AUT
UMN
202
0 ED ITIO N
be a
proud plant parent!
HOW TO GROW MONSTERAS AND FIDDLE LEAF FIGS
GET INSPIRED » Time to plant spring
flowering bulbs » Fantastic flowering natives
Lawn & Order
more out of
your citrus PLUS H OW TO GROW CUM QU ATS
grow beautiful CAMELLIAS
YOUR ULTIMATE LAWN CARE GUIDE
END WEEK CTS: PROJE
IT'S SWEET PEA TIME!
SOMETHING JUST FOR MUM!
Mother's Day
made with love
TRANSFORM YOUR OUTDOOR SPACES! G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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1 11 17 27 35
MUM'S THE
WORD
SPRING
FLOWERING
BULBS
BRING
YOUR SOIL TO LIFE
GROWING
ALPINE
3 9 13 15 19 23 29 31 37 39 WHAT'S
GROWING
ON
SPACES
NATIVE
PLANTS
SWEET
CAMELLIA
PEAS
DREAMING
LAWN &
INDOOR
ORDER
PLANTS
CONTROLLING
CITRUS
RATS & MICE
GROWING GUIDE
STRAWBERRIES
OUTDOOR
AUSTRALIAN
ORGANIC
GARDENING
MOTHER-
IN-LAW'S TONGUE
G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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CREATE YOUR OWN MOTHER'S DAY GIFT
Mum's
the word G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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Creating a special, personalised growing gift for Mother's Day is easy and will bring mum months of beautiful colour or edible delights (they’ll certainly last longer than cut flowers and chocolates!). Plus, get the kids involved to help make a truly special experience. Just follow our simple steps:
step 1 CHOOSE A D E C O R AT I V E P O T
step 2 FILL WITH POTTING MIX
choose
& YO U R P L A N T S
step 3 TIPS FOR MUM
step 4
Pick a pretty pot or window box with good drainage holes. The larger the pot, the easier it will be to look after, as larger containers can hold more moisture and nutrients. Kids can also decorate a
plain unglazed terracotta pot with bright water based child-friendly paints. Hand and finger prints add a very personal touch. Once dry, coat with PVA glue to help seal it and provide a longer lasting finish.
Choose a good quality potting mix such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter.
Potted herbs also make a fabulous (and tasty!) growing gift. A window box can be planted with a variety of fragrant herbs like rosemary, thyme, chives and sage and can be productive for years. Alternatively, strawberries, leafy salad greens or blueberries also make ideal potted plants. They're the gifts that keep on giving!
Chrysanthemum daisies are one of the most popular and traditional plants for Mother's Day and come in a wide variety of gorgeous flower colours, from white, cream and yellow through to almost every shade of pink and even light green. Other pretty flower choices for pots include impatiens, cyclamens, pansies and dwarf salvias.
Position the pot according to the plant type. Chrysanthemums and herbs like a bright sunny spot outdoors. Regular watering and feeding will help keep the pot of flowers or herbs flourishing.
Finish off by tying a beautiful ribbon around the pot and adding a heartfelt card.
Feed flowering plants like chrysanthemums with a specially formulated liquid plant food like potassium enriched Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers and leafy herbs with Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb.
Keep the plants tidy and compact by regularly removing any old flower heads or browned leaves and stems.
KEEP IT L O O K I N G G R E AT G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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PLANTS TO GROW IN AUTUMN
what's growing on:
top vegies 5 F O R YO U R AU T U M N V E G I E PATC H Growing your own vegies, herbs or fruit is so rewarding and much easier than you think! Whether you have a pot, a small patch or a paddock – with a little love and care, you can grow and harvest your very own goodies. And with cooler temperatures and warm soil during early to mid autumn, there is no better time to get started.
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Carrots
STE P O N E Choose a sunny spot in the garden. Carrots need soft and loose soil, otherwise they won’t grow nice and straight. Before sowing, dig the soil really well to break up any clumps and hard pieces. If growing in pots, look for baby carrots and plant in troughs at least 400 mm wide and 250 mm deep. STE P T WO
Who doesn’t love carrots? The sweet crunch in your salad or dipped into hummus, this versatile vegie is well worth growing. And did you know that they can even be grown in pots?
Sow seed direct where the carrots are to grow, cover with 6 mm of soil, firm down and keep moist. To help keep the soil moist, in addition to regular watering you can cover the row with a plank of wood. Check under the plank every day and as soon as the first few seedlings emerge, remove the cover. Seeds may take up to 3 weeks to germinate, so be patient! STE P T H RE E Thin seedlings after 4 weeks, giving each plant 3 - 5 cm to grow. STE P F O U R Once established, feed each week with Yates Thrive All Purpose Liquid Plant Food. STE P F I VE Harvest when the top of the carrots are just poking out of the soil, but if you’re unsure, use a fork to gently remove the soil for a better look. Stagger the harvest so you can let the remaining carrots grow bigger.
Broccoli
S TEP O N E
ST E P F O U R
Choose a sunny spot in the garden with well-drained soil and mix in some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser to give the broccoli plants the best possible start.
Watch out for destructive snails & slugs. Control with Yates Blitzem Snail & Slug Pellets.
STE P T WO Sow seeds, lightly cover and firm down. Water regularly to keep the soil moist.
ST E P F I VE Using a sharp knife, cut the head once it's well formed but still tight and before the flowers open. Removing the central head will encourage smaller side shoots to form - they'll be ready for picking in a few weeks.
STE P T H RE E
Nutritious and delicious, broccoli is a must grow in your vegie patch!
Once seedlings have established, feed regularly with Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.
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S TE P O N E
Peas
Choose a sunny spot in the garden with well-drained soil and mix in some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser to give the pea plants the best possible start. STEP T WO
3.
