australia’s most noted artists, Sir Hans Heysen and his daughter Nora. This unique, 60-hectare heritage estate features the original family home, two artists’ studios and the celebrated cottage-style garden, planted chiefly with exotics, including the massive Himalayan cedar trees.
Heysen Road, Hahndorf. Open 10 am - 4.30 pm, Tuesday to Sunday, and also open on public holiday Mondays. Ticketed entry, including guided tours at 11am and 2 pm.
More information »
Old Government House, Belair National Park
The former vice-regal summer residence of some of the early governors of South Australia. An excellent example of Victorian architecture, set amongst one acre of magnificent gardens. Features cottage plants and flowers cultivated in Victorian times, heritage roses and mature trees.
Tours and afternoon tea on the first and third Sundays each month and public holidays, 1 pm – 4.30 pm. Free entry into Belair National Park if you are visiting OGH - tell the info office staff as you drive in.
More information »
Urrbrae House historic precinct gardens
At the end of Walter Young Avenue, off Fullarton Road, Urrbrae, or from the Urrbrae House gate, Claremont Avenue, Netherby.
Open from dawn until dusk every day. Free entry.
More information »
Waite Arboretum, Fullarton Road, Urrbrae
Open free to the public every day of the year from dawn to dusk, except on fire ban days. Free guided walks on the first Sunday of every month, 11 am to 12.30 pm.
Meet at the West lawn (Croquet Lawn) of Urrbrae House. Bookings not necessary.
More information »
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Disclaimer: Although all reasonable care is taken in preparing information contained in this email, neither Jon Lamb Communications (JLC) nor its officers, staff or suppliers involved in the editing and production of this email accept any liability resulting from the interpretation or use of the information set out in this document. Information contained in this document is subject to change without notice and is of a general nature and should not take the place of professional personal advice. No responsibility is accepted by Jon Lamb Communications for the accuracy of information contained in web sites linked from this email. Publication of an advertisement does not constitute endorsement by JLC of any product or service, or warrant its suitability.
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