GARDENING IN PARADISE
Dragonfruit flowers are stunning and attract many bees.
JENNY’S TROPICAL GARDENING
September 2019
A Vanda orchid we bought at the Orchid Expo in Innisfail.
We also bought this stunning Galeopetalum orchid.
One of the beautiful Dendrobium orchids now in my collection.
SO much is happening in our gardens since the start of spring. Many tropical fruit trees, shrubs and vines are providing us with a delicious smorgasboard of tastes and colour! These include lychees, papaya, soursops, dragonfruits, passionfruits, pineapples and mangoes. The dry weather has meant we’ve had to water often, but watering deeply is important as it will penetrate into the soil around plants roots and will mean the watering needs to done less often. Mulching is very good for keeping moisture in the ground also. Remember to keep the mulch a few centimetres away from the tree trunk. Marcotted fruit trees and citrus hate to have their roots disturbed, so mulching to keep weed growth from under the trees is excellent.
STUNNING ORCHIDS! We went to the Orchid Expo in Innisfail for the first time last Saturday and it was totally amazing! The huge variety of gorgeous orchids was fabulous and the bromeliads for sale were also stunning! Many thanks to the hard-working club members who organise this event....and the food was great too! I highly recommend seeing it again next year. We came away with a treasure trove of gorgeous orchids and are now in the process of moving our orchid houses to a different part of the yard and displaying them to their best advantage. It is always lovely to have flowers that can be enjoyed at all times throughout the year. I love colour and flowers and I find orchids are an excellent way to achieve this. It is wise to buy orchids at different months through the year and that way you will always have some beautiful flowers. Orchids love to have good light with protection from the hot sun required by many, good air flow, most like to be watered every couple of days, and fertilised as recommended by the particular type of orchid fertilisers used. There are many potting mediums available and they are all good. The main requirement is to make sure the orchids are not in a mixture that stays wet for too long. I always say it is wise to remove orchids from a mix that has a lot of spaghnum moss in it, as this stays very wet and the plant can rot. At Mitre 10 we have a good range of potting mediums and fertilisers which are specific to orchids, and I am very happy to assist with any queries. I work in the mornings of Monday, Wednesday and Friday. ADENIUMS. These beautiful flowering plants are commonly known as Desert Roses. They love our tropical sun and will perform well either in full sun or part-shade and are another plant that absolutely thrives when we experience a long dry season. These plants have a swollen trunk when grown from seed and they produce trumpet-shaped blooms which are available in a range of colours, either single or double. Desert roses are very prone to rotting and require a gritty, welldrained soil.
Many gardeners find they grow well when put on the western side of the house, which receives plenty of sun and protection from some rain. They are quite easy to graft and look great when a few different colours are grafted onto one plant. I find by spraying with a fertiliser called Bloom Booster, by Manutec, my desert roses produce many flowers. Call in to see me at Mitre 10 Garden Centre on Monday, Wednesday or Friday mornings for assistance with any gardening query. SOME GARDEN TIPS: • Banana skins are rich in calcium, sodium, sulphur, magnesium and phosphates and this makes them great for putting around roses, geraniums and gerberas and into the back of staghorns. • Ladybirds are a gardeners’ friend and they can eat 400 aphids per week. Until next month, happy gardening,
Jenny.
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Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, September 26, 2019 Page 7