Garden Activities for this month from Global Garden

Prune roses without delay

Prune poinsettias when flowering is finished.

Apply snail bait to clivias in bud and in flower.

Purchase azaleas in flower.

Check lawns for bindii infestation. Remove young plants or spray with selective herbicide.

Feed daffodil plants that have finished flowering with a fertiliser high in potash.

Fertilise lawns at the end of the month to take full advantage of spring rains.

Move plants that need to be repositioned.

Check for areas of poor drainage in the garden. Drainage may be improved by grassy surface drains which divert water away from problem areas or by installing agricultural piping.

Spray tulip buds with pyrethrum to get rid of aphids.

Feed winter vegetables with liquid fertiliser.

Take cuttings of aeoniums.

Be quick to plant out deciduous trees and citrus plants.

Apply side dressings of fertiliser to strawberries and spread straw under strawberry plants to keep the fruits away from the soil.

Prune off swellings on citrus branches caused by citrus gall wasps and destroy the prunings without delay

Dead head any spent bulb flower stems. If you leave the flower heads on, the plants will use up valuable resources trying to produce seeds.

Divide and repot ferns.

Prune wattles after flowering to improve shape and increase foliage density.

Clean out garden ponds.

Keep dead-heading cyclamen.

Cut ornamental grasses right back in late winter/early spring.

Sand wooden handles of tools and apply linseed oil to prevent splintering and cracking.

Plant potato tubers.

Prune tamarillos (tree tomatoes).

Propagate azaleas by layering lower branches.

Fertilise roses.

Trim sasanqua camellias to shape once flowering is finished.

Dig vegetable gardens over and mulch with pea straw ready for planting.

Sow new lawns as soon as possible.

Fertilise citrus plants with high nitrogen fertiliser. Mulch plants also but keep mulch clear of the trunks to help avoid collar rot.