11 Top Secret Tips for Gardening in Perth

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11 Top Secret Tips for Gardening in Perth Gardening in Perth can be a real struggle; long hot summers with watering restrictions; cold

frosty winters with unpredictable rain; alkaline infertile soils and a host of pests and

diseases that thrive in our temperate climate.

Over the past decade Ive been mentored by Perths best gardeners including several TV

celebrities. Ive passed on what Ive learned to the many gardeners Ive hired and trained at

Mitchs Gardening, and together weve passed this knowledge onto our clients. Weve been

helping hundreds of clients turn their struggling patch into a beautiful, sustainable

landscape for over a decade.

Now were sharing it with you.

1. Prune Your Plants In Winter and Summer Perth has really hot summers and it puts a

huge strain on our plants to stay hydrated

particularly during long heat waves. But

theres a simple solution - summer prune

your plants. Weve all heard of winter

pruning, but summer pruning?

Plants are resilient. And in extreme

conditions like hot or cold they enter a

dormant state. Here in Australia our native plants go into sleep mode through most of

summer in an effort to conserve water. If you have native plants, summer is the best time

to prune them not winter as this is their active growing time.

But its not just natives we should be summer pruning. Roses and other exotics greatly

benefit too. By summertime, roses often look tall and leggy and theyve lost their neat

compact appearance. Its a great time to prune them back to a manageable size and youll

be rewarded with a second flush of flowers, which will keep flowering longer into winter. A

heavy summer prune will also reduce the water needed to keep your plants growing well.

Its important to prune plants

correctly, poor pruning is often the

cause of pests, disease, dieback

and sudden plant death.

Always keep secateurs sharp and

prune a centimetre above and at

the same angle as the bud.



2. Mow With A Rotary Not Cylinder Its common to see lawn contractors and

even home owners using those big heavy

cylinder or roller mowers. Machines that

were never intended for home lawns

instead they were designed for use on

putting greens and grassed playing courts.

Grass that is professionally managed,

aerated every 6 months, dethatched every

year, fertilised weekly and watered daily.

Roller mowers compact the soil making it

hard for water and nutrients to get to grass

roots. They cause thatch build up in lawns

because the weight of the mower compacts the grass, which damages roots - causing more

grass to thatch than normal. The heavy rollers easily snap sprinklers and chip walls.

Rotary mowers on the other hand rarely damage irrigation or edges because the only point

of contact are the four rubber wheels. The blades are concealed in the mower body away

from irrigation sprinklers and hands. Being 1/5th the weight they dont compact the grass

and the cutting action sucks dead grass (thatch) up before it becomes a problem. When the

blades are kept sharp they mow lawns faster and leave a neater cut than roller mowers.

Lawns mown with rotary mowers never need aerating or dethatching (unless compacted by

other means i.e. cars). If you want to use a cylinder mower you can keep your lawn green

and healthy by dethatching every 2-3 years in autumn and aerating every 12 months in

spring.

Lawns are often mown far too short in Perth, which leaves them yellow/brown and

susceptible to weeds. Instead mow your lawn at 3-5cm high, the longer blades (lawn leaves)

will: shade the soil and reduce water evaporation; protect the soil from compaction;

increase photosynthesis and better absorb nutrients; need less water as the roots will grow

deeper; and suppress most lawn weeds.

When fertilising lawns, little and often will give a far greater result than heavy infrequent

applications will. Ideally fertilise every 4 weeks using a hand held fertiliser spreader and a

quick release fertiliser. Slow release fertilisers require far more water to release the

nutrients into the soil than quick release does. With Perths watering restrictions our

lawns dont get enough water for the fertiliser to release until winter rains when lawns

are least active. This ends up feeding the weeds instead!

Be sure to only apply quick release fertilisers at the suggested rate as they can burn lawns if used

applied too densely.

Difference in lawn growth from compacted soil and uncompacted soil.



3. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch! Perth is the driest city in the world, with

the highest water consumption. Mulch is

THE MOST important thing you can do

for your garden. The correct mulch will

suppress almost all weeds; increase the

water and nutrient holding ability of your

soils; cool your soils which reduces

stress to plants; and protects your soil

from the elements.

But not all mulch is the same. Unfortunately karri and peat mulch is the one most used as it

is seen in the majority of gardens in those glossy magazines and on TV. It is the one most

recommended by professional gardeners and with good reason too. It increases weeds

and looks untidy the minute leaves and debris fall onto it which means you call your

gardener back sooner because your yard looks untidy and is constantly full of weeds! Not

only that but black mulch wicks water up out of the soil, creates an impenetrable matt

across the surface stopping water and nutrients from getting through, and it heats up your

soil, cooking your plants roots remember black attracts heat.