Unless you know your soil is already alkaline, you can help sweeten the soil by applying some Yates Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime & Dolomite. STEP T H RE E Dampen soil and sow seeds approximately 25 mm deep. Don’t water again until seedlings appear. STEP F O U R
Whether you prefer sugarsnap or snow peas, they’re a delight for the taste buds and tummy.
Once seedlings emerge, feed weekly with Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food. STEP F I VE Peas will need a supporting trellis to climb on as they grow. Choose a wire panel or bamboo trellis as they allow air movement through the plants. Alternatively, dwarf peas don't need a support and can be grown in a vegie patch or in pots. STEP S I X Harvest once pea pods are plump or snow pea pods are slender and crisp. You may be picking every 2-3 days and this will also help promote more peas!
Beetroot
4.
S TE P O N E Choose a sunny spot in the garden with well-drained soil and mix in some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser to give the beetroot plants the best possible start. STEP T WO To help germination, soak beetroot seeds in water for 2 hours before sowing. STEP T H RE E Sow seeds 10 - 12 mm deep and 7 - 10 cm apart and keep moist. STEP F O U R Feed regularly with Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.
Turn the ‘beet’ around and start growing some beetroot! Delicious roasted and in salads and relishes, they're easy to grow in 5 simple steps!
STEP F I VE Harvest approximately 10 weeks after planting or when the beetroot crown is just sitting above the soil surface.
Beetroot tips! Add some colourful, young and tender
beetroot leaves into salads. And for small spaces, try growing Yates Baby Beets, which are perfect for growing in pots. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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STEP ONE
Baby Leaf Spinach
5.
Baby leaf spinach leaves are smooth and tender, with a delicate nutty flavour. They’re perfect for adding to salads and pasta.
Choose a sunny or partly shaded spot in a vegie patch or baby leaf spinach can also be grown in pots. S T E P T WO Sow seed direct where the plants are to grow, firm down and water gently. Keep the soil or potting mix moist. S T E P T H RE E To encourage lots of lush leafy growth, feed each week with nitrogen rich Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food and pick outer leaves regularly. STEP FOUR Watch out for hungry caterpillars! Pick them off by hand or spray with Yates Nature’s Way Caterpillar Killer (Dipel), which is approved for use in organic gardening.
What else to sow & grow in Autumn
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SUCCESSFUL PLANTS START WITH ® ® YATES DYNAMIC LIFTER
GET PLANTING IN AUTUMN Autumn is a fantastic time to plant as the soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth and plants can establish before the cool winter weather arrives
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD SOIL Having nutrient –rich soil is key to healthy, productive plants and this is where Yates® Dynamic Lifter® can help. water and nutrient
THE SECRETS OF YATES
®
DYNAMIC LIFTER® Contains chicken manure, fishmeal, blood & bone and seaweed to improve soil and organic NPK to gently feed plants Ideal for all plants including natives.
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AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS
banksias
& correas
Australian native plants can help attract beautiful birds, animals, bees and other beneficial insects into your garden. Many Australian native plants are tough and drought hardy and have gorgeous flowers and interesting foliage. Whether you have a formal or cottage style garden, or a wonderful mix of lots of different plants, there’s a fabulous native plant to suit your backyard, patio or balcony. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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Beautiful
BANKSIAS:
Banksias are a large family of striking Australian native plants and different species are found in every state and territory across Australia. They are known for their distinctive flowers, which come in a range of warm colours including reds, oranges, pinks and yellows. Banksia ‘Birthday Candles’ is a gorgeous dwarf variety of banksia that only grows to around 50 cm high. In the cooler months it’s smothered in golden yellow flowers which birds and bees adore. Banksias prefer a well drained soil and are dry tolerant once established. ‘Birthday Candles’ has a dense habit, spreading to around 1m wide and looks fantastic in massed plantings or grown in a container. Many banksias produce interesting and ornamental seed heads. May Gibbs called them the “big bad” banksia men in her Snugglepot and Cuddlepie® stories. Unless you’re keen on keeping these banksia cones, just gently break off the flowers themselves after they’re finished. Don’t cut back into the stems as this can reduce next year’s flowers. If there’s any dead wood, this can be pruned off. To help promote healthy growth and lots of flowers, feed banksias each spring and autumn with Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser, which is a rich organic plant food that’s suitable for feeding Australian native plants.
Fabulous
CORREAS:
Correas are a small but wonderful group of Australian native plants that predomninantly flower during the cooler months of the year. Their tubular flowers provide a delicious source of food for nectar loving birds. Correa pulchella ‘Autumn Blaze’ is a low growing correa with glossy evergreen foliage and a prolific display of brilliant orange flowers from autumn to early spring. Reaching 30 cm high and spreading to 1.5 m wide, Autumn Blaze is a great inclusion in mixed rockery and embankment plantings, as well as native gardens and pots. Correa pulchella ‘Ring a Ding Ding’ is another beautiful variety of correa with bright orange flowers. It is an upright, compact and neat shrub, growing to 50 cm tall and 60 cm wide. It’s perfect for growing in containers as well as planting in sunny to partly shaded garden beds. ‘Autumn Blaze’ and ‘Ring a Ding Ding’, from Plant Growers Australia, are tolerant of dry conditions once established, only requiring an occasional deep drink during extended hot dry weather. They’re also frost tolerant and suited to coastal areas and do best in well-drained soil. Keep correas looking tidy by pruning around one third of the growth off in spring, once flowering has finished. Feed correas each spring and autumn with Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser to promote healthy green foliage and a profusion of gorgeous flowers. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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HOW TO PLANT SPRING FLOWERING BULBS
spring
flowering
bulbs
Sensational spring flowering bulbs like jonquils, hyacinths and freesias fill the air with fragrance during late winter and spring and tulips, daffodils and anemones can create swathes of gorgeous colour or delightfully brighten an outdoor area when grown in a pot. Whatever your favourite spring flowering bulb is, it’s time to start planning and planting! Spring flowering bulbs are planted in autumn and a little preparation now will result in much healthier bulbs and a gorgeous floral show. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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Here are some helpful tips to help create a fantastic display: STEP 2 Feed your plants with Thrive.
