Yates Growing With You Australia - Winter Edition 2022 by Yates Gardening

WINTER 2022

Gardening on the move

G a rd e n i n g w h e n yo u ' re re n t i n g

BEGINNER'S GUIDE t o g row i n g

Winter vegies Winter clean up -

how to stop STONE FRUIT LEAF CURL

Preventing bindi prickles

Easy plant

propagation tips

Take the next step for a barefoot-ready lawn with Yates Weed’n’Feed®

Letter from the editor

Saying autumn was wet in my area would be an understatement. On some days we had almost 20% of our average annual rainfall in just 24 hours. Living on a ridgeline we were very fortunate to not be inundated by flood waters, but it was heartbreaking to see the devastating effect the torrential rain had in many towns. For gardeners, to see your precious plants being damaged or washed away is traumatic. My thoughts go out to flood victims as they try to rebuild their homes, gardens and livelihoods. One of the consequences of the prolonged saturated soil at our place has been the demise of quite a few plants. Root systems can only be submerged for so long before they start to die and also diseases can take hold. My much loved young silver birch grove, which was challenging to grow in my area anyway, has sadly succumbed to the prolonged wet soil. In their place I will try to grow some tropical birches (Betula nigra), which will tolerate wetter soil and also warmer climates. I'm determined to have some sort of birch forest!

Out in our winter vegie patch, broccoli and cauliflower are growing well, broad beans are putting on lots of leafy stems and climbing snow and shelling peas are reaching for the sky on their (never tall enough!) trellises. I'm growing some yakumo snow peas again, which have the prettiest purple flowers. Winter is also peak citrus harvest season at our place, with oranges and mandarins a plenty, if I can keep the sulfur crested cockatoos away! On one of our mandarin trees, I can really notice that I left the fruit on the tree too late last year (how many mandarins can one eat at once?), which then reduced the amount of flowers and subsequent fruit. I will have to ensure that this year we're more diligent in eating and giving away mandarins! I hope you have a wonderfully productive and enjoyable winter in your gardens. Happy gardening, Angie

Angie Thomas

Horticultural Communications Manager

Bring ‘The Great Outdoors’ indoors Keep your plants happier and healthier with a range of Yates® plant care products. Indoor plant care is now much simpler with a specially designed range of potting mixes and fertilisers. From the smallest balcony to your indoor jungle, Yates® has a solution. This means every plant from leafy greens to stunning orchids will always get the care and nourishment they need.

Great things start with Yates™

Yates and Thrive are registered trade marks and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup Australia (Pty Ltd)

What's inside

G 01

WINTER GARDENING ESSENTIALS

Learn about key winter gardening jobs to keep your garden looking fantastic.

WINTER PREVENTION

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO PROPAGATION

Learn the easy steps to propagating plants for free.

HOW TO PREVENT BINDII RUINING YOUR LAWN

LEASE UP?

Quick lawn and garden fixes when your lease is up (to help get your bond back).

HOME GROWN VALENCIA ORANGES

How to prevent stone fruit leaf curl, rose scale and powdery mildew in spring by spraying in winter.

Winter is the time to control bindii in your lawn and prevent the spring and summer prickles.

How to grow sweet and juicy valencia oranges at your place.

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO WINTER VEGIES

Our beginner's guide to growing your own delicious vegies in winter.

WINTER VEGIE & HERB SEED SOWING GUIDE

IS YOUR LAWN SPRING READY?

Prep your lawn for the return of warmer weather.

How to reduce the number of mozzies around your house and garden.

LAWN BEETLES & DISEASES

Fresh home-grown vegies & herbs - what to sow and grow during winter.

Protecting your lawn from common pests and diseases.

COOL PLANTINGS

WINTER FLOWER SEED SOWING GUIDE

Top trees to plant during winter.

Your handy list to what gorgeous flowers to sow and grow in winter.

MONSTERA MAGIC

How to grow a magnificent monstera!

CONTROLLING MOSQUITOES

GARDENING ON THE MOVE

Gardening for renters - how to have a portable garden.

GARDENING IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES

Practical winter gardening tips for around Australia.

Winter

Gardening Essentials Winter is an ideal opportunity to take care of some important gardening jobs that will not only give the garden a tidy up but also set you and your plants up for a fantastic spring ahead. It's time to get gardening!

Plant a new rose Potted roses can be planted year round, however, it's during winter when the largest selection of tantalising roses becomes available. Garden centres will be overflowing with fabulous bagged bare-rooted roses that are leafless and dormant, just itching to find a new home at your place in a garden bed or pot.

Here are the easy steps to plant a bare-rooted rose: 1. Unwrap the plastic from around the

Many roses also make exceptional potted plants. To plant a bare-rooted rose in a pot, half fill a 30 cm diameter pot with a quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter, place the rose in the pot and gently backfill with mix, ensuring spaces in and around the roots are filled and if it's a grafted rose that the graft is sitting above the potting mix. Water well and keep the potting mix moist.

roots and then place the rose in a bucket of diluted seaweed solution for a few hours. It's important not to let the roots dry out.

2. Choose a well-drained airy spot in the garden that receives at least six hours of sunshine a day. Roses growing in shadier spots can develop spindly growth and have less flowers.

3. Dig a hole around 30 cm wide and deep and mix some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil dug from the hole. Yates Dynamic Lifter will improve the structure and quality of the soil and provide the rose with gentle slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

4. Create a pyramid shaped mound of soil in the base of the planting hole and place the rose in the hole with its roots sitting on and around the mound of soil. Backfill around the roots with the Yates Dynamic Lifter enriched soil. Ensure that the graft union (bump on the stem) will be sitting at least five cm above the final level of soil.

5. Water in well to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist while the rose establishes.

Pruning tip! A few weeks before the last frost is expected, prune rose bushes (apart from standard or 'lollipop' roses) down to around knee height and remove any dead or crowded stems. This helps promote fresh new growth in spring and keeps the plant tidy. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

School holiday gardening Looking for something non-screen related for the kids to do during the school holidays? Go on a nature-based scavenger hunt and look for butterflies and interesting shaped and coloured leaves, flowers and seed pods. Or give the kids a little garden bed or medium sized pot all of their own and help them to start growing crisp and crunchy snow peas or colourful radishes, carrots and beetroot. They'll enjoy the shared activity with you and love picking what they've grown.

Frost protection Frosts and cold weather can wreak havoc with plants and be particularly damaging to tender new growth. To help protect vulnerable plants, move potted plants to a more protected area, drape frost or shade cloth over sensitive plants and spray plants with Yates WaterwiseTM DroughtShieldTM. It forms a protective, flexible film over leaves that helps reduce frost damage. An added tip is to not prune off any frost damaged foliage until the weather warms up, as the damaged leaves can help protect the rest of the plant.

Christmas in July Bring some festive colour into the coldest months by growing pots of vibrant red and crisp white flowers, that can be placed on verandas, balconies and outdoor living areas. Combinations of scarlet cyclamen and snowy white alyssum look gorgeous or a pot of vivid kalanchoe adds a pop of winter colour. To help keep your flowering creation healthy and blooming, feed it each week with Yates Thrive® Rose & Flower Liquid Plant Food, which is boosted with extra flower-promoting potassium.