So what mulch should you use? For Perth gardens, a course wood based mulch with some

fine particles is best. All garden beds should have a 5 to 10 cm thick layer of mulch

protecting and feeding the soil throughout the year. Gardens that are mulched annually

will never need fertilising as the mulch itself provides a full spectrum slow release

fertiliser.

If you want to really boost your gardens growth apply 100g of nitrogen to all the garden

beds before mulching and then water in well. The nitrogen will feed the soil microbes and

your mulch will quickly break down into a deep black layer of humus rich in plant

nutrients and great at absorbing water. Working to slowly release nutrients and hold on to

them in the soil.

The mulch mimics the natural pattern of leaves and plant debris falling to the soil surface

and breaking down effectively replacing the nutrients you take away in dead flowers,

leaves and hedge trimmings. A garden that is mulched annually with 5-10cm of good quality

mulch will maintain balanced soil nutrition and grow healthy disease and pest free plants.

We recommend using Magic Mulch, a mulch that weve had scientifically formulated

specifically for Perth. It is made of 100% recycled plant debris and screened for consistency

and aesthetics. It is the best mulch weve ever found for suppressing weeds, improving the

nutrients in soils and balancing soil pH.

Find out more about Magic Mulch here, or call our office.



4. Drip Irrigation and Watering Wisely Water is Perths most scarce resource. So

it makes sense to use it wisely. Plants

absorb water in one place only their

roots. Applying water to the foliage of

plants cleans and stimulates the leafs

stomatas (cells) to open, increasing the

exchange of oxygen and CO2.

Watering the foliage does not water the

plant instead the water drips down the

plant to the roots where it is then taken up

and used. Watering the foliage in hot conditions, creates excess humidity and moisture on

the leaves which is an ideal breeding ground for pests and diseases on your plants.

When you water with above ground irrigation you waste up to 78% of all the water you

use through evaporation and wind drift. If you have black mulch or no mulch in your

garden beds that figure can be as high as 89%.

By using drip irrigation youre delivering the water directly to the plant roots, where they

need it most, and if drip line is under course mulch you can expect a very low 3%

evaporation loss. Higher moisture in the soil increases the nutrients available to your plants

and reduces heat stress making plants less prone to pests and diseases.

There is one exception to drip irrigation and thats lawns. Grass is best irrigated with pop

up sprinklers as its leaves cells quickly clog with dust and dirt from regular mowing. Grass

that doesnt receive overhead watering to wash the leaves has stunted growth as it cant

exchange CO2 and oxygen effectively suffocating the plant.

Drip irrigation under mulch works best when used for regular shallow watering not long

deep soaks. Perths sandy soils are very poor at holding water so most of the water you

apply during deep soaking just seeps through the soil unused and is wasted. Regular light

watering under mulch keeps the humus layer moist where the plants readily absorb water

and nutrients.

Irregular deep soaking is the only way overhead sprinklers are effective as it takes too long

for the water to seep through the soil surface. Most of the water remains in the first 5-10cm

of the soil where it is evaporated before getting to the plants roots.

Drip irrigation under mulch can be run anytime of the day without increasing water

evaporation. If youre using above ground irrigation (drip not covered by mulch included),

you can reduce evaporation by making sure all stations finish at least 1 hour before

sunrise preferably 2.



5. Hoe Weeds Hand pulling weeds is time consuming.

If youve mulched your gardens with

course wood mulch like we

recommend, then just skip this section

all together because youll have so few

weeds, youll be able to hand pull

them in 5 minutes or less each month!

But if you havent mulched yet, or

continue to use black mulch then this

tip will save you some time. Weeds can

be stubborn and once they get a hold,

they can quickly take over a garden.

Our tool of choice for the war on weeds is a Dutch hoe. With it we can weed 10x faster than

by hand. It works by sliding underneath the weed, and cutting through the root just below

the regrowth point completely disabling it from regrowing again. After the weeds have

been hoed its a simple matter of raking them off of the soil. Young weeds can be left in the

soil as they wont regrow once disturbed.

The hoe causes minimal disturbance to the soil, which reduces the germination of new

weeds. It also skims the soil so lightly that it doesnt affect any of the plants we want to

keep.