» In a sunny location out in the garden, enrich the soil in the planting area with some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. It’s a rich source of organic matter that will help improve the structure of the soil, encourage earthworms and beneficial microorganisms and provide the newly planted bulbs with gentle, slow release organic nutrients to promote good early bulb growth. » For potted bulbs, choose a pot or bowl with good drainage holes and fill with a quality potting mix such as Yates Premium Potting Mix. When planting bulbs in a pot, they can be grown quite close together, which helps create a lovely dense look.
STEP 1 Create great quality, nutrient rich soil.
» Follow the directions on the bulb pack as to how deep to plant your chosen bulbs and ensure that you plant them the right way up! » Water the garden bed or pot after planting to help settle the soil or potting mix around the bulbs. Potted bulbs will need regular watering to ensure they have enough moisture. » As soon as the first leaves emerge, you can start to feed the bulbs each week with a high potassium plant food such as Yates Thrive® Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food, which encourages healthy growth and helps promote future flowers. Continue feeding into late spring until most of the leaves have died down. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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SENSATIONAL SWEET PEAS
easy peasy sweet peas Love the sight and scent of sweet peas? These magical flowers are one of the easiest plants to grow and while you won’t get a floral show until spring, now is the time to be sowing seeds. You can grow sweet peas in a fragrant teepee, create a wall of colour by growing them up a fence or if you're short on space, plant dwarf sweet peas in pots, window boxes or hanging baskets.
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SWEET PEA VARIETIES IN THE YATES RANGE
Getting Started
Yates Sweet Pea 'Colourcade' A vibrant colour mix of early flowering and heavily perfumed sweet peas.
STEP 1 Choose a spot in the garden with full sun, protected from strong winds.
Yates Sweet Pea 'Old Fashioned' Large ruffled sweetly scented blooms that continue well into spring.
STEP 2 Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser before sowing or fill a pot with Yates Premium Potting Mix.
Yates Sweet Pea 'Bijou Semi Dwarf' A low growing sweet pea with brilliantly coloured fragrant blooms on long stems. Ideal for borders, containers and mass planting in garden beds.
STEP 3 Yates Sweet Pea 'Blue Reflections' A glorious tall growing sweet pea from the world renowned breeder Dr Keith Hammett. Stunning large blooms in shades of blue, mauve and white.
Sow seed direct where the sweet peas are to grow. For tall growing varieties, sow beneath a 2 m tall frame, trellis or tripod.
STEP 4 Water gently and keep the soil or potting mix only slightly moist while the seeds germinate.
Yates Sweet Pea 'Brilliant Fragrance' A delightful, unique and beautifully perfumed sweet pea with soft cream petals that change to pastel pink as they mature.
STEP 5
Yates Sweet Pea 'Original' A highly fragrant heritage sweet pea with richly coloured blooms.
Once the seedlings have established, feed every 1-2 weeks with Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food.
STEP 6 Pick fragrant bunches of sweet peas for a vase. Regularly picking blooms will help promote further flowering.
Yates Sweet Peas are available through the online shop SHOP.YATES.COM.AU
watch out, pests & diseases about PR O BLEM Powdery Mildew
P R OBL EM Snails and Slugs
PROBLEM Thrips
S YMPTOMS White or ash-grey film that spreads over the upper surfaces of the sweet pea leaves, usually the older leaves.
SYM P T OM S Silvery trails over the soil or plants, holes in leaves or seedlings chewed off at the base.
S Y M P TO MS Thrips are tiny sap feeding insects that can cause spots and damage on both leaves and flowers.
S O L UTION Yates Rose Gun
SOL U T I ON Yates Blitzem Snail & Slug Pellets
S O L U TI O N Yates Rose Gun G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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CAMELLIA PLANT PROFILE
camellia dreaming
As the weather cools, most plants tend to slow down and prepare for a much needed rest over winter. But not camellias - now is the time they spring to life! Their bold and beautiful blooms, available in single through to double flowering forms in a range of deep pinks and reds through to pastel pink, cream and white, truly brighten the garden, especially on those cold and dreary days. Sasanqua and japonica camellias are the most commonly grown species, with sasanquas being the first to flower in autumn followed by japonicas from late autumn to early spring.
Favourite Camellias S AS AN QUA CAMELL I A
J A P ON I C A C A M ELL I A
TE A P L A N T
R E TI C U L A TA
(C.sasanqua)
(C.jap onica)
(C.sinensis)
(C.reticulata)
Aspect: Full sun, with protection from the hot afternoon sun Height: 3-6m Width: 4m While often used as a hedging plant, sasanquas can also be left to grow into small feature trees. Where space is an issue, consider dwarf forms or espaliering against a wall.
Aspect: Part shade/filtered sun Height: 4-5m Width: 4m Japonicas have stunning single or double flowers borne above attractive glossy green foliage. Bring their beautiful blooms inside and float them a shallow bowl of water.
Aspect: Part shade/filtered sun Height: 1-2m Width: 1-2m Grown for the leaf tips rather than the flowers, the new leaves and buds can be harvested and dried for tea (white, green and black). Tea plants can be grown into an attractive hedge or used as a screening plant.