Quick & easy insect control Beginner and busy gardeners often need help protecting their plants from insect attack with a simple, easy to use product. Yates Pyrethrum Insect Pest Gun controls the most common chewing and sucking insect pests, such as caterpillars and aphids, on vegetables, fruit trees and ornamental plants. And being a ready to use formulation, there's no mixing or measuring, making protecting your garden quick and easy.

Winter

Prevention Leaf curl

During winter you can take some simple proactive steps to make your spring and summer garden much happier, healthier and more productive. Here's your easy winter prevention plan. Leaf curl »

Some of our favourite summer stone fruit, like peaches and nectarines, are prone to a serious fungal disease called leaf curl. It causes leaves to be discoloured and distorted, making the tree look awful and affecting the way the tree photosynthesises. Leaf curl disease spores are lying in wait on tree stems during winter, ready to infect new leaves as they emerge in spring.

Leaf curl is a disease that needs to be prevented, and it's really important to spray stone fruit trees against leaf curl during winter, while they're dormant and leafless. Yates® Lime Sulfur is an effective way to kill the leaf curl disease spores. Spray the stems and trunk of the tree thoroughly with Yates Lime Sulfur, before the spring flower and leaf buds begin to swell.

Yates Lime Sulfur can also be used during winter on stone fruit trees to prevent mites, freckle disease (which can be particularly devastating on apricots), shot hole, brown rot (a common disease during wet and humid weather) and various scale insects.

Apple trees can also be sprayed with Yates Lime Sulfur during winter to help control the diseases black spot and powdery mildew, as well as mites and scale.

An alternative winter spray for preventing leaf curl on nectarines and peaches is Yates Liquid Copper. The timing of the spray is critical and must be applied in the week prior to buds opening. Yates Liquid Copper can also help prevent common diseases like freckle, shot hole and bacterial gummosis (which appears as sticky gum oozing from stems, pictured right) in various stone fruit. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Scale »

If you've noticed the stems on your roses are covered with lots of small white bumps, it's likely to be a scale insect infestation. Scale are sap feeding insects that feast on the sugary sap flowing through plants and can cause rose health to decline. After you've given your roses their winter prune and well before any leaf buds burst open, spray the rose bush thoroughly with Yates Lime Sulfur to control scale and help give your roses a fresh start in spring.

There is a variety of scale insects that can attack citrus throughout the year, including white louse scale. Also known as citrus snow scale, young male scales are white and only 1 mm long, however, often appear as a massed infestation, covering stems and the trunk in what looks like a dusting of powdery snow. If your citrus trees are showing signs of white louse scale, spray the trunk and affected stems with Yates Lime Sulfur. It will also control rust mite and bud mite, as well as sooty blotch, which is a fungus that causes blemishes on the skin of citrus fruit.

Powdery mildew »

Powdery mildew is the description for a group of fungal diseases, with different mildews specifically affecting certain plants. Powdery mildew is most prevalent in warm and humid or warm and dry conditions, depending on the type of mildew. The first symptom is leaves being covered by a white ash-like film and can progress to leaf yellowing and distortion and in severe cases, leaf death. In the case of rose powdery mildew, flower buds can also be affected and buds may fail to open or the petals become deformed.

To help break the powdery mildew cycle on roses, during winter, while roses are leafless and dormant, they can be sprayed with Yates Lime Sulfur. Spray at the higher 'winter' rate and thoroughly cover all the stems. Killing the powdery mildew spores during winter will help your roses be healthier come spring, so it really does pay to be proactive and set some time aside for winter spraying.

Azalea petal blight

Did your beautiful azalea flowers rapidly turn to brown mush last year? It's probably azalea petal blight.

Azalea petal blight is a common disease that affects azalea flowers in spring. To reduce the incidence of this disease, in late winter or just when flower buds are beginning to swell, spray the azalea with Yates Mancozeb Plus. It's a broad spectrum fungicide that will prevent azalea petal blight and help keep the flowers looking gorgeous. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO WINTER VEGIES Vegies like broccoli, peas, broad beans, kale, cauliflower and cabbage thrive in winter's cool weather. Read on for our top beginner vegie growing tips, to help stock your kitchen with wonderful home grown ingredients. A lot of vegies that we enjoy eating during winter are sown or planted in autumn. They soaked up the mild autumn sunshine and put on lots of early growth. Here are our best hints for keeping cool season vegies happy and healthy and promoting a delicious winter harvest.

FEEDING & WATERING As vegies hit the final growing stretch, they'll be hungry and thirsty, so it's important to ensure the plants are well fed and watered. Fast-acting fertilisers are ideal at this time of year, providing nutrients quickly to help promote maximum growth. Yates® Thrive® Natural Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food contains a combination of fast-acting fertilisers plus more than 50% organic ingredients to nurture the soil. Dilute one to two capfuls of Yates Thrive Natural Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food in a nine litre watering can and apply around the root zone every one to two weeks. Also check the moisture levels in your soil (or potting mix) by gently digging around in the top few centimetres of soil with your fingers. You'll be able to feel if the soil is dry and dusty and needs watering, or whether it's moist and you can leave watering and check again in a few days time.

INSECT CONTROL Common insect pests on winter vegies include caterpillars and aphids. Caterpillars can chew through leaves and also into broccoli and cauliflower heads.

To control caterpillars, spray plants each week with Yates Nature's Way® Caterpillar Killer (Dipel). Based on beneficial bacteria, it's approved for use in organic gardening and will only affect caterpillars. Aphids are tiny sap sucking green, grey, brown or black insects that cluster under leaves and amongst stems. Often present in large numbers, they deplete plants, can cause leaf yellowing and distortion and significantly impact your harvest. To control aphids, spray plants with Yates Nature's Way Vegie & Herb Spray. It's an insecticidal soap that controls soft-bodied insects like aphids, as well as whitefly, mites and thrips. An added bonus is that it's approved for use in organic gardening.

Snail & slug tip! Snails and slugs love devouring tender new vegie seedlings but can also damage more mature vegies, including sliming their way into broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage heads. Protect your vegies with a light scattering of Yates Snail & Slug Bait around the plants.

What can you sow or plant in winter? If you haven't planted any winter vegies yet, don't despair as there are still lots of tasty options! You can still sow broad beans throughout Australia in winter (early winter in warm areas), Yates Baby Beets, Yates Carrot All Seasons, Yates Lettuce Baby Combo, Yates Radish Confetti Mix, Yates Spring Onion, and lots of different Yates Peas, including Sugarsnap, Telephone and Snow Peas. Plus your local garden centre will have seedlings to choose from too. So sow and grow now and reap the delicious benefits in the months to come.

What about the tropics? During winter, warm climate gardeners can also sow and grow cabbages, capsicum, cucumbers, pumpkins, silverbeet, sweetcorn, tomatoes, zucchini and beans, so there are plenty of options to keep your vegie patch packed! Before sowing seed or planting seedlings, enrich the soil first with some handfuls of Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. It adds rich organic matter to the soil that helps improve soil structure, encourages earthworms and beneficial microorganisms and provides gentle slow release organic nutrients to the vegies as they establish.

One spray for common vegie pests? A multi-purpose spray that can be used on beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas and tomatoes to control common insect pests like aphids, caterpillars, bugs, whiteflies and thrips is Baythroid® Advanced Garden Insect Pest Killer Ready to Use. It's an easy to use spray that requires no mixing or measuring, so it's great for beginner and busy gardeners. It will also kill and protect plants from aphids and mealybugs for up to 21 days, so it's a wonderful way to keep your winter vegies healthy.

