Central’s Tips

March 2023

The fruit and vegetable garden

• Feed citrus, feijoa and fig trees as the fruit develops. This is necessary after a very rainy season to add nutrients to the soil and ensure good sized fruit

• Ahead of planting out new vegetable seedlings, condition the soil with compost, sheep pellets or fresh Garden Mix

• Cover late season blueberries, raspberries and strawberries with bird netting as the birds get braver and hungrier

• Get adventurous with cold season vegetables – plant seedlings of broccolini, purple sprouting broccoli, green Romanesco and coloured Asian greens

• The power of lemon flavourings –lemon peel, lemon verbena, lemon thyme, and lemongrass – use them together for infusions and syrups

• Prune plum trees now, thinning out the middle and removing dead branches. Pruning now reduces risk of disease

• Rosemary in abundance? Use the woody stems as kebab sticks for lamb or beef. The smell from the BBQ and the meat flavour will be delicious

The ornamental garden

• Plant out autumn-toned shrubs and flowers to complement developing autumn colours: NZ coprosmas and grasses often fuse well with ornamental trees that have colour, as do dwarf maples and late flowering hydrangeas

• One last trim and tidy – trees, shrubs and topiaries should be tidied to harden up before winter. Crisply shaped bushes offer interesting structure when the garden dies down

• Renovating lawns begins now – fertilise with Prolawn Lawn Booster after a summer of unseasonably heavy rain. Mow often and resow bare patches

• Some cutting back of spent perennials is good housekeeping, but roses and hydrangeas should only be deadheaded as they’re traditionally pruned at the end of winter

• This year the soil is warm and moist, making it ideal to plant all those trees and shrubs on sale at the garden centre. Add some compost or Garden Mix and a layer of mulch and they will establish easily

• Early spring flowering bulbs should be planted out now, including ranunculus, freesias, anemones, and crocuses. Crocuses are suitable for small containers and bowls