Aspect: Part shade/filtered sun Height: 3-5m These plants are a real show stopper! Reticulatas are mainly grown for their large voluptuous flowers that appear from late winter to mid spring. Due to their open growth habit, they’re best grown as feature trees in the garden.
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HOW TO GROW CAMELLIAS Step 1: Choose a well-drained spot in the garden that receives the required amount of sun for the chosen variety and is protected from the hot afternoon sun. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is clay based, add gypsum and fork in well. When growing camellias in a pot, choose a pot at least 40 cm wide with good drainage holes and fill with a quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix.
Step 2: Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the shrub from the container and gently tease the roots.
Step 3: Position in hole and backfill with soil or potting mix, gently firming down. For camellias growing in the garden, form a raised or doughnut shaped ring of soil
around the outer edge of the plant's root zone – this helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes. Container grown camellias will need regular watering.
Step 4: Mulch around the base with organic mulch like bark chips, sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.
Step 5: Water deeply, 2-3 times a week, depending on weather.
Step 6: Feed every 6 weeks with Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food during the growing and flowering seasons to encourage healthy green leaf growth, strong root development and lots of beautiful flowers.
GREEN THUMB CAMELLIA TIPS Camellias, as well as azaleas and rhododendrons, prefer a slightly acidic soil (soil with a pH of less than 7). If your soil is alkaline, apply some Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur to reduce the pH of the soil.
If you’ve had problems with camellia bud balling in the past, where buds form but go brown and don’t open, an application of liquid magnesium might help. Yates Leaf Greener Magnesium Chelate is a concentrated source of fast acting magnesium that can help correct magnesium deficiency in camellias.
watch out, camellia pests about
Growing tips
P R OBL EM Sap sucking and chewing pests like aphids, thrips and caterpillars
» Camellias are remarkably drought tolerant, but the plants will perform at their best if water stress is kept to a minimum.
S Y MPTO MS Distorted or chewed foliage, petal spotting S O L U TI O N Baythroid Advanced Insect Killer for Gardens
» Watch out for sunburn. Even the sun-hardiest camellia can burn on an extra-hot day, which can lead to leaf fungal problems. Help protect your plants from sun damage during hot weather by applying Yates DroughtShield to the leaves. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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PREPARE YOUR GARDEN IN AUTUMN
bring your soil to life Autumn is a fabulous time of year to be out in the garden! The scorching heat of summer has faded, but the soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth – perfect conditions for planting! But before you do, it’s important to improve the soil so your plants will have the best start to life.
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the secret is in the soil
The key to planting success is soil preparation. Enriching your soil before planting with a concentrated source of organic material, like Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser has multiple benefits. What does it do? • The rich, concentrated organic matter in Yates Dynamic Lifter (chicken manure, fish meal, blood and bone and seaweed) enables better water and nutrient holding capacity in the soil. • Feeds worms and micro-organisms to help build a healthier soil. • Assists drainage and aeration for better root growth. • Good source of slow release organic nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium).
H E R E ' S A F E W I D E A S TO
?
growing journey
D I D YO U K N OW
kick start your autumn » Sow and plant some vegies & herbs like broccoli, cabbage, Chinese wombok, kale, peas, lettuce, spring onions, silverbeet, spinach, onions, rocket and parsley. Check plant tags and seed packs for the correct timing for your area.
Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser is certified for use in organic gardens by Australian Certified
» Choose autumn foliage trees & shrubs like Japanese maples and
Organic, so it's perfect for people wanting to feed their plants and
crepe myrtles while they're at their colourful best. » Plant gorgeous spring flowering bulbs like daffodils, hyacinths and
nurture their soil organically.
freesias in sunny garden beds or decorative pots and cover a bare fence by sowing seed of beautifully fragrant sweet peas. » Add Australian native plants to your garden like bottlebrush, grevillea and banksia to attract bees and native birds. » Love citrus? Autumn is a great time to plant citrus trees in the garden or in pots. This provides the young trees plenty of time during the cooler months to settle in to their new home before bursting into life in spring. Just be sure to remove any fruit that is growing on the newly planted trees to help the tree develop. A small loss of fruit now, will be worth the abundance of fruit in the years to come! » Regularly reapply Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser in the vegie patch and around trees, shrubs and flowers to provide plants with gentle, slow release nutrients and continue to help improve the quality of the soil. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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AUTUMN LAWN CARE
lawn and order Did your lawn cop a beating this summer? Whether it was backyard cricket, festive gatherings or getting scorched in the heat, it may be looking a little worse for wear. . . But don’t despair, now is the time to restore ‘lawn and order’ and get it looking as good as new! Plus, by giving your lawn a bit of love now, it will be better prepared for the chilly months ahead and ready for a fantastic spring.
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Cutting it fine Does your lawn feel spongy underfoot? If so, you can lower the mower to help remove the thatch to encourage new growth. Otherwise, for most lawns, keep the mower high and catch the clippings.
FEED ME: The air temperature is cooler but the soil is still warm enough to promote growth, so it's a great time to feed your lawn. Use an organic based lawn food like Yates Dynamic Lifter Concentrated Lawn Food or Munns Professional Buffalo Booster, which contain nitrogen for rich green grass growth and potassium to promote improved lawn health into winter.
Weed control
Get on top of the weeds now to help prevent the grief later! For couch, kikuyu, rye and fescue lawns apply Yates Weed'n'Feed or for buffalo lawns use Yates BuffaloPRO Weed'n'Feed. These easy to use hose-on products will help control the most common broadleaf weeds in your lawn, including bindii, clover, dandelions, capeweed and thistles.
