Bring the spring feeling indoors with lilies, early-flowering roses and begonias that are as colourful as any spring bedding plant. They all grow well indoors and can be planted outdoors to extend their summer show.
While rose stems outdoors are just starting to sprout, without a flower in sight, it is possible to have roses indoors. Roses double up as living bouquets and indoor decor plants. Each pot contains 3 – 4 mini-roses, which is why a single pot is so full of buds and blooms.
Requirements: For long-lasting indoor flowers display the roses close to a windowsill or on the patio where they get good light but not direct sunlight. Cut off the stems to 5cm above the ground when the flowers are over, and feed with a liquid fertiliser like Multifeed, Seagro or Kelpak when new shoots are visible. The roses will flower again in two months.
Long-term care: The roses will come into flower more quickly if kept outside in the sun, but will need to be watered every day. Take the rose inside again when the blooms start opening, or display it on the patio as an outdoor feature. Pot roses adapt well to growing outdoors and should be treated like any other container-grown rose: daily watering in summer, fertilising with Vigorosa once a month in summer, and monthly spraying with Ludwig’s Insect Spray to control pests.
This story is from the September 2019 edition of The Gardener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2019 edition of The Gardener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FIRE AND Feathers!
On a dreary winter's day, a screen of fiery and feathery leaves puts up a fight against dullness!
GET THE ladies in!
At this time of year, early-flowering shrubs vie with each other to get the most attention. We say: Trust those with female names for frills and butterflies. They go the extra mile to flower their hearts out.
Vegetable Soups and dumplings
Vegetables make the most delicious soups and classic combinations are always a winner.
Yummy sweet potatoes for your good health
Boiled, baked or braaied, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are a delicious and healthy winter comfort food. Just a dollop of butter, a little seasoning and you are good to go.
Pretty and functional
If cooking is your main thing, you would probably be more interested in the culinary value of the three herbs and some of their varieties we are describing.
Dried Seedheads & Pods
Autumn and winter are the best times to see what flowers produce the best seedheads that can be left on the plants to feed the birds and bugs and for harvesting for dried arrangements.
SO MANY FACES and so many choices...
Whoever associated a Cotyledon orbiculata (pig's ear) with the ear of a pig obviously did not know about all the varieties and cultivars this species in the genus Cotyledon has.
COLOURFUL Cold Weather WINNERS!
If it comes to a vote, these dependable shrubs will be the top candidates for prime performance in winter and in other seasons...
What makes a garden sustainable?
It is interesting to note that the United Nations defines sustainable development as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Nurturing NATURE-The Story of Kraal Garden's Transformation
Nestled within Prince Albert's rustic embrace lies a gem that is a testament to the transformative power of human vision and nature's bounty.