Transplanting Tips

If you need to relocate established trees and shrubs to a more suitable position in your garden, Autumn is the best time to do it. Tip 1: In preparation for the big move, always prune trees and shrubs before digging them out, this helps to minimize transplant shock, this gives them a much better chance to make a rapid recovery in their new home.

Tip 2: Prepare the new hole before you even start digging the tree or shrub out. Good hole preparation is key. A general rule for a medium sized tree (of about a man's height) is to dig a 1m x 1m hole and about 800mm deep. Now that is a lot of digging, but worth the effort when you see your tree flourishing. Mix the soil that has come out of the hole with generous amounts of compost, bone meal and a general fertilizer.

Tip 3: Very important when transplanting any plant, is to firmly compress the soil around the roots of the plant. You can really be quite tough about it. Even a great big stomp with your garden boots is good. Large air pockets around the roots cause the fine root hairs to dry out and causes the death of the plant.

Tip 4: The "Life and Death" tip: Never plant your tree too deep in the hole. If soil covers the stem of your tree, higher than what it was in its original position... IT WILL DIE.

Water Wize Quick Tip

Combine aloes and succulents together in a well thought out garden bed or rockery. Watering will be required but intermittently.

Balancing the scales between Predator & Pests

I have been stumbling across all sorts of insects in the garden this past month. One garden had a whole swarm of grasshoppers that seemed to be grazing their way through, from one corner to the other; some coral trees have been alive with nice big juicy caterpillars. The coral tree I was focusing on was oozing caterpillars; some had fallen on the ground beneath the tree and had formed a live squirming carpet. Rubbing shoulders with the caterpillars were a handful of plump slimy slugs! I have now been told that they were relishing in the faeces of the caterpillars! Beautifully bright butterflies have also been plentiful. When I see them I cannot help but wonder what creepy this particular beauty morphs into…(I can already see you reaching for the Doom). When I see this activity in your garden, I celebrate, as it means to me that habitat has been created and the food chain is functioning in your garden. The challenge to each and every gardener and homeowner is to now establish a natural balance between pests and predators in your environment. There are many invaluable predators you could attract to your garden to keep the pests to manageable proportions. Just by avoiding the use of pesticides to kill any pests one will gradually encourage helpful predators to your garden and these include chameleons, Praying Mantis, Hoverflies and ladybirds that feed on aphids; frogs, wasps, bees, bats that eat mosquitoes, lizards, centipedes and all kinds of birds. (This is where you but the Doom back in the cupboard).

Garden Hazards

Last month our Simbithi Maintenance Manager, Warren stepped back onto a thorny branch while attending to pruning. A really large and nasty Acacia thorn embedded in his leg, at the back of his knee. A surgical procedure and five stitches later, the offending thorn was finally removed, and he has the scar to prove it! Gardening is not always a bed of roses and there are a few other garden hazards that we would like to mention that one should watch out for and avoid:

• Thorny, spiky and poisonous plants
• Exposed tree roots
• Chipped or uneven pavers
• Ends of stakes (cover with a cork)
• Unprotected water like bird baths, ponds and water features for small children
• Slippery paving and mossy soil in shaded areas
• Gardening tools (especially hard rakes) that have not been packed away.