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Create a brand new lawn: Mild conditions in early to mid autumn are ideal for starting a new lawn from seed or rolls of turf. The warm soil will encourage new root growth and lawn establishment before winter and cooler air temperatures make it easier to keep the new lawn moist.
HOW TO START A NEW LAWN FROM SEED » Remove any existing lawn grasses and weeds by spraying the area with Yates® Zero® Weedkiller. After the grass and weeds have died (in around 2 weeks), rake up all the dead foliage.
» Lawn seed needs a nice soft surface to grow in. Using a rake, loosen the soil and create shallow furrows across the area.
» Munns has a fantastic range of professional seed to suit every lawn. Munns Professional Couch Lawn Seed creates a fine textured, hard wearing rich green lawn, Munns Professional Kikuyu Lawn Seed grows a beautiful, dense green lawn with finer leaves than regular kikuyu and Munns Professional Sun & Shade Lawn Seed creates a blended
and encourage better seed germination and establishment.
» Broadcast the seed and Munns Superstart mix over the area and then lightly rake it into the top soil.
» Gently water the area. It’s very important to keep the soil moist while the seed germinates and the young grass seedlings establish.
HOW TO START A NEW LAWN FROM ROLLS OF TURF » Remove any existing lawn grasses and weeds by spraying the area with Yates® Zero® Weedkiller. After the grass and weeds have died (in around 2 weeks), rake up all the dead foliage.
» If the soil surface is hard, loosen with a rake,
deep green lawn that will handle heavy shade
apply a layer of lawn top dressing and spread
to full sun.
Munns Superstart Professional Buffalo & All Lawns Starter Fertiliser across the area.
» Lay rolls of turf in a brick pattern, fitting each piece together snugly.
» Water the area thoroughly. It’s very important to keep the soil moist while the new turf establishes.
» Mix the required amount of lawn seed for your area with Munns Superstart Professional Buffalo & All Lawns Starter Fertiliser. This will make spreading the seed much easier
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Lawn pest & disease control Lawns can be attacked by a range of insect pests & diseases. Here are some top tips to get them under control & keep your lawn healthy & looking great.
Lawn Diseases
Lawn Armyworm
Lawn diseases can appear as circular brown or dying patches of grass. Moist and cool weather during autumn can lead to lawn diseases such as brown patch and winter fusarium. To help reduce the incidence of lawn diseases, water lawns in the morning so the grass has a chance to dry off during the day. Wet grass foliage overnight can promote disease.
Armyworm are caterpillars of night-flying moths, which chew through grass foliage and stems and cause rapidly expanding dying and dead patches of lawn. You may also see birds pecking in the lawn – they’re after the caterpillars.
And at the first sign of any disease, apply Yates Zaleton Dual Action Systemic Fungicide over the lawn using a sprayer or watering can.
Apply Baythroid® Advanced for Lawns as soon as armyworm symptoms are noticed. It’s best to apply Baythroid during the late afternoon, as armyworm caterpillars emerge late in the day to feed.
TO CONTROL MULTIPLE LAWN INSECT PESTS TRY...
Black Beetle
Mole Crickets
Ants
Armyworm
Baythroid Advanced for Lawns will also control adult African black beetle, which lays eggs that hatch into damaging curl grubs.
Grasshoppers
NOW THAT’S A LOT OF LAWN PESTS! INSECT KILLER FOR LAWNS G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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INDOOR PLANT PROFILE
G R E E N S P OT L I G H T
monstera
MAGIC & FABULOUS
fiddle leaf fig G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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LOOKING TO ADD SOME LEAFY LUSHNESS INTO YOUR HOME? Monsteras and fiddle leaf figs are two of the most popular indoor plants and their impressive large leaves bring an instant jungle feel into indoor spaces.
How to grow a monstera Monstera (Monstera deliciosa), also called the Swiss cheese or fruit salad plant, has large deep green heart shaped leaves with interesting holes and splits. It’s a real statement plant and being a climber can be trained up a support or left to trail. POSITION Place in a brightly lit spot, out of direct sunlight. POTS & POTTING MIX Use a pot with good drainage holes and fill with a good quality potting mix like Yates Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns. WAT E R I N G Keep the potting mix slightly moist. To check moisture levels, insert your finger into the top few cm of mix. If it feels dry or dusty, it’s time to rewater.
MAKE MORE
little MONSTERAS Looking to multiply your monstera collection? It’s easy to do! Look for nodes along a stem and then carefully cut just below a node. Insert the cutting in a glass of water and position in a bright spot, out of direct sunlight. Top up the water weekly (or as needed) and hopefully, you’ll see roots forming over the next few weeks.
FEEDING To promote lush healthy green growth, feed your monstera with Yates Thrive Indoor Plants & Ferns Drippers or Yates Thrive Houseplant Liquid Plant Food.
Keeping your monstera looking fantastic Remove any old or yellow foliage and stems and dust the leaves regularly. Spray with Yates Leaf Shine to promote a glossy appearance. 24
How to grow a fiddle leaf fig A tall fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) with its super sized leaves is an impressive plant for the corner of a room. It can be used as a fabulous backdrop for other indoor plants or used as a lush focal point on its own. POSITION Place in a brightly lit spot, out of direct sunlight. POTS & POTTING MIX Use a pot with good drainage holes and fill with a good quality potting mix like Yates Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns. WATERING Keep the potting mix consistently slightly moist. To check moisture levels, insert your finger into the top few cm of mix. If it feels dry or dusty, it’s time to rewater. During hot dry weather, your fig will appreciate having its leaves being misted with water. FEEDING To promote lush healthy green growth, feed your fiddle leaf fig with Yates Thrive Indoor Plants & Ferns Drippers or Yates Thrive Houseplant Liquid Plant Food.
