Look out for
azalea lace bug.
This sap sucker, its responsible for the silvering of the leaves on most varieties of azaleas. Treat promptly with Searles Conguard.
spring planting and care guide
There are many types of azaleas suited to a range of lighting conditions from full sun positions to shaded areas. This gives an excellent range of azaleas to choose from to suit almost any area of your garden. Enquire at your local garden centre for the best azalea varieties suited to a specific position in your garden. When planting azaleas, remember that they love an acidic soil, rich in organic matter. Improve the soil by planting into Searles Azalea & Camellia Specialty Mix. This will give your azaleas the right mix of nutrients and pH for a great start and strong, healthy growth. Water them regularly, avoiding the petals which can result in petal blight. Feed them with Searles Flourish Azalea & Camellia Fertiliser, which gently acidifies the soil, provides essential iron and promotes strong growth and brilliant flowering.
Lavender has enjoyed universal and enduring popularity in Australian home gardens and the reasons are quite clear. They are hardy and resistant to disease as well as being stylish — suiting most garden or landscape styles, regardless of fashions or trends. Lavender needs full sun to grow and flower well. Without at least 6 hours of direct sun (preferably afternoon sun) every day, flowering will be poor. Lavender traditionally comes from a dry, Mediterranean climate and dislikes humidity. If you live in a warm or cool temperate climate you should be able to grow most lavenders. However, some modern hybrids have an increased resistance to humidity and can even be grown in the tropics if the right conditions are given such as excellent drainage, free air circulation and full sun. In warm climates choose varieties from the Italian and Spanish family. French lavender is by far the best for warmer climates. Lavender dislikes long periods of heavy rain but can survive if it has proper drainage. Lavender is a great choice in seaside gardens as it tolerates windy conditions, sandy soils and some salt spray. It also has excellent resistance to dry spells and frost. page 22 | About the garden magazine
