Now is the perfect time of year to take Frangipani cuttings
Bill has e-mailed me about growing Frangipani in north-west Victoria – and his question may be of interest to other readers.
Frangipani trees are tropical plants, and your area of Victoria is not an ideal climate for them, because minimum temperatures for most of the [...]

Recently, Anthea wrote to me about the problem of growing her Chinese Magnolia where soil is alkaline.
I was just reading your article on changing soil ph and was hoping you could give me an idea on how to fix a problem I have with my magnolia x soulangeana.
I bought the tree approx 4 years ago [...]

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for someone who enjoys gardening?
The new edition of my book, ‘Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting‘ would be an excellent choice. This book is not just about growing food – all your garden will benefit from organic cultivation. It has 500 pages packed with easy-to-follow guides and secrets on [...]

Being away, and catching up on farm work, has caused me to fall behind with my blog posts, so I am a bit slow in relaying news about my Wollemi pine.
Following a light application of worm castings as fertiliser a couple of weeks ago, my comatose Wollemi pine has demonstrated a renewed will to [...]

The recently discovered Wollemi pine was a topic of discussion on the Don Burke gardening radio program recently. This fossil conifer has been a source of considerable disappointment to many gardeners since its release. One could reasonably think that a species of tree that has survived for 200 million years, according to the accompanying care [...]

Glen, in Melbourne, wants to know the best time to transplant a well-established frangipani tree from a pot to the soil, and should he do anything to the soil. The best time to transplant Frangipani is at the end of winter, while the tree is still dormant but close to breaking dormancy. In Warm [...]

Some nurseries are advertising bare-rooted roses for sale. This is just a reminder to, if possible, avoid purchasing bare-rooted roses before the end of June, as roses that have been lifted before they are fully dormant do not usually grow well.
Potted roses can be planted as soon as they are dormant, if your area is [...]

When sowing seed directly into garden beds, or when planting out seedlings, or planting shrubs and trees, always make sure that soil in the growing area is thoroughly dampened BEFORE sowing or planting. Then, after sowing or planting, you only need to add enough water to settle soil around the seeds or roots. Soil should [...]

A lot of Australian gardens are suffering from a prolonged spell of very hot dry weather.
Garden beds that contain a moderate amount of organic matter will handle the extreme conditions better than most, as organic matter in soil keeps soil more moisture retentive, especially if mulch is also applied to the soil surface.
• Avoid watering [...]

‘Santa’ surprised me at Christmas with the gift of a potted Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis). This particular species is an ancient and rare Australian native that was recently discovered. The location of the pines has been kept secret to prevent people taking seedlings and damaging the forest. Plants available from nurseries have been reproduced by [...]