How to make the most of your winter garden

Winter colour

During winter, most plants are dormant - but there are some plants working hard, getting ready for their spring show. Bulb leaves have emerged from the soil, seedlings are making steady progress. Sweet peas are moving steadily up their supports.

Watch out for snails and slugs! They love the cooler times of year. Feed flowers regularly with a liquid fertiliser like Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed+ Plant Food.

Winter perfumes

Flower fragrance seems sharper and more intense in the winter air, too. Think of the clear sweetness of daphne perfume, the soft notes of pretty pink luculia or the spicy scent of wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox).

The nutmeg bush (Tetradenia riparia) develops winter-blooming, pale mauve plumes with a sweet scent. Its leaves, too, release a pleasantly spicy aroma when crushed.

Early sweet peas begin blooming in winter, and the perfumed spikes of jonquils and hyacinths brighten up the garden wherever appear.

Winter problems

Caterpillars may still be hanging on in warmer areas. If they’re causing unsightly damage, use Yates Success Ultra to clean them up. On citrus, applying Yates Conqueror Spraying Oil will smother scale insects and other sap-sucking insects.

Oxalis is a winter-growing weed. It's pretty, but very persistent. Spray with Yates Zero Rapid Weedkiller to knock it out. Small oxalis bulbs left behind in the soil will re-emerge, so a follow-up treatment will be needed when they pop up.

Winter planting

Winter is the ideal season to plant or transplant deciduous trees and shrubs, to allow them to get settled in before growth starts in spring. Prepare the soil in the planting area by digging in compost and place a generous handful of Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food into the base of the planting hole.