Harvest tips Regular picking of vegies like peas and broad beans will help promote further flowering and pod development, and also give you sweeter, more tender peas and beans. For broccoli, once you cut off the main head, leave the plant for a few weeks and small side florets can develop. And for leafy vegies like kale and loose leaf lettuce, harvest individual leaves consistently to encourage fresh new growth.

Vegies & herbs to sow in winter The weather might be cool and crisp but you can still continue to sow and grow a fantastic range of fresh and delicious vegies and herbs during winter.

Australia Wide Vegies • Beetroot - Baby Beets • Broad Beans - Coles Prolific, Early Long Pod • Carrot - All Seasons, Topweight • Lettuce - Baby Combo, Buttercrunch, Frilly Mix, Mignonette Green, Winter Triumph Iceberg • Radish - Confetti Mix • Spinach - Winter Queen • Spring Onion • Peas - Climbing Snow, Climbing Sugarsnap, Telephone Pole, Dwarf Greenfeast, Dwarf Earlicrop Massey

Herbs • Cress Salad Curled • Microgreens - Cabbage Rubies, Mizuna Red Gems, Rocket Emeralds

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Seeds by Tropical /Sub Tropical Climates Vegies • Asian Stir Fry • Beans - Climbing Blue Lake,

• Tomato - Big Beef, Grosse Lisse, Heirloom Favourites, Patio, Roma, Sweetbite, Tommy Toe

Dwarf Borlotti, Dwarf Bountiful Butter, Dwarf Brown Beauty, Dwarf Gourmet's Delight, Dwarf Hawkesbury Wonder, Dwarf Stringless Pioneer, Dwarf Snapbean

• Turnip Japanese Hakurei

Stringless, Dwarf Tricolour Mix

• Honeydew Melon

• Beetroot - Derwent Globe, Super King • Broccoli - Shogun Winter Harvest, Summer Green • Cabbage - Red Mini, Sugarloaf

• Zucchini - Blackjack, Lebanese, Solar Flare

Fruit • Rockmelon Hale's Best • Watermelon - Candy Red, Country Sweet, Sugar Baby

Herbs

• Carrot - Baby, Manchester Table

• Chives

• Chinese cabbage Buk Choy, Wom Bok

• Dill

• Cucumber - Apple, Burpless, Gherkin Pickling, Long Green

• Oregano

• Pumpkin - Butternut, Hybrid Grey Crown, Queensland Blue

• Thyme

• Garlic Chives

• Sage

• Radish - French Breakfast, Gentle Giant, Salad Crunch, White Icicle • Spinach - Baby Leaf, Winter Queen • Sweetcorn - Early Chief, Honeysweet, Sun'n'Snow

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Vegies & herbs to sow in winter Seeds by Temperate Climates Vegies • Beetroot - Derwent Globe, Super King

Cool Climates Vegies • Onion - Hunter River Brown, Hunter River White, Sweet Red

• Capsicum - Giant Bell* • Carrot - Manchester Table • Chinese Cabbage - Wom Bok • Lettuce - Frilly Mix • Onion - Hunter River Brown, Hunter River White, Sweet Red • Spinach - Baby Leaf, Winter Queen • Tomato - Big Beef, Grosse Lisse, Heirloom Favourites, Patio, Roma, Sweetbite, Tommy Toe* • Turnip Japanese Hakurei

Herbs • Oregano* * Late winter

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Here are the three easy steps to sowing and growing delicious vegies and herbs in winter:

Step 1 Choose a sunny spot in a vegie patch that receives at least six hours of sunshine a day. There are some vegies, such as Yates Baby Leaf Spinach and Yates Lettuce Baby Combo that can be grown in part shade. Many vegies are also perfect for growing in pots, so you don't need a big backyard to grow some of your own produce. Consider delicious small-space options like Yates Radish Confetti Mix and Yates Snow Peas Seed packets include helpful information about how much sunlight your chosen vegie needs and whether it's suitable for growing in pots.

Never visit the grocery store again

Step 2 Follow the directions on the seed packet and either sow seeds direct where the plants are to grow or sow into trays of Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds. Water gently and keep the soil moist. For peas and beans, limit the watering until seedlings emerge, as seeds can rot before germinating if the soil is too wet. For seedlings growing in trays, transplant them into their final home once they're large enough to handle.

Step 3 Once the seedlings are established, encourage lots of healthy growth by feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Natural Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.

Shop for all seeds great and small. From juicy tomatoes to fresh leafy greens. Start growing vegies with our online shop. Choose from over 200 varieties of seeds all available at

shop.yates.com.au yates.com.au/seeds/

Great things start with Yates™ @yatesgardening

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Cool

Some delicious pint-sized fruit trees to tempt you include: »

Trixzie® 'Nectazee' Miniature Nectarine from Fleming's Nurseries that has yellow fleshed fruit, grows to 1.5 m tall and can be grown in the ground or in a large pot. This nectarine does best in areas with a cool winter.

Super Dwarf Sunset Red Leaf PeachTM, which is a white fleshed peach, reaching 1.5 m tall, that can be grown from cool to sub-tropical climates.

Columnar apples like Ballerina® 'Waltz' that has red-skinned fruit on a tree which grows grows to 3.5 m tall but only 60 cm wide. Perfect for tight spaces and growing in pots in cool and temperate areas. Most apples need a pollinating partner, so check the tag of your chosen plant to see what additional apple variety you'll need to plant to promote fruit success.

plantings TOP TREES TO PLANT DURING WINTER

The coldest months of the year are the best time to plant a wonderful range of deciduous trees, while they are leafless and dormant and will suffer less transplant shock. Planted during winter, they'll then be ready and raring to grow once the weather starts to warm up in spring. Let's look at some top winter planting options.

Fruit trees If you've dreamed of walking out into your backyard or patio and picking your very own fruit, winter is the time to start your home-grown journey. Deciduous fruit and nut trees like peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, cherries, almonds, figs, apples and pears are ideal for planting during winter and garden centres will have their widest selections on offer. For small and potted gardens, or you just want to be able to fit more plants in, look for dwarf and miniature fruit trees. They develop full sized fruit but the trees themselves are compact, most growing to only 1.5 m tall.

Deciduous ornamental trees Deciduous trees like crepe myrtles, maples, silver birch, ornamental pears and plums, jacarandas, crab apples and magnolias can all be planted during winter, providing you with benefits like pretty spring flowers, cooling summer shade or vibrant autumn foliage colours. Small backyards don't need to miss out on including trees, with many compact varieties being available, including 'Coral Magic' crepe myrtle that grows to 1.8 m tall and Japanese maples that only grow 4 m tall, which are perfect for sheltered gardens. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

TOP PLANTING TIPS During winter, deciduous trees will be available bare-rooted (in plastic bags filled with potting mix or sawdust) or in pots. To help get the best results from your winter planting and give your new trees the best possible start, here are our top planting tips: 1. The plant label will provide helpful information on the location (and climate) that plant will do best in, for example, full sun or part shade, whether it requires wind protection and the amount of moisture it prefers. 2. Dig a hole 30 cm wide and deep enough to cover the root ball. Mix some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil dug from the hole. Yates Dynamic Lifter will improve the quality and structure of the soil and provide the new tree with gentle slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

Time to soak When you get a bare-rooted tree home from the garden centre or it arrives in the mail, remove the packaging and soak the roots in a bucket of diluted seaweed solution for a few hours. It's important not to let the roots dry out.

