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Jul 29, 2019

7 Important Brisbane Winter Gardening Tips

Your garden has been prepared for winter, either by us, yourself or your grandparent who you’ve convinced to lend their experience. Your garden has been given the best chance to survive winter (it’s Brisbane so most gardens do survive), however, during the cooler months, there are things you need to be doing. We have compiled 7 of our top tips to help your garden easily make it through Brisbane’s winter. 

    1. Commit to some garden time

    Gardens don’t look after themselves, we at Premium Gekko Gardening, do look after gardens, however, you can look after yours too. If you don’t have a ‘green thumb’ then it’s best to let us to the tricky stuff, but there is still plenty you are able to do! Gardening not only helps your back and front gardens look beautiful, it helps you too. Five minutes spent outdoors is proven to positively impact your mood and physical and mental wellbeing.

    2. Winter Watering

    Brisbane has a subtropical climate, so for us, winter marks the beginning of our dry season. During the winter months, Brisbane normally receives no more than 70mm of rain each month. This is just half of what some of the summer months regularly receive. So, what does that mean for our gardens? It means good, thorough watering is required. None of this five minutes to water everything business that we often hear about. Understand how much water your plants need and then a couple days a week spend a good five minutes per plant watering.
    It is better to do less frequent deep watering than frequent shallow, superficial 
    watering.
    If you need help identifying your garden plants and their watering needs or are wanting to establish an irrigation system then give us a call on 0415 792 913.

    3. Winter Plant Pruning

    Pruning is an important part of winter gardening, especially if you have roses, hydrangeas, wisteria or grapevines. While plants are bare during winter it is the perfect time to easily remove the dead or crowded growth and to spot invasive climbers and remove them.
    The best way to make sure your gardening doesn’t damage your garden is to do your research, and learn what is best for your garden.

    4. Garden Hygiene

    When plants die they become potential sources of infection for the rest of the healthy plants, to even for other species of plants. So, whenever a plant dies (which is hopefully not too often) make sure you remove them swiftly. Another important aspect of garden hygiene is collecting fallen leaves and fruit. These too are sources of infections for other plants, this is particularly noticeable in productive gardens (where there are many fruit bearing plants/shrubs/trees).

    5. Winter Flowering Plants

    Despite many plants resting during the winter, there are spring bulbs, winter-flowering natives and shrubs that flower in early spring that are all growing actively. These plants need to be well looked after during winter as they are not dormant like other parts of your garden. The active winter plants should be watered and fertilised for peak performance.

    6. Fertilising Winter Crops

    During winter, it is important to feed the winter crops and flowers, as mentioned before, because they are actively growing during this stage. However, when feeding these plants, it is highly recommended that you move away from a high nitrogen feed to a low nitrogen one. That way, you are promoting robust growth whilst reducing the risk of fungal diseases.

    7. Lawn Tip

    Lawns seem simple to maintain and with the right tools, knowledge and experience, they are. However, for the untrained or gardening novice, lawns are hard to get right. We will write another article specifically addressing lawn care. For now, we will leave you with this lawn tip, which is appropriate for the winter months.
    A great way to alleviate the compaction and maximise the penetration of water is to the spike the lawn. Allowing water to penetrate deep into the root zone of the turf is invaluable for its growth.
    Hopefully, we’ve equipped you with the knowledge to help keep your garden healthier during the cooler, drier Brisbane winter months. Whether you use our services or not, basic garden care goes a long way to maintaining a beautiful garden in-between our visits or just in general. Put our tips into practice and you’ll certainly notice a difference in your lawn come spring time! For more information regarding winter garden care, or our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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