Keeping your fiddle leaf fig looking fantastic Dust the large leaves regularly. If your fig grows too tall, pinch out the top of the stem, which will encourage bushier growth. And to promote upright symmetrical growth, rotate the pot by 90 degrees every few weeks so all sides of the plant are given access to sunlight.
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Indoor Indoor Indoor plant care plant care plant care made easy! made easy!
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NEW Yates® Thrive® indoor ® plant Yates care range is®specially NEW Thrive indoor formulated to help your plant care range is® specially ® NEW Yates indoor Thrive indoor precious plants Thrive® formulated to help your plant care range specially precious indooris plants Thrive®
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ALPINE STRAWBERRIES
How to grow
alpine
strawberries It’s rare to find Alpine strawberries in the shops as they are very soft and have a short shelf life, so it’s only lucky home growers that get to enjoy this delicious berry. Alpine strawberries may not be large and showy like supermarket berries, however they are sweet, have a wonderful rich strawberry aroma and the plants can fruit for many months.
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Yates Alpine Strawberry, also known as European, wild or woodland strawberry, is a low growing, compact, runnerless variety that produces tasty and fragrant small strawberries. They can be eaten straight from the garden, added to salads (both sweet and savoury), lightly crushed and dusted with sugar or made into jams and syrups. Growing alpine strawberries from seed is an easy and economical way to grow lots of plants. Sow seed 3 mm deep into trays of Yates Seed Raising Mix. Seedlings will take around 2 weeks to emerge and they can be planted out into the garden or into pots when they’re large enough to handle. Before planting out into a garden bed, enrich the soil first with some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. Yates Alpine Strawberries can be grown in either a full sun or a partly shaded spot and make a lovely (and edible!) ground cover in light shade. To encourage healthy green plants and lots of flowers and tasty strawberries, feed plants each week with Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser. It’s a complete fertiliser that’s boosted with extra fruit-encouraging potassium to help promote a great berry harvest.
Strawberry PEST WATCH Snails and slugs love chewing into strawberries. Keep strawberries well mulched with lucerne, pea or sugar cane straw, which helps keep the berries up off the soil and lightly sprinkle Yates Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the strawberry patch to help attract and kill damaging snails and slugs. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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CONTROLLING RATS & MICE
Controlling
Rats & Mice
IN YOUR GARDEN
Rats and mice can become an increasing problem during the cooler months, as they’re searching for food and shelter. There are two common types of rats that live in suburban Australia. The black rat (also known as the roof rat) and the brown rat (also called the Norway rat). They’re both around 16 – 20 cm long with a smooth coat and big, thin ears. Mice are usually around 7.5 – 10 cm long with a smaller tail. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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Out in the garden, rodents can infest compost bins, worm farms and chicken coops, dig tunnels in garden beds and eat home grown fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, sweet corn, citrus and strawberries. They can also eat freshly sown seeds, seedlings and bulbs. Rats and mice need warmth, shelter, food and water. To reduce rat and mouse problems, it’s important to try and minimise their access to these 4 things. In the garden, ensure that worm farms have barriers in place to stop rodent access, consider using a sealed compost bin or tumbler that prevents rats and mice from entering, reduce clutter around the garden that provides hiding and nesting spaces, move water sources (such as bird baths) and bird feeders up off the ground and use rodent-proof chicken feeders. And remove any fallen or old fruit and vegetables in your vegie patch and orchard that could provide a source of food for rodents. You can also place trap stations in the garden to control rats and mice. RatsakŽ Trap Station is a strong, reusable, durable and poison-free station that features a lock and key to help keep children and pets away from the traps. The station contains a powerful, easy to bait and set trap, that is effective against both mice and rats. The trap can be baited with peanut butter, hazelnut spread or Ratsak Rat and Mouse Attractant Gel. Place the trap station where there are signs of rodent activity, in dark sheltered places and along fences, garden beds and retaining walls, with the entry holes parallel and close to the wall. Continue using the trap until rodent activity in the garden ceases.
Hearing scratches in your roof or walls? Or seeing chewed food packets or small droppings? Then rodents might be venturing into the house! To deter rats and mice from coming inside, plug a Ratsak Ultrasonic Rodent Repeller Pro or a Ratsak Ultrasonic Rodent Repeller Mini into a powerpoint in rooms where they can be most active, such as in the laundry, garage or kitchen. These units emit high frequency sound waves to repel rats and mice and will not harm humans or non-rodent pets.
Visit RATSAK.COM.AU for more rodent control strategies or talk to a Rat Chat expert.
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CITRUS GROWING GUIDE
when life gives you
lemons, limes & oranges... What’s life without citrus? Lemon tarts, orange and poppy seed muffins, cumquat marmalade and a slice of lime in your gin and tonic‌there is so much variety to be had from these juicy fruits. So, it pays to grow your own! The trees can grow up to 4-6 m depending on the variety, but you can also buy dwarf forms, which grow up to 1.5-2 m and are perfect for pots. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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HOW TO GROW CITRUS IN A GARDEN:
Step 1: Choose a sunny spot (at least 6-8 hours of full sun) with well-drained soil. If the soil is clay based, improve soil structure by adding gypsum and forking in well. In poorly drained areas, citrus can also be planted in a raised mound of free-draining soil.
Step 2: Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Mix some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the hole to improve the quality of the soil and help give the new tree the best possible start. Remove the tree from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
Position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down. Form a raised or doughnutshaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone - this helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several months while the new plant establishes.
Step 4: Mulch around the base with organic mulch like sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.
Step 5: Water deeply, once or twice a week, depending on weather conditions.
Step 6: Feed your citrus regularly with Yates Thrive Citrus food.