3. Place the tree in the hole and backfill gently around the root ball with soil. The final level of soil should be at the same level as it was in the original pot or bag, with the graft union (bump on the stem) sitting well above the final level of soil. 4. Water in well to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist while the tree establishes.

Turn barren into bountiful ® Yates® helps create healthy soil, the foundation for life in your garden. Yates® Dynamic Lifter® is an organic blend of composted chicken manure, fish meal, blood & bone and seaweed. It helps improve soil health for better water and nutrient holding capacity, whilst encouraging beneficial earthworms and micro-organisms. Give your plants the perfect start and turn barren, ordinary dirt into bountiful, nutrient rich soil.

Great things start with Yates™

Yates and Dynamic Lifter are registered trade marks and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup Australia (Pty Ltd)

Monstera magic How to grow a magnificent monstera!

If you're after an eye-catching statement for a room or a plant that embodies bold and lush leafiness, then you need a monstera in your life! Also known as the Swiss cheese or fruit salad plant, here's the how-to on growing a fabulous monstera indoors.

Monstera (Monstera deliciosa) is a climbing plant that originated in rainforests in Central America, where it grows many metres up and into trees. Grown in a pot indoors it's much more manageble, though can still develop into a sizable plant. POT SIZE: Depending on the size of the monstera you buy, a 20 cm diameter pot is a good starting size to grow a monstera in, or otherwise a pot around 5 cm wider than its current pot. POSITION: Monstera likes a brightly lit room but not in direct sunlight (which can burn the leaves).

Remove the monstera from its original pot by gently squeezing the sides of the pot. This helps to loosen the potting mix and roots away from the pot wall. Place the root ball on top of the potting mix in the new pot then gently backfill with potting mix. All the roots should be covered and the level of new potting mix should be at the same height as the monstera's original potting mix. Water in well to settle the potting mix around the roots. WATERING: Keep the potting mix slightly moist. The best way to check moisture levels is to gently dig around in the top few centimetres of potting mix with your finger. You'll be able to feel whether the potting mix is dry and dusty (and needs a drink) or whether rewatering can be delayed. TRAINING: As your monstera grows, you can coax the stems up or around the vertical support. You may need to gently tie them to the support using a soft tie or pantyhose. Monstera can develop long roots from the stems that can attach to the pole, helping to keep the plant upright. Regularly misting the moss or coconut fibre pole with water can help encourage the roots to grow into the fibres. You can also grow your monstera as a 'shrub', however it will want to spread and will need regular trimming to help keep it more compact.

PLANTING: Half-fill the new pot with a premium potting mix like Yates Speciality Potting Mix Plants & Ferns. If you plan to grow your monstera as an upright climber, insert a strong support or moss or coconut fibre pole into the pot.

Light matt ers Every month rotate your monstera pot by 90 degrees, so that all sides of the plant receive bright light. Otherwise growth can become lopsided.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Fenestrations! The interesting holes and splits in a monstera leaf are called fenestrations. Fenestrations develop on more mature plants with larger leaves, so don't be concerned if your young plant is not yet 'holey'!

FEEDING: To promote healthy lush growth, it's important to feed your monstera regularly. It's as easy as inserting a Yates Thrive® Plant Food Spike Indoor Plants & Ferns into the potting mix. Each spike contains a concentrated blend of nutrients that will feed your monstera for up to two months. No mixing, measuring or fuss and the spike is hidden out of sight. INSECT PROTECTION: Indoor plants like monsteras are often infested by fungus gnats. The adults are annoying tiny black winged flying insects and the female lays eggs into potting mix, which hatch into tiny grubs that can damage plant roots. You can break the fungus gnat lifecycle by applying a layer of Yates Gnat Barrier over the surface of the mix. These abrasive granules deter the adult gnat from laying her eggs. Also monitor for mealybugs, which are small sap sucking insects covered with a white powdery material and often lurk in protected areas around stem bases. Control mealybugs with Yates Nature's Way® Vegie & Herb Spray. It's an insecticidal soap that works via contact action, so it's important to spray the mealybugs directly.

A natural non-toxic physical barrier against fungus gnats

Win the war on gnats! Win the war on gnats with Yates® Gnat Barrier – natural pumice that Fungus gnats are pesky little flies commonly found around indoor plants. The adult flies lay eggs in potting mix, and these hatch into larvae that can cause damage to the roots of plants. The best way to protect your indoor plants (and help prevent annoying fungus gnats) is to use a physical barrier on top of the potting mix, such as Yates® Gnat Barrier. Yates is a registered trade mark and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup Australia (Pty Ltd)

Great things start with Yates™

Cuttings

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO

Propagation

Fancy getting some plants for free? Try your hand at propagation and turn one plant into many! Here are some of the different techniques you can use to become a prolific propagator!

Pieces of plant stems can be a really easy way to grow new plants. There are three different types of stems that can be used to grow cuttings - softwood, semi-hardwood and hardwood.

Softwood cuttings are pieces of soft new growth, often taken in spring when the plant is actively growing. Plants that are ideal for propagating by softwood cuttings include geraniums, fuchsias, rosemary, salvia, daisies, penstemons and asters.

Semi-hardwood cuttings are firmer pieces of stems that have begun to mature, usually in summer. Plants suitable for semi-hardwood cuttings include azaleas, hibiscus, viburnums, buxus and gardenias.

» Hardwood cuttings are pieces of leafless stems from deciduous plants, taken during winter while they are dormant. Plants like wisteria, hydrangeas and grapevines can be propagated with hardwood cuttings.

Steps by step cuttings: »

Choose softwood stems 5 - 10 cm long, semihardwood stems 10 - 15 cm long and hardwood stems 20 cm long that have at least two nodes (bumps on the stems where new roots and shoots can develop). It's best to take tender softwood and semi-hardwood cuttings in the cool of the early morning and wrap them in damp newspaper to stop them drying out.

Recut the stem ends just below a node. Remove all but the top few leaves and remove any flowers (however it's best to use stems that are not flowering).

Fill a small pot or tray with Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds. Make small holes a few centimetres deep in the mix with the end of a chopstick or pencil.

Dip the stem ends into Yates Clonex® Rooting Hormone Gel (Yates Clonex Purple for softwood and semi-hardwood cuttings and Yates Clonex Red for hardwood cuttings). Alternatively dip the stem ends into Yates Plant Cutting Powder.

Place the dipped ends of the cuttings in the holes in the pot of mix and gently firm around each cutting to ensure good contact between the stem and the mix. Very gently water the mix, ensuring the cuttings are not disturbed. Place the pot or tray in a warm, brightly lit protected spot, out of direct sunlight.

It's important to keep the mix consistently moist but not wet. Cuttings drying out is one of the main causes of roots failing to develop. To help retain moisture, place a plastic bag over the pot and secure around the base of the bag with an elastic band. To support the plastic bag and keep it from touching the cuttings, insert some chopsticks or wooden skewers into the pot.

Depending on the plant and type of cutting, roots can develop after a month, however, some plants will take longer. Periodically inspect the base of the pot to see whether any roots are showing through the drainage holes.

Once most of the cuttings have developed their own small root systems, gently tip all the cuttings out of the pot or tray and plant them into their own small separate pots. Keep these pots moist, as these young plants are still vulnerable. This small pot stage allows the plants to develop and establish, so they're ultimately strong enough to be planted into their final home in a larger pot or garden bed.

