Durban - Autumn is KwaZulu-Natal’s second spring. The days are mild, the soil is still warm, and the rains have come.
Autumn is an ideal time to garden as plants need a warm, moist soil to establish their root system, so you will not necessarily see much growth on top, but the roots are busy establishing themselves beneath the ground.
The Autumn Equinox – on March 21 – signalled the beginning of shorter days and longer nights. Because of the warm, mild days of autumn, flowers are often bigger and brighter at this time compared with spring and summer.
Blooms at the autumn rose shows are noticeably bigger, and the colours and fragrance more intense. This is also the time when many garden clubs have their best garden competitions.
Autumn is thus a busy time in the garden. It is a good time to plant, and a rewarding time for colour.
Crotons are at their best, as are roses, bougainvilleas, Barberton daisies, hibiscus and lots more.
A huge selection of hibiscus hybrids flower abundantly in our climate. Many Hawaiian hybrids have huge flowers, up to 15cm and more across, and colours that range from yellow, orange and pink to red, often with combinations of colours in each flower.
Double flowered varieties are also available. Many of these hybrids were bred in Queensland, the hibiscus breeding capital of the world, and so do exceptionally well in our parts too.
Very effective systemic insecticides are available for borer which sometimes attack hibiscus – ask your nurseryman.
One of the most spectacular and rewarding indigenous plants in flower now is the Cape Honeysuckle, or Tecoma capensis. These are available in red, orange-red, yellow, apricot, orange and salmon-pink and give a mass of colour. They are justly popular all over the world, and are much loved by birds and humans.
Autumn foliage with its golds, oranges and reds will soon be seen on many trees and shrubs. A little appreciated example of autumn foliage occurs in Crotons – Codaeum pictum – which have their best colours at this time of year. All croton leaves start off green and slowly change colours (depending on variety), to yellow, pink, orange, red and black.
Some varieties have leaves of pastel shades, others solid deep shades.
The pastel varieties do well in semi-shade. The deeper coloured varieties prefer full sun.
In all varieties these colours are at their most intense in autumn.
It will soon also be time to plant out your winter and spring flowering annuals. A huge variety of seedlings can be grown at this time – the biggest selection of the entire year – and what a choice there is.
Firm favourites are pansies, violas, primulas, poppies, snapdragons, petunias, alyssum and lobelia. The selection is not limited to only these, so go for it – the choice is there.
These seedlings can be used for mass planting in beds, or planted in rockeries, window boxes, hanging baskets or pots and tubs. Always use a good potting mix and remember to feed regularly for truly amazing results. There are excellent plant foods available for seedlings – ask your nurseryman for advice.
I wrote last time about my attempt to grow Busy Lizzies or Impatiens – unfortunately they again succumbed to the dreaded Downy Mildew disease that has wiped out Busy Lizzies all over the world in recent years – so my advice to gardeners and fellow nurserymen is – forget the Busy Lizzies for the next few years.
The New Guinea Impatiens are not affected by this disease and are still extremely popular and well worth growing.
Winter and spring flowering bulbs are also on sale now. These are easy to grow, and nothing quite says spring like a flowering daffodil.
Bulbs can be planted in pots as well as the garden.
If you buy bulbs now, put them in the vegetable tray in your fridge for a few weeks before planting them out – this will prime them to sprout and they will flower earlier.
Remember, most of these bulbs come from world regions that are cooler than the KZN coast so they need cool soil – so do not plant them too early, or in a really hot position.
A number of indigenous bulbs from the Cape such as Freesia, Lachenalia and Chincerinchees, and others do quite well here.
It is also time to get your lawn ready for winter: mow your lawn long – set your mower to give a high cut.
The more leaf your lawn has, the longer and stronger the roots will be. The longer the roots, the better your lawn will go through the dryness and coolness of winter, and the better it will emerge in spring.
Do not trim with a weedeater as it cuts too low, and the grass may not recover enough before winter.
Autumn is possibly the most important time of the year to feed your lawn. It is important to feed your lawn now with a high Potassium fertiliser such as 3:1:6 or 5:1:5 as this will toughen up the cell walls and enable the grass to make it through winter.
If your lawn emerges from winter strong, it will be able to compete with the early weeds, and will look good right from the beginning of spring.
If you still have weeds in your lawn now, spray them with a good selective weedkiller. Some weedkillers for lawns only kill certain weeds, so get one that kills the lot. Ask your nurseryman for advice, and read the instructions.
Get stuck into your garden now – you will enjoy it. - The Mercury