Mitchs 7 Guaranteed Steps to a Weed-Free Garden

1. Keep gardens mulched to 5-10cm. This one step is 90% of the solution

2. Drip irrigate instead of above ground sprayers

3. Water only around the plants drip line not the whole garden bed

4. Avoid disturbing garden beds too deeply, hoeing is ok but digging soil stimulates

weeds to germinate

5. Fix the excesses and deficiencies in your soil. Most persistent weeds are actually

solving a nutrient imbalance, once this is corrected they disappear

6. Know which weeds need chemical treatment and treat them regularly (couch, nut,

onion grasses, oxalis (often mistaken for clover)

7. Plant groundcovers in between shrubs to reduce mulching. Ground covers are a

green living mulch and suppress weeds very well



6. Use Hand Hedgers We know they are old fashioned, but I cant

recommend anything more. Powered hedge

trimmers almost always leave jiggered,

messy cuts that weaken the plant and open

it up to pests and diseases.

The strong vibration transferred to the

plants from powered trimmers effects the

cells ability to move and use water and

nutrients. Plants are the factories of nature,

the take in CO2 and nutrients and release

oxygen and water.

When we trim them using something that vibrates violently we disrupt and destroy the cell

structure, and the plants ability to cycle nutrients and water efficiently. Further weakening

them to pests and diseases but also creating nutrient deficiencies and dehydration in the

leaves.

Trimming using hand shears on the other hand, leaves clean cuts that the plant can quickly

repair and theres only a gentle movement of the leaves with the cutting action no more

damaging than brushing past them with your hands. Scientists have shown that plants

hedged with hand trimmers not only are less prone to pests and diseases, but they have

better absorption of nutrients and water; and they need hedging much less often.

Keeping trimmers sharp and using the right tools is just as important. Too often gardeners

saw through branches too thick for the powered hedgers blades leaving a rough open cut,

and often several nicks up the stem. Such

traumatic wounds take a long time for the

plant to heal, which weakens it to the pests

and diseases.

Instead of sawing through thick branches,

gardeners using hand hedgers will stop and

cut the branch cleanly with secateurs or a

saw because it is much less effort to do

so.

Sharp blades make for clean cuts, and

clean cuts heal quickly something you

definitely want when youre making a lot

of them all at once, like when youre

trimming a hedge.



7. Hedging Correctly

Its one of the most common things we fix in gardens. Poorly hedged and trained plants. The

purpose of any pruning in the garden is to increase the health and appearance of the plant.

With that in mind its important to always use sharp tools, that have been sterilised and to

follow correct pruning principles.

All plants should be pruned so that the top is narrower than the base causing the sides to

slope inwards towards the top by 20-30 degrees. This is particularly important with hedges

as the foliage grows denser than normal.

Pruning this way enables light to evenly reach the foliage creating fuller and greener hedges.

Its also best practice to allow hedges to grow between cuts, we recommend 5 to 10cm.

This allows the plant to absorb nutrients through its leaves before being trimmed back,

further increasing the health and

appearance of the plant.

Hedges should be trimmed irregularly,

weve found that once every 8 weeks

for most hedges is best although some

need hedging as soon as 4 weeks.

Hedges that are allowed to go to

flower such as lavender, rosemary and

Murraya are best pruned back by 1/3

only after flowering has finished

instead of being hedged throughout

the year. Trimming too little, too often

from flowering hedges promotes

woody bases, sparse leaf growth and

few flowers.



8. Move Houseplants Outdoors in Winter Being stuck inside all year is no fun at all.

Houseplants greatly appreciate spending

some vacation time outside during cooler

weather. Over the course of the year the

pores in their leaves will have become

clogged with dust and the winter rains will

quickly refresh them. Not only by washing

their leaves, but by also providing trace

elements found in the rainwater.

Its unknown exactly which nutrients that rainwater contains, that benefit plants, but its

widely accepted that plants thrive when exposed to the occasional soaking of fresh rain.

Thats why your garden always looks the best after a rain. Towards the end of winter is also

a great time to root prune and repot houseplants, and other potted plants around your

garden.

Remember houseplants arent used to such strong sunlight, so on sunnier days move them

into more sheltered areas to keep them protected.

9. Prune Perennial Plants Correctly Too few gardeners recognise a perennial

when they see one, let alone know how to

properly maintain it.

Perennial plants come from cool temperate

regions where the ground is covered in

snow through winter, so they die down to a

few green leaves or buds during cool

months and then reshoot in spring.

