Fragrant flowers for Valentine’s Day

Here are our top Valentine’s suggestions:

• Bunches of roses are super traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, so a potted rose is an obvious suggestion. You can even choose a rose that has an appropriate name, eg. ‘Best Friend’, but don’t be too constrained by this. Colour, size and fragrance are the most important for a rose you'll be enjoying every year.
• Gardenias produce masses of fragrant white blooms through summer. They enjoy warm conditions and seem happiest in morning sun, with some protection from the hottest part of the day. Cut back hard in late winter and feed regularly with a slow release fertiliser such as Yates Thrive Rose & Flower Granular Plant Food.
• Star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, is a moderately vigorous climber that can be easily clipped and trained into a lollipop standard.
• Frangipani is suited to warmer areas and there are now some exotically-coloured reds, oranges and combination colