Blooming Wonders of June 2025's Garden

Blooming Wonders of June 2025's Garden

Title: Winter's Colorful Companions: A Guide to Blooming in the Cold

When the foliage of deciduous plants sheds and evergreens hibernate, the garden isn't left barren. Embrace the charm of winter with these colorful, fragrant, and productive plants. Even the rose garden demands attention, and there's planting and pruning to be done.

The Shortest Day: Winter Solstice

The Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice on June 21st signals the shortest day and longest night. As days lengthen after this date, plants respond, triggering flowering in certain species. Beneath the soil, roots will grow in readiness for spring.

Despite the wintery conditions, gardens can bloom with vibrant hues. Winter favorites include narcissus (both white and yellow forms), red hot poker, camellia, hellebore, and native plants such as wattle, grevillea, banksia, and boronia. Head to your local garden center or hardware store to pick up these florals to breath life into the chilliest of months.

To ensure continuous blooming, apply PowerFeed PRO SERIES for Roses & Flowers every fortnight.

Japonica Camellias: A Reliable Splash of Color

The dependable japonica camellias, such as Camellia japonica, bring color to winter gardens year after year. These tall shrubs display beautiful flowers in white, pink, or red tones and a range of flower shapes and sizes. Plant them throughout winter for an everlasting source of winter color.

To enjoy their blooms indoors, float the stemless flowers in a shallow bowl of water. These camellias not only bring color to the dull season but also thrive in part shade or full shade, making them useful additions to any garden.

Camellias can be grown in the ground or in large pots, but they need acidic soil and protection from frost. For stress reduction during cold and frost, water them using the recommendations on our website. In locations with alkaline soil, grow camellias in large pots with premium potting mix, such as our website Advanced Potting Mix.

For extended knowledge on camellias, peruse our guide.

Succulents: Shine in Cold-Weather Containers

Succulents, particularly in potted form, are popular choices for both indoors and outdoors. They are easy-to-maintain and come in a range of leaf colors and forms. Some even flower in winter, providing a welcome pop of color. Look out for kalanchoes, including Flaming Katy and Freedom Bells, for extended indoor color and outdoor appeal.

Not all succulents cope well with cold conditions. Some are susceptible to frost damage, while others may rot during prolonged rain. Protect vulnerable succulents by growing them in pots with cactus and succulent potting mix and moving the containers to a sheltered, sunny location.

As additional protection, take stem or leaf cuttings from succulents to propagate in a frost-free zone. Water cuttings with our website at planting (40 ml of concentrate per 9 Litres of water in a standard watering can) to encourage root development and reduce transplant shock.

Edible Winter Vegetables

Winter is the ideal time to grow peas (both podded and snow pea varieties), cabbage, silverbeet, and spinach, which are all available as seedlings at garden centers. In frost-free regions, plant cherry tomatoes, too.

Grow vegetables in the sunniest part of the garden or in pots with a good quality potting mix such as our website Advanced Potting Mix, then position the pot in a warm, sunny, and easily accessible spot. Water new plantings with our website GOLD to reduce transplant shock.

Every 10-14 days, apply a liquid plant food like PowerFeed PRO SERIES for Tomatoes & Vegetables to promote tasty, edible produce. Water when the soil is dry.

Five Crucial Early Winter Jobs

1. Regularly fertilize leafy winter vegetables, brassicas, and winter annuals such as pansies, primulas, and poppies with PowerFeed PRO SERIES for Tomatoes & Vegetables.
2. Plant a deciduous tree for summer shade and incorporate our website Plant + Soil Booster into the soil to aid plant establishment and improve soil health.
3. Keep indoor plants away from hot air from heating systems. Check plants before watering and only water if the potting mix has begun to dry out.
4. Illuminate the garden with solar lights to add sparkle even when plants are dormant.
5. Keep paths swept and gutters free of leaves. Use the fallen leaves in your compost or leaf bin.

Citrus Delights

Winter is citrus season in the garden – enjoy the fruits or plant your own. Visit your local garden center or hardware store for lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins, or grapefruit. If space is limited, consider a multi-grafted citrus, producing lemon and lime fruit on one tree, or a dwarf variety.

A unique citrus is the finger lime, a native Australian citrus known for its finger-shaped fruit. Finger lime grows well in most parts of Australia and provides fruit for several months, while also offering year-round habitat for birds and insects.

Citrus are heavy feeders that require a balanced diet of nutrients and trace elements to keep them healthy. Apply a fast-acting liquid fertilizer like PowerFeed PRO SERIES Fruit & Citrus every two to four weeks throughout the season. It contains added iron to minimize leaf yellowing and promote healthy budding, flowering, and fruiting.

All citrus need well-drained soil and full sun (finger lime tolerates a little shade).

Rose Tips

Early winter marks the planting season for bare-rooted roses in all regions, and it's also time to prune existing rose bushes in warm temperate and subtropical gardens. Therefore, sharpen your secateurs, clean them, and prepare for pruning action. In cold areas, delay pruning for another four to six weeks!

To prune a Hybrid Tea rose, equip yourself with sharp secateurs, a pruning saw or good loppers, and protective gloves to safeguard your hands and arms. Cut back the entire bush, reducing its size by one-third to a half. Remove old wood, cutting it at the base of the plant with the goal of maintaining a framework of three to five strong stems. Remove diseased branches (for example, those showing signs of dieback) and branches that are crossing over. Lastly, go over the rose, cutting back to just above an outward-facing bud.

After pruning, spray with lime sulfur to control common rose pests, such as scale, while the plant is dormant. Renew mulches under the rose and top up where necessary. Remove all fallen leaves or stems dropped during pruning. As growth resumes, begin to increase watering.

Follow our rose pruning guide.

1. Incorporate compost, a natural plant food, into the soil for improving soil health over winter.
2. For optimum flowering, use PowerFeed PRO SERIES for Roses & Flowers as a liquid plant food every fortnight.
3. Cultivate a rainbow of colors by growing winter flowers like narcissus, camellia, hellebore, and native plants in the garden.
4. To bring indoors the beauty of camellias, float their stemless flowers in shallow bowls of water.
5. Protect succulents from frost damage and prolonged rain by growing them in cactus and succulent potting mix and moving containers to a sheltered, sunny location.
6. Grow edible winter vegetables like peas, cabbage, silverbeet, spinach, and cherry tomatoes in a sunny part of the garden or in pots with good potting mix.
7. Using solar lights can add sparkle to the garden even during dormant periods.
8. To maintain citrus health during winter, apply PowerFeed PRO SERIES Fruit & Citrus every two to four weeks as a fast-acting liquid fertilizer.
9. Early winter is the ideal time for pruning rose bushes with the aim of reducing their size by one-third to a half.
10. After pruning roses, apply lime sulfur to control common rose pests like scale while the plant is dormant.

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