Did you know that plants have hormones? Plant growth is influenced by hormones and we use this characteristic to promote root growth in cuttings. Yates Clonex Rooting Hormone Gels and Yates Plant Cutting Powder contain plant hormones, to encourage plants to grow roots from nodes on the stem. How clever is that! GR RO OW W II N NG G W W II T TH H Y YO OU U -- YA YAT TE ES S G

Water propagation

Layering

Many plants can be propagated simply in water! This method can be used for indoor plants like devil's ivy, monstera, syngonium, hoya, ZZ plant and philodendron. Using clear or glass containers you can watch the fascinating (and very satisfying) process of roots developing.

Choose a healthy section of stem that contains at least two nodes (bumps along the stems where leaves attach). Cut just below the lowest node and remove the lower leaves.

Place the stem cutting in a container of fresh, room temperate water, ensuring that the lowest node is submerged. Position the pot in a brightly lit spot and replace the water if it becomes murky.

It will take around six weeks for roots to develop. Once the roots are 10 cm long, carefully transplant the young plant into a small pot of moist potting mix and keep well watered as it establishes.

Layering is another propagation technique, where stems are encouraged to grow their own roots while still attached to the parent plant.

Layering can be done by bending long stems of plants like azaleas and gardenias down to touch the soil (stems need to be weighted or secured down) or wrapping a section of stem in a bag of moist coconut fibre (called 'air-layering'). For more detailed information on layering, Visit: Layering in Plant Propagation

yates.com.au/garden-hub/how-to-propagate-plants-by-layering/

Division »

Some clump-forming plants, such as agapanthus, bearded iris, daylily and clivias can be divided, with one clump being able to be split into two or more smaller groups of plants. Indoor plants like peace lily, ZZ plant and mother-in-law's tongue can also be divided.

Using a sharp spade, dig up the entire clump, keeping as many of the roots as possible. Or for potted plants, remove the plant from its current pot. Squeezing the sides of the pot can help loosen the root ball from the pot walls.

Sometimes the plants can be separated by hand, however if the clump is quite congested, a sharp knife or spade may be needed to cut the plants apart.

Replant in separate locations around the garden or in pots, ensuring you keep the plants moist as they re-establish.

Dividing plants not only gives you plants for free, it can also be beneficial for the plants themselves, giving them a new lease on life.

Leaf cuttings »

It's almost magical that for several plants you can take a small piece of a leaf and grow a brand new plant! Plants like mother-in-law's tongue, watermelon peperomia and begonias can be propagated using leaf cuttings.

Choose a healthy leaf from the plant and remove any stem. Using a sharp knife, cut the leaf into sections, ensuring that each section includes a vein (which is where the new plant will develop from). For mother-in-law's tongue, cut the leaf into eight centimetre long pieces.

Dip the cut edges of the leaves into Yates Clonex Gel Purple and then gently insert the edge into a small pot of Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds.

Put the pot in a brightly lit spot, out of direct sunlight, and keep the mix moist. To help retain moisture and humidity around the cuttings, surround the pot in a clear plastic bag.

Once a small root system has established and a few leaves have grown, the new plant can be carefully transplanted into a small pot for more roots as well as stems and leaves to grow.

Many succulents can also be propagated using leaf cuttings. It's as simple as laying whole individual leaves on the surface of a pot or tray of Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cacti & Succulents. Keep in a brightly lit spot and mist with water every few days. Tiny plants will develop at the end of the leaves within a few months.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Prickle Prevention HOW TO PREVENT BINDII RUINING YOUR LAWN Think ahead to the warmer months when you and your family can be enjoying playing and relaxing on a beautiful lush green lawn. Now imagine if the lawn is full of bindii prickles. No one, including the dog, will want to go outside! Winter is the time to control bindii and prevent the spring and summer prickles.

What is bindii? Bindii, also known as jo-jo weed or Onehunga weed, is a lowgrowing annual weed. It has soft light green fern-like leaves that grow from the centre of a rosette (round) shaped plant, usually around four centimetres across. Bindii flowers (pictured right), that develop predominantly from late winter, are small and greenish-yellow. These flowers turn into seeds in spring and summer and the seeds are the bindii prickles. Each seed has one long spine, which is the sharp prickle that can pierce your skin (or pets paws) and stick into the bottom of shoes. Bindii prickles can be spread throughout the lawn via foot and pet traffic and also on pet fur, enabling bindii to pop up in new areas next autumn and winter.

How to control bindii Prevention is the key with bindii. The young bindii plants need to be killed during winter, before they have had the chance to flower and set seed. Once the plants have formed their prickly seeds, it is too late. Bindii is a 'broadleaf' weed, which simply means it has broader leaves than lawn grasses. Thankfully this means that selective lawn herbicides can be used to control bindii but not affect the lawn. To control bindii in lawns like kikuyu, couch and fescue, use Yates® Weed'n'Feed®. It comes in an easy to use hose-on pack with a handy on/off switch on the applicator. For buffalo lawns it's important to use a weed killer that has been specially designed to be safe for buffalo lawns, which can be sensitive to some weed killers. Yates BuffaloPRO® Weed'n'Feed hose-on is ideal for controlling bindii in a buffalo lawn. It can also be used when you're not quite sure which lawn type you have, as Yates BuffaloPRO Weed'n'Feed is safe for all lawn types.

Nutrient boost Yates Weed'n'Feed and Yates BuffaloPRO Weed'n'Feed are both boosted with the nutrients nitrogen and iron to give the lawn a quick green-up.

CLOVER CONTROL Clover is another common lawn weed that flourishes during the cooler months. Clover has leaves with three leaflets and creeping stems that set roots where they touch the ground, which can lead to large patches of clover developing. Clover also has white (or pink) flowers that sit above the plants on short stems. In many areas clover will die back during the warmer months. However, due to its dense growth, clover outcompetes with and smothers the lawn during winter, leaving bare patches in the lawn once the clover plants die back. These bare patches not only spoil the look of the lawn, they're also a magnet for weeds.

WEED CONTROL

OPTIONS Broadleaf weeds like bindii & clover can also be controlled with concentrated herbicides that are diluted in water and applied via a sprayer.

It's best to control clover in winter while the plants are young and before they have had a chance to spread, flower and set seed. Clover can be controlled with Yates Weed'n'Feed or Yates BuffaloPRO Weed'n'Feed if you have a buffalo lawn (or are unsure of the lawn type). Yates hose-on Weed'n'Feed packs are the easy 'plug and play' solution for lawn weed control. No special equipment is required, just connect the pack with your click-on hose and you're set. Good to know - weeds will die slowly and it can take up to three weeks for symptoms on bindii, clover and other broadleaf weeds to appear.

Act now to avoid bindii prickles in your lawn this summer

IS YOUR LAWN

Spring ready?

Are you itching for the warmer weather to arrive? So is your lawn! We can't wait to get the soccer ball and cricket stumps out again and enjoy relaxing and entertaining on our lawns. It's time to get the lawn spring ready!

Towards the end of winter as the hours of sunshine increase and we gradually remove layers of warm clothing, our lawns will start to wake up from their winter slumber. The lawn, made up of thousands of hungry plants, will need lots of nutrients to prepare it for the busy spring ahead. So it's important to feed the lawn at the end of winter so there is a buffet of nutrients to promote healthy green spring growth. Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Concentrated Lawn Food is an organic based lawn fertiliser that provides dual benefits. It contains fast acting nutrients to promote quick, visible lawn-greening results. And the rich organic matter promotes soil health, as well as providing slow release organic nutrients. The small granules in Yates Dynamic Lifter Concentrated Lawn Food are specially designed for lawns, easily filtering down to the soil where they'll get to work.

lawn tip If you're starting a new lawn from seed or rolls of turf in spring, spread Yates Dynamic Lifter Concentrated Lawn Food over the soil first to help improve the soil and give the new lawn a great start.