Step 3: HOW TO GROW CITRUS IN A POT:
A potted citrus tree looks fantastic on a sunny deck, veranda or patio. Choose dwarf varieties of citrus for growing in pots.
Step 1:
Step 3:
Choose a pot at least 500 mm wide. Position in full sun (at least 6-8 hours of full sun) and fill with quality potting mix, such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter.
Position in hole and backfill with potting mix, gently firming down. Water in well.
Tip: Consider placing the pot on wheels if you live in a cold area, so it can be easily moved inside or to a more protected spot in winter.
Water thoroughly, 2-3 times a week, depending on weather conditions.
Step 2:
Feed potted citrus regularly with Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food.
Remove the tree from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
Step 4:
Step 5:
top tips for healthy citrus • Citrus trees are always hungry, so it's important to feed them regularly with a specially formulated citrus food, like Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food, to encourage healthy green leaf growth and lots of flowers and juicy fruit. • Keep the soil around citrus trees moist. It helps to apply a layer of mulch around the root zone to retain moisture. Citrus grown in pots will dry out faster than in-ground plants, so regular watering is essential.
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Cumquats: Cumquats are known for their very tart citrus flavour and are most commonly used in jams, marmalades and preserves. Many people also enjoy eating cumquats whole, including the fragrant skin, which can be sweeter than the flesh itself.
There are several different varieties of cumquats, also called kumquats, including oval fruited ‘Nagami’ and round ‘Marumi’. There’s also a cumquat with both variegated leaves and fruit. Cumquats can be very decorative trees, with their white fragrant flowers in spring and brightly coloured fruit covering the trees during winter. Cumquats are often grown purely as ornamental trees, however marmalade makers will appreciate a basket of fruit! Cumquats can grow up to 5m tall or around 2.5m for dwarf grafted trees, which are ideal for growing in smaller spaces and also pots. They’re hardy trees and will grow well in cool climates as well as warm areas. They need a spot with well-drained soil that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day.
When planting into the ground, mix some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the bottom of the planting hole. Yates Dynamic Lifter improves the quality of the soil and supplies the newly planted cumquat with gentle, organic nutrients as it establishes. Keep the new tree well watered, particularly during its first summer. Cumquats are heavy feeders and require lots of nutrients to support all the foliage, flowers and developing fruit. Feed cumquat trees every 8 weeks with Yates Thrive® Natural Citrus & Fruit Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food. It contains a special combination of more than 50% natural ingredients, boosted with fast acting fertilisers. It encourages healthy green leaf growth and is high in flower and fruit promoting potassium.
Early to mid autumn is an ideal time to plant a new cumquat tree. When growing a cumquat in a container, choose a well drained pot that’s at least 40cm in diameter (a Yates Tuscan pot is ideal) and use a good quality potting mix like Yates® Premium Potting Mix.
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Citrus pest watch During late summer and autumn, citrus can produce a new flush of foliage. These tender new leaves can be vulnerable to attack from citrus leaf miner and aphids. The adult citrus leaf miner moth lays her eggs on the surface of young citrus leaves and the eggs hatch into larvae which burrow into the leaves, creating silvery tunnels and resulting in leaves curling and distorting. Aphids are small sap feeding green, brown or black insects, that cause young leaves to twist and curl under.
Green thumb pest tips Sap feeding insects like aphids and scale excrete a sweet substance called honeydew. Ants feed on this honeydew, so if you spot ants crawling up and into your citrus trees, it’s a sign of a sap feeding insect pest. Honeydew also attracts a disease called sooty mould, which appears as a dark grey ash like film over leaves and stems. Once the insect pest is controlled, the ants and sooty mould will disappear.
The leaf damage caused by citrus leaf miner and aphids is permanent, so it’s very important to control the pests before they have had a chance to affect the leaves. Prevention is the key! Regularly spraying Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray over tender young foliage will help prevent citrus leaf miner damage (it deters the citrus leaf miner moth from laying her eggs on the leaves) and also control destructive sap sucking aphids. Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray contains an effective combination of pyrethrin, a natural extract from the pyrethrum daisy, and vegetable oil and is approved for use in organic gardening. Scale is another common citrus sap feeding pest and appears as small white, brown, pink or black raised bumps on leaves, stems and fruit. Together with citrus leaf miner and aphids, scale can also be controlled with regular sprays of Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray.
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OUTDOOR SPACES
Transform your
outdoor spaces We all love spending time in our ‘outdoor rooms’ like decks, verandas and patios. It’s easy to jazz up these spaces with a few potted plants, which can be both decorative and delicious! Here are a few ideas to transform your outdoor spaces into leafy and colourful havens. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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DECK SALAD Growing your own leafy greens means you have an ongoing supply of fresh and healthy salad ingredients when you need them. Find a sunny spot on a deck, patio or veranda that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day, fill a Yates Tuscan Pot (40 cm diameter is ideal) with quality potting mix and sow or plant a range of vegies like loose leaf lettuces, baby spinach, rocket, tatsoi and spring onions. Keep the potting mix moist, feed regularly with Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food and you’ll have a delicious home grown deck salad!
Tip: Yates Tuscan Pots are available in a range of on trend colours to suit your exterior design, including terracotta and the very popular Dulux colours Timeless Grey and Colorbond® Monument®.
BBQ HERBS A bunch of herbs like rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil and oregano are perfect to use as a fragrant BBQ basting brush or to take back into the kitchen to add to your gourmet creations. It’s easy to grow a few pots of herbs in sunny outdoor spaces, so you’ll never have to buy supermarket herbs again. Grow warmth loving Mediterranean type herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano together (they look great in terracotta pots) and combine lush leafy herbs like parsley, basil and coriander in a decorative trough. They’ll look and taste fantastic.
