IT might not feel like autumn with the sun still pounding upon us, but summer is over for another year.
In the next few weeks as the weather changes, start those tasks to ensure the garden is looking its best and ready for winter.
Ash Johnson from Tim Davies Landscaping (TDL) shares his top autumn outdoor tasks.
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Turf maintenance
– Feed lawns with fertiliser higher in potassium to encourage strong healthy growth before winter
– Spray turf with pre-emergent winter grass treatments
– Raise mowing heights
Garden maintenance
– Aerate soil by turning it over with a hoe, or deeper with a garden fork and treat dry soils with wetting agents
– Trim off scale and fungal disease affected growth and clean debris from the garden to prevent pest and disease over winter
– Prepare beds for bare rooted plants such as roses and deciduous ornamentals and fruit trees
– Collar around plants and trees to prevent collar rot in the coming months
– Re-pot any pot bound plants and re-position sun loving pot plants in warm well-lit areas
– Feed all garden plants with a controlled release fertiliser, especially acid loving plants and citrus to help sweeten fruit
– Fertilise natives with a native plant food
– Trim ferns thoroughly in March to promote new growth before winter
– Give hedges a light prune and change from liquid feeding to slow release granular in areas of garden irrigated by drip-lines, which utilises early rainfall
– Reduce irrigation run times
Additional works
– Sow annuals for winter and spring
– Tidy ponds and remove pumps if required
– Prepare the ground for planting natives and roses from bare-rooted stock