11 spring gardening tips for spring
Spring has sprung, bringing warmer soil, fresh growth and plenty to do outdoors. These spring gardening tips will help you get your vegetables, flowers, lawn and garden ready for the growing season ahead.
- Sow warm-season vegetables such as tomato, capsicum, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, corn, beans, rockmelon and watermelon once the soil is warm. In frost-prone districts, wait until frost risk has passed.
- Keep picking or deadheading flowering annuals that respond by producing more blooms. Leave selected seed heads where you want food for wildlife or future seedlings.
- Feed citrus in early spring so nutrients are available around flowering and new growth. Apply Rocky Point Fruit & Citrus Fertiliser at the label rate, keep it away from the trunk and water it in.
- Prune camellias and azaleas after flowering if they need shaping or damaged growth removed. Both begin developing next spring’s flower buds soon after flowering, so pruning later in the season may reduce next year’s display.
- Feed hydrangeas as new growth resumes, checking whether an existing controlled-release fertiliser is still active before adding more. Pale, yellowing new leaves and slower growth compared with earlier in the season are signs the fertiliser may have run out and the plant needs feeding again.
- Plant warm-season bulbs and tubers at the time recommended on the packet for your climate. Dahlias, gladioli and canna lilies are popular choices in Queensland and most parts of New South Wales and Victoria where the last frost has passed.
- Aerate compacted lawn once it is actively growing. Top dress only where levels or surface conditions need correcting, and avoid burying the grass.
- Repot indoor plants that are rootbound or whose potting mix has deteriorated. A larger pot is not automatically needed every spring.
- Allow spring bulb foliage to yellow naturally so it can return energy to the bulb.
- Mulching is one of the most useful spring gardening tips before hotter weather arrives. Spread Rocky Point Sugar Cane Mulch evenly over moist, weed-free soil and keep it away from trunks and stems.
- Use the school holidays for simple garden projects: sow seeds, make plant labels, keep a nature journal or count the different pollinators visiting flowers.
Work your way through these spring gardening tips now and your garden will be well placed for the warmer months ahead.