Yates Dynamic Lifter Concentrated Lawn Food contains a concentrated formula and the 7 kg bag feeds 250 m2 of lawn. At the end of winter spread around 70 grams (approximately one adult handful) over 2.5 square metres of established lawn and water in well after applying. It's suitable for feeding all lawn types, including buffalo, couch and kikuyu. To promote continued rich green lawn growth and soil health, reapply Yates Dynamic Lifter Concentrated Lawn Food in early summer and early autumn. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Lawn Beetles & Diseases PROFESSIONAL LAWN CARE TIPS

Flooding rains and high humidity in many parts of Australia during autumn created ideal conditions for several lawn diseases to develop. Towards the end of winter, lawn beetles will also begin their breeding cycle, ready to lay eggs that turn into damaging curl grubs. Here's how to protect your lawn.

Lawn beetles »

Curl grubs (pictured right) are a common and destructive lawn insect pest during spring. Adult African black beetles mate and lay eggs during early spring, which hatch into curl grubs. These ravenous curl grubs chew through lawn roots, causing dead and dying patches throughout the lawn. Sections of affected lawn can also be rolled back like a carpet, as the grubs destroy the lawn's root system.

You can help stop the curl grub life cycle by controlling the adult African black beetle during late winter, before it has had the chance to lay eggs. Apply Baythroid® Advanced Insect Killer for Lawns over the lawn using a sprayer then water the lawn thoroughly to move the product down into the soil where the beetles are.

Lawn diseases »

Rainfall and humidity, together with mild temperatures, can promote the development of lawn diseases such as fusarium, brown patch, dollar spot and (the difficult to pronounce) helminthosporium.

Symptoms of lawn diseases can include grass leaves or patches of lawn turning yellow or brown or dead areas developing.

To help reduce the incidence of lawn disease, only water the lawn in the morning, which gives the grass a chance to dry off during the day. Wet foliage overnight can exacerbate diseases.

Also, if the soil under the lawn is compacted or poorly drained, which can lead to more moisture pooling on the soil surface and promote diseases, aerating the soil using a garden fork or a lawn corer can help.To control common lawn diseases apply Yates Mancozeb Plus over the lawn using a sprayer.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Winter

flower seeds

It's time to sow a fabulous range of flower seeds, to bring glorious floral colour into your garden and outdoor spaces over the coming months. And the bees and butterflies will love you for it!

Australia Wide • Cottage Garden Mix • Gypsophila Baby's Breath • Wildflowers of the World

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Seeds by Temperate Climates • Alyssum - Cameo Mixture, • Bee Pasture* • Butterfly Field* • Colonial Garden Collection • Coleus Pots of Beauty* • Dianthus Double Pink • Gerbera Colour Mix • Statice * Late winter

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Winter

flower seeds

Seeds by

Tropical /Sub Tropical Climates • Ageratum Blue Mink • Alyssum - Cameo Mixture, • Aster Colour Carpet • Californian Poppy Sunshine Mix • Carnation Fragrance • Catmint • Coleus Pots of Beauty • Colonial Garden Collection • Cornflower - Double Mixed, Mystic Blue • Cosmos - Bright Lights, Sensation • Dahlia Cinderella • Dianthus Double Pink • English Daisy • Everlasting Daisy • Gerbera Colour Mix • Hollyhock Double Elegance

• Poppy - Red Flanders, Iceland Artist's Glory

• Marigold - Safari Mixture

• Portulaca Sundancer

• Nasturtium - Cherry Rose, Jewel Mixed

• Salvia - Blue Bedder, Dwarf Scarlet

• Paper Daisy - Yellow, Pink

• Statice

• Phlox Drummondii

• Zinnia Sunrise Mix

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Shop for your garden from the comfort of your…er, garden.

Shop for all gardens great and small. Now you can discover a wide range of products for your garden online. Find what you’re looking for at

shop.yates.com.au yates.com.au/product/

@yatesgardening

™ Great things start withG Yates ROWING

W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

G A R D E N I N G O N T H E M OV E

GARDENING FOR RENTERS Needing to move between houses or apartments doesn't mean that you can't have a garden. There are lots of fantastic portable options, so you can take your garden with you when you're on the move.

PORTABLE PLANTS There is a huge variety of plants that are portable-perfect. From compact colourful annual flowers and interesting succulents to delicious vegies and herbs. There's also perennial flowers and shrubs, which are wonderful at introducing a feeling of structure and permanence in a mobile garden as well as taller plants being able to provide some privacy and screening. Fruit trees can also be included in a mobile garden. It's best to choose dwarf varieties of citrus and other fruit trees, which produce standard sized fruit on much more compact trees and are ideal for growing in pots. And of course there are indoor plants too, which help make a new place instantly yours and are the ultimate mobile garden. TYPES OF CONTAINERS When you have to move your garden around, it's best to choose lightweight containers. You don't want to be lugging heavy concrete pots around. Plastic pots, like Yates® Tuscan® pots are light, strong and stylish and are ideal for creating a potted garden. There are large 40 cm and 50 cm diameter Yates Tuscan pots for fruit trees and shrubs and smaller 30 cm diameter versions for more petite plants. Window boxes and troughs provide additional growing opportunities and are particularly suited to cascading plants like

strawberries, nasturtiums, geraniums, mint and petunias. Look for troughs that can be used with a supporting bracket that sits over a fence or railing, so you won't need to drill any support holes. Hanging baskets are another option for trailing plants and can be hung from pergolas and fences using steel hooks, so there's no need for permanent fixtures. Although a bit more challenging to move around, plastic portable raised garden beds are also available and create a great space for growing fresh vegies and herbs. And to help maximise growing space, tripods and supports can be inserted into pots for climbing plants to grow up. HOW TO MOVE YOUR POTS Pots can be placed on heavy duty wheels, which are specially designed to make pots portable. Pots can be placed permanently on these wheels or just used to move pots from one spot to another.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Hand trollies are another way to move pots around and many are folding, which means they don't take up too much room when not in use. However you move your pots, when lifting use your knees (and not your back!) and ask for help. Two people carrying a heavy pot makes things much easier. CARING FOR YOUR PORTABLE GARDEN Using quality potting mix is key is giving your plants the best start. Cheap potting mixes usually don't contain enough nutrients or have the right structure to support healthy plant growth. Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter® is a premium (red tick) potting mix that is suitable for most outdoor (and indoor) plants, is boosted with nutrients to feed plants for up to six months, is specially formulated to have increased moisture holding capacity and wettability and contains added Dynamic Lifter for gentle, slow release feeding. One 30 L bag is enough to fill two 30 cm diameter pots. Potted plants can dry out much faster than in-ground plants so it's important to include watering in your plant care plans. You can monitor the moisture levels in pots by having a gentle dig around in the top few centimetres of potting mix with your finger. You'll be able to feel whether the potting

mix is dry and the plant needs a drink or whether it's still moist and rewatering can be left for another day or more. Plants growing in pots also need regular feeding to help them thrive. Feeding with liquid or soluble fertilisers has a double benefit as you can water and feed at the same time. Yates Thrive® All Purpose Soluble Plant Food is ideal for feeding most types of outdoor and indoor plants. It contains a combination of the main nutrients that plants need, as well as a range of trace elements for complete plant vitality. It's an easy to use soluble powder, just mix one to two spoonfuls in a nine litre watering can and apply over the plants and potting mix. Reapply every one to two weeks to keep your plants well fed and healthy.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Quick lawn & garden fixes when your lease is up

When your lease is coming to an end and you need to spruce up your outdoor areas before the final inspection (and help keep your bond), there are some quick, cheap and cheerful things you can do to repair the lawn and give your garden a mini makeover.

