The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 15 Summer 2015/2016 Low res | Page 27

Monthly garden routine
Monthly tasks

December

Keep up-to-date with this list and your garden will flourish.
If you are staying at home for Christmas, brighten up your garden and entertainment area with a few
strategically placed pots of colour such as impatiens, red salvia or celosia and fill any gaps with pops of colour.
Keep your garden neat and tidy by mowing the lawn, removing faded blooms, yellowing leaves and dead twigs.
If you’re going away these holidays, give your garden a good watering, mulch well, group potted plants and
hanging baskets together in the shade of a tree where they will be easier to water.
Annuals - Plant colourful and vibrant New Guinea impatiens, which are resistant to downy mildew.
Pests and Diseases - With the heat this summer, check the underside of leaves on roses, fuchsias, hydrangeas
and dahlias for red spider mite. Watch out for lawn caterpillars, the amaryllis caterpillar, black spot and powdery
mildew on roses, and downy mildew on impatiens. Where possible, use organic sprays such as Kobe and Levo.
Roses - Water deeply twice a week, mulch heavily; continue with your regular spraying and feeding routine. Snip off
the stem of each spent bloom along with 2 or 3 leaves beneath it so that new growth will sprout from the eye below.
Lawns - Feed your lawns every 6 to 8 weeks, using Compound X lawn dressing,