FLOWER POWER The cooler months don’t have to be drab if you include a few pots of vibrant flowers in your outdoor spaces. Pots, window boxes and hanging baskets of violas and pansies, alyssum, lobelia, English daisies, cornflowers, lavender and salvias help make your outdoor entertaining and relaxing areas inviting and colourful. Don’t forget to feed your potted flowers each week with Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food, to help promote lots of fabulous flowers.
POTTED CITRUS Citrus trees like oranges, mandarins and lemons have lush green leaves, fragrant white spring flowers and colourful and delicious fruit. They could almost be the perfect plant! Dwarf varieties of citrus are compact and perfect for growing in pots and half wine barrels in sunny outdoor positions. Keep the most common citrus insect pests, such as aphids and scale, under control with Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray. It’s based on natural ingredients and approved for use in organic gardening. Citrus make a lovely leafy addition to a deck or patio and you’ll have fresh and juicy fruit to enjoy too. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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ORGANIC GARDENING
Organic
gardening
Growing fruit and vegies at home is so satisfying and you’ll be rewarded with super fresh and amazingly tasty produce. Gardeners wanting to care for their plants using organic methods can grow a healthy and productive garden with these simple tips:
FEEDING
HOME MADE COMPOST
Well fed plants are healthier, will give you more fresh produce, a fantastic flower show, and are better able to resist pests and diseases. Vegies, herbs and fruit trees, as well as Australian native plants, trees, roses and flowers, shrubs and potted plants all need feeding with a complete fertiliser, that contains the right blend of the important nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser is a rich blend of composted chicken manure, blood & bone, fishmeal and seaweed that provides your plants with the nutrition they need for healthy growth. Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser is approved for use in organic gardening and also helps breathe life back into your soil. You can organically feed all plants, all year round with Dynamic Lifter.
Deciduous trees can provide you with wheel barrows of fantastic fallen leaves during Autumn. Rake them up, mix with some kitchen scraps, garden prunings and a few handfuls of Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser and turn them into compost. Autumn leaves are high in organic matter but low in the nutrients needed for effective composting. This is where Dynamic Lifter comes in. It’s rich in organic nitrogen, which helps to feed the composting microorganisms as they start to break down the Autumn leaves into fabulous compost that you can then mix into vegie and flower beds in a few months time.
KEEPING CATERPILLARS UNDER CONTROL Turn your back on cool season vegies like cabbage, broccoli and kale and caterpillars can rapidly skeletonise leaves. If you’ve noticed small white butterflies hovering around the vegie patch, these are likely to be ‘cabbage white butterflies’. They lay small yellow oval shaped eggs on the leaves, which hatch into very hungry caterpillars! Organic gardeners can control caterpillars effectively with Yates® Nature’s Way® Caterpillar Killer (Dipel), which is based on a naturally occurring beneficial bacterium that only affects caterpillars. To keep caterillars under control, spray foliage every 5-7 days, including the undersides of foliage where caterpillars often hide.
There are lots of different composting systems available, ranging from enclosed compost tumblers to do it yourself bays or frames in the back corner of the yard. Whatever you have space for, creating your own compost helps makes the most of organic materials that could otherwise end up in land fill.
APHID CONTROL Aphids are commonly attracted to tender new leaves and stems of cool season vegies like broccoli and kale. Aphids are small sap sucking insects that can multiply rapidly and damage plants. Organic gardeners can control aphids quickly with Yates® Nature’s Way® Vegie & Herb Spray, which is an insecticidal soap that targets soft bodied insects like aphids. Spray foliage each week, including the undersides of foliage where aphids hide, to help keep aphids under control. Yates Nature’s Way Caterpillar Killer, Yates Dynamic Lifter and Yates Nature’s Way Vegie & Herb Spray are all approved for use in organic gardening by Australian Certified Organic.
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MOTHER IN LAW'S TONGUE
Mother-in-Law's Tongue
Whether you call them mother-in-law’s tongue, snake plant or viper’s bowstring hemp, sansevieria (Sansevieria trifasciata) has become super trendy over recent years and potted specimens feature prominently in modern landscape and interior design. They’re very hardy, are slow growing, don’t mind drying out, require minimal maintenance and will tolerate low levels of light, making them ideal for growing indoors and also for beginner and time-poor gardeners. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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How to grow Mother-In-Law's Tongue STEP 1: Choose a well-drained pot at least 200 mm wide (or larger, depending on the size of your plant). Position in a brightly lit spot, out of direct sunlight. It will also grow well in low light areas.
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STEP 2: Half fill the pot with Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cacti & Succulents.
STEP 3: Remove the plant from its original container, and gently tease out the outer roots if they’re compacted.
STEP 4: Position the plant in the middle of the new pot and backfill around the roots with fresh potting mix. Keep the level of new potting mix the same as the original level of mix around the plant, so that all the roots are covered. Water well to settle the potting mix around the roots.
STEP 5:
Proven Seed Quality & Germination for over 130 years Over 200+ seed varieties Free shipping when you spend $25 or more
Allow the potting mix to dry out almost completely before re-watering. Check moisture levels in the potting mix by inserting your finger into the top few centimetres of mix.
STEP 6: To promote healthy growth, feed with Yates Thrive Plant Food Spikes Cacti & Succulents every 2 months from spring to autumn.
Get inspired with gardening projects
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GREEN THUMB TIPS Mother-in-law’s tongue does not like wet feet so make sure you don’t overwater. You can create more plants by dividing up the pot every few years and also taking leaf cuttings during the warmer months. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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sign up now yates.com.au/join-garden-community Connect with us @yatesgardening For more great gardening advice Gvisit R O Wyates.com.au I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S
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