When left unpruned they become woody unattractive plants that flower poorly. The best

time to prune perennials is not always in winter either. A better rule of thumb is to prune

them back 1 month after the last

flower has fallen, or when new growth

appears at the base. Prune back to the

first green leaf or bud which is usually

within 30cm of the base of the plant.

Some grasses also fall into this group

and they are best pruned back to 1/3

after they finish flowering.



10. Treat The Problem Not The Symptom Your garden is an ecosystem. Theres so

much that we cant see with our naked eye.

Pests and diseases are a symptom of a poor

environment or declining plant health. The

first step in treating any pest and disease is

to boost the health of the plants affected by

correcting nutrient imbalances in the soil.

Once the plants are on the mend, its

beneficial to knock back those nasty pests

with a little spray. Its important not to use

anything harmful here like chemical based

pesticides unless the pests are causing

irreparable damage to your plants.

By the time youve noticed the pests or

diseases on your plants, so have many other beneficial insects. And these are the good guys,

they control your pests and diseases for you ... for free!

Chemical sprays not only kill the bad bugs but the good bugs as well. Unfortunately the bad

bugs are much more resilient than the good bugs, and youll get more and more pests the

more chemicals you use because youll have fewer good guys helping you control the bad

bugs.

We recommend using Eco-oil or Eco-Neem for pests and Eco-fungicide for diseases. They

are all relatively harmless to the good bugs, and some even contain an attractant that helps

guide the good bugs to the pests.

Its often better to spray nothing at all than to use harmful chemicals but to get the best

effect use organic sprays that dont harm beneficial insects.

When your garden gets the same pests and diseases its because your plants are weak

they are missing something or have too much of something in the soil. Just treating the

symptom without solving the underlying problem, wont fix anything.

Have a soil test and analysis completed for the problem area and then follow the

recommendations to solve the problem and your garden wont be plagued by pests or

diseases again.

Click here to find out more about soil testing and analysis.

Ladybird eating aphids on a rose leaf



11. Balanced Nutrition Nutrients are nutrients. It

doesnt make a difference

to the plant whether it

gets organic nitrogen from

blood meal or chemical

nitrogen from urea. What

does make all the

difference is all the other

macro and micro nutrients

that plant needs to use that

nitrogen efficiently.

Without the correct

balance all that nitrogen

will be wasted.

Plant nutrition is deeper than N+P+K = amazing results. Plants have no means of converting

or absorbing any of the nutrients in the soil without two helpers bacteria and fungi. The

improper use of chemical or organic fertilisers can disrupt and harm the bacteria and fungi

in your soil disabling your plants from accessing the nutrients available.

Applying NPK fertilisers will give your plants everything they need to grow until a

nutrient imbalance occurs. Once the soil becomes imbalanced either through pH, a

deficiency or an excess the plant, bacteria and fungi will no longer be able to efficiently

access the nutrients.

Any further fertiliser use after this point will only exasperate the problem further. Organic

matter buffers against nutrient imbalances and enables soil microbes to thrive in a moist

nutrient rich medium. In our sandy soils we should aim for an organic matter content of 5%.

However just having good organic matter wont save you from nutrient imbalances, it will

only buffer against them.

To really keep your soil in proper balance it should be tested at least once a year and

analysed by a trained professional. Once analysed, a tailored fertilising program will be

formulated to match your gardens needs saving you from wasting your money on

nutrients your garden doesnt need and correcting any imbalances in your soil.

Having a soil test done is extremely important if you are growing any of your own food at

home. You definitely dont want to be eating food that is lacking important minerals or

worse has toxic levels of copper or zinc in it!

Click here to find out more about our soil testing and analysis service.



Bonus Tip Everyone knows you need to winter prune plants particularly roses. Here in Perth we can

often get heavy frosts through our winter months. This is why we recommend that you

prune your roses and other deciduous plants, in late winter towards the end of August.

If your garden doesnt get frost in winter, or you have some plants that are in a protected

area you can winter prune them in late July to get an early flowering in September. Pruning

in late August will delay the spring flush of flowers until Christmas time when they can be

appreciated best by guests.

If you prune too early such as in June, the plants will shoot too early usually in August, when

the frost can still damage their tender shoots. Frost damage will weaken your plants and

causing poor flowering for the whole season.

If youd like to find out more about how we can help your garden

THRIVE.

Call Mitch today on 0425 057 892

11 Top Secret Tips for Gardening in Perth

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