How to fix a patchy lawn Lawn repair is one of the most common problems when people are moving out of a rented house. Perhaps it was the dog that may have done some digging in the lawn or the kids created a well-worn cricket pitch, but unfortunately bare or sparse lawn areas can really stand out come inspection time. As soon as you know you have to move out it’s time to act.

Here are the steps to fixing your lawn bare patches: 1. Using a small garden fork or metal rake, gently cultivate the soil in the bare patch to create a nice soft crumbly surface. 2. If the bare patch is also lower than the surrounding soil, it will help to fill and level the spot with some lawn top dressing. 3. Scatter some Munns Professional Quick Fix Premium Seed Blend over the patch and then gently rake into the surface. Munns Professional Quick Fix seed is coated with an advanced germination booster to provide germination within 5-7 days (depending on soil temperature and moisture). 4. Gently water the patch and keep the top centimetre of soil consistently moist while the new grass seedlings establish. 5. Once the new grass seedlings are 5 - 6 cm high they can be mown, the aim being to cut just the top 2 cm off the top of the leaves. 6. These new grass seedlings will help to disguise, fill and repair the bare patch.

Quick lawn green up »

A green lawn will look much nicer come inspection day, but it’s important to use a fast acting lawn fertiliser for speedy greening results.

Yates Lawn Fertiliser contains a blend of fast acting nutrients, including nitrogen and iron to promote quick greening, and comes in a quick and easy to use hose-on applicator. Simply plug the adaptor into your click-on hose and then walk and spray the lawn at a steady pace while sweeping the spray back and forth. The 2L bottle of Yates Lawn Fertiliser will green up and feed 150 m2 of lawn. If you're not sure how much lawn you have, use our Turf Calculator.

Lawn edges & mowing »

Crisp lawn edges look nice and neat and create a much better impression than grass runners creeping over paths, paving and garden borders. Trim the edges with a line trimmer, manual lawn edger or sharp spade and sweep up any grass cuttings.

Then give the lawn a light mow. Don’t be tempted to mow too low, as this can scalp the grass and leave bare patches. Just take the top few centimetres off. If the lawn has grown quite long, it’s best to mow a few times, taking only a third off the grass height at each mowing by gradually lowering the mower each time. These mowings can be done over several days or over a few weeks. Rake up any excess grass clippings or leaves, which will leave the lawn looking much tidier.

Need some quick garden fixes too? To tidy up the garden before inspection time, some easy and economical fixes include trimming hedges and wayward shrubs, removing weeds, applying a layer of mulch in garden beds, cleaning paths, driveways and decks and giving the garden a thorough watering and a fast-acting feed. For more detailed information on these quick fixes.

Visit: End of Lease Lawn & Garden Fixes yates.com.au/garden-hub/how-to-propagate-plants-by-layering/

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Home grownVitamin C

Valencia Oranges

If you like your oranges juicy and sweet then a valencia should definitely find a home at your place.

Valencia orange highlights »

Valencia oranges (Citrus sinensis) are one of the most popular oranges in Australia. They are thin skinned and being super sweet and juicy they're perfect for juicing.

They were originally bred in southern California and named after Valencia in Spain, which is renowned for growing sweet oranges.

The peak harvest season for Valencias starts in early spring, however, a fantastic benefit of valencias is that the fruit can be left on the tree for up to 6 months, so you can be picking oranges throughout spring and well into summer.

Valencia orange trees will grow up to five metres tall and have beautiful fragrant white flowers in spring. Dwarf grafted trees are ideal for small backyards and growing in pots as they only grow to two metres tall. They're compact trees but still produce standard sized fruit. Seedless valencias are also available, however, will still develop some seeds if grown near other citrus trees that flower at the same time.

Valencias do best in warm temperate to subtropical climates and are not frost tolerant. Valencia oranges are self-pollinating, so you don't need another citrus tree to enable fruit set. However, flowers still need to be pollinated by bees and other beneficial insects, so growing lots of flowers around your garden will help entice these hard working pollinators.

Green tinge? Don't be concerned if the orange skin on your valencias starts to turn a bit green. The longer the fruit is left on the tree during warm weather, chlorophyll (the green pigment in plants) starts to accumulate in the skin. It doesn't adversely affect the sweetness or the taste of the orange. In fact many people think that these re-greened oranges taste better! G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

How to grow a valencia orange »

For in-ground oranges, choose a spot with well-drained soil (citrus trees do not like a wet root system) that receives at least six hours of sunshine a day. Dig a hole as deep and twice as wide as the pot you've purchased the tree in and mix some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil dug from the hole. Position the root ball in the hole and gently backfill with enriched soil and water in well. Ensure the final soil level is at the same level as the original potting mix.

When growing a valencia orange in a pot, choose a dwarf grafted tree. A Yates Tuscan® 40 or 50 cm diameter pot is a perfect size for growing a citrus tree. Part fill with Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter, position the new citrus tree in the pot and backfill around the roots with potting mix. The level of fresh potting mix should be no higher than the original level around the tree. Water gently to settle the potting mix around the roots.

Citrus trees, including valencias, are heavy feeders, meaning they need lots of nutrients. A specialised citrus food, like Yates Thrive® Natural Citrus & Fruit Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food, is ideal, as it has the right blend of nutrients to promote healthy green leaf growth, a strong root system and lots of flowers and delicious fruit.

Winter pest & disease watch »

Scale insects are small sucking pests that hide under a waxy or cottony covering that can be brown, black or white. Scale can infest the trunk, stems, leaves and fruit. Control scale by spraying them directly with Yates Scale Gun.

During and after wet weather and in heavy clay soils, citrus trees can be prone to root and collar rot diseases. To help prevent these diseases, spray the foliage of citrus trees with Yates Anti Rot, which is a systemic fungicide that travels down to the trunk and roots.

Want to extend the orange season? You can enjoy many months of home grown oranges by growing a few different varieties. Navelina is a navel orange that starts fruiting in late May, Washington navel fruits from early winter to mid spring and bitter seville oranges (perfect for marmalade) are picked in late winter.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

CONTROLLING

Mosquitoes

Mosquito borne viruses like Japanese encephalitis and Ross River fever can cause serious health problems. And with mosquitoes thriving in many areas due to the wet weather, there are some important steps you can take to help reduce mosquito numbers around your house and garden.

Indoor & outdoor surfaces »

Mosquitoes will often rest on indoor surfaces such as light fittings, dark corners and window frames and outdoor surfaces like flyscreens, awnings and eaves.

Spray mosquito-prone surfaces with Yates® Home Pest Long Term Barrier Control Barrier Spray. It will kill mosquitoes outdoors for up to three months and indoors for up to 12 months.

Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide in our breath as well as our heat and body odour. It's the female mosquito that sucks our blood, so is the potential transmitter of viruses.

Plant foliage & leaf litter »

Leaves and the leaf litter below plants are places where mosquitoes hide and rest. This can be particularly troublesome with plants growing around outdoor living areas. Spray Yates Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray onto plant foliage and leaf litter to kill mosquitoes and create a barrier from mosquitoes for up to 14 weeks.

EXTRA MOSQUITO TIPS: Mosquitoes need water or wet surfaces to breed, so empty water from pot saucers, change the water in bird baths each week and sweep water out of or drain puddles. Also seal gaps around fly screens and doors, wear long sleeved clothing and insect repellent when outdoors.

There’s nowhere for your household pests to hide.

For all homes great and small . Looking for an easy-to-use and fast acting way to protect your home from pests? The Yates® Home Pest range has you covered. With up to 12 months protection inside your house, Yates® Home Pest Barrier Spray is an effective solution against cockroaches, ants, spiders, flies, cat fleas, silverfish and mosquitoes. Using Yates® professional microcapsule technology means long last control and peace of mind for you and your family. Yates is a registered trade mark and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

Great things start with Yates®

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Gardening in

different climates

All around Australia, there are lots of things to keep you wonderfully busy in the garden during winter In arid climates: »

Sow seed of Yates® Lettuce 'Winter Triumph Iceberg'. It's a cool weather, frost tolerant variety with a large and compact dark green head that's full of flavour. You can be picking your very own lettuce in eight to ten weeks, that will be perfect for salads and tasty san choy bau.

Make the most of any winter rainfall by applying a soil wetter. Soil wetters break down the water repellent layer on the surface of soil or potting mix and enable moisture to penetrate more effectively down into the root zone. It's easy to help treat water repellent areas of the garden (and lawn) with Yates Waterwise® Hose-on Soil Wetter.

Protect sensitive plants from frost by spraying the foliage with Yates Waterwise DroughtShield. It forms a protective flexible layer over the leaves, which helps reduce cold and frost damage. It also helps to move frost-tender potted plants next to a sheltered north facing wall or under the eaves.

Plant drought tolerant deciduous trees & shrubs like flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica), rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), crepe myrtles and ornamental pears (Pyrus spp.). They'll be ready to burst into fresh new growth when the weather warms up in spring.

Nurture and improve your soil by mixing Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into garden beds and planting holes and help protect the soil surface from the elements by applying a mulch of bark chips. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

In temperate climates: »

Rats and mice will continue to seek shelter and warmth indoors during winter, as well as helping themselves to your pantry. You can control rodents by setting traps in the places they like to hide in and move around. Ratsak® Cleankill Mouse Traps are a no-see, no-touch solution for catching and killing mice. They're easy to bait and set using the uniquely designed bait door, and help keep the trap mechanism away from kids and pets. Once a mouse is caught (and quickly and humanely killed), simply lift the tab to release the mouse. If your rodents are larger, Ratsak Max Strength Rat Traps are ideal. These reusable traps have a strong and powerful killing force and the trap can be baited before being set, making it quick and easy to use.

Get a head start on spring! At the end of winter start sowing seeds of warm season vegies like tomatoes and capsicums in small pots or punnets of Yates Speciality Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds and placing them on a sunny windowsill. Seedlings will be ready to plant out into the garden once the chance of frost has passed.

Buy seed potatoes in mid winter and prep them for planting through a process called 'chitting'. Place seed potatoes in an open egg carton in a dry, brightly lit spot but out of direct sunlight. Small shoots will develop over a few weeks. Once the shoots are one to two centimetres long, the potatoes can be planted into a vegie patch or pots. The chitting process can help get your potato plants off to a quicker start. For more detailed information on growing potatoes visit yates.com.au/plants/vegetable/ potatoes/how-to-grow-potatoes/

Say thank you to your camellias for their gorgeous cool season flower display by giving them a good feed. A potassium enriched fertiliser, like Yates Thrive® Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food, is ideal for promoting healthy green leaf growth as well lots of lovely blooms. Spread the organic based pellets around the root zone of in-ground and potted camellias and water in well.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

In cold climates »

In shady areas or moist spots, moss and algae can develop, particularly after long periods of wet weather. Moss and algae growing on hard surfaces such as paths and driveways can make them slippery and dangerous. Based on clove oil and acetic acid, Yates® Nature's Way® Organic Weed Killer is a ready to use spray that's ideal for controlling moss and algae on hard surfaces, as well as in lawns and garden beds.

Prune back hydrangea stems that flowered during summer, leaving the remaining stems to flower next season (if you cut all the stems back, you won't get any summer flowers). You can make the most of the pruned stems and use them as hardwood cuttings to propagate more plants. Dip the ends of 20 cm stem pieces into Yates Clonex Red Hormone Rooting Gel, which helps promote root growth, and insert the base of the stems into a pot of moist Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings and Seeds. Keep moist and in a brightly lit protected spot and roots will form over the coming months.

Plant asparagus crowns in a sunny, well-drained vegie patch that's been enriched with some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. Asparagus will live for many years so it's best to plant crowns in their permanent home.

Feed spring flowering bulbs like daffodils, hyacinths and tulips with a high potassium plant food like Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Plant Food. It will help promote healthy growth and prepare the bulbs for a fantastic floral show next year. Continue feeding each week until the foliage has died down in late spring.

Hellebores are at their floral best during winter, so it's an ideal time to visit your local garden centre and choose a new hellebore or two for your garden. They might look delicate but they're actually hardy and easy to grow plants and are tolerant of drought and frost. They're perfect for shady spots and also growing in pots. You can even bring potted hellebores indoors for up to six weeks at a time to show off their stunning flowers! Pictured right is Hellebore 'Charmer' from Plant Growers Australia, which has masses of delicately mottled burgundy-red flowers and lush green foliage.

In subtropical & tropical climates »

As the weather starts to warm up towards the end of winter, winter grass (Poa annua) seeds can begin germinating. To help prevent winter grass infestations, spray Munns® Professional Winter Grass Killer over the lawn while the winter grass seedlings are still young.

Give potted orchids a much needed winter boost with Yates Thrive Plant Food Spikes Orchids. They're concentrated spikes of nutrients, specially designed to promote healthy leaf growth and beautiful flowers. They're super easy to use, just insert a spike into the orchid mix midway between the stem and the pot edge. The spikes will feed the orchid for up to two months.

Start sprouting some sweet potatoes to create 'slips' for planting in late winter and early spring. Place a sweet potato tuber in a pot of moist potting or seed raising mix and position in a warm spot. Shoots (slips) will develop and when they're around 15cm long they can be cut or twisted off the main tuber and put in a jar of water on a sunny windowsill. Once roots have grown, these slips can be planted into a sunny spot in the garden.

Create a delicious space saving winter vegie patch. Sow seeds of climbing beans, like Yates Stringless Blue Lake, on a wire frame or trellis at the back of the patch, compact Yates Tomato 'Patio' in the middle of the bed and at the front low growing leafy greens like Yates Lettuce Baby Combo. For extra colour and vegie goodness tuck some quick growing Yates Baby Beets and tasty Yates Spring Onions in amongst the lettuce. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

We also plant seeds in the heads of gardeners

Join Yates Garden Community today. Receive monthly emails based on your gardening interests. Exclusive promotions and giveaways.

Great things start with Yates™ @yatesgardening G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Yates is a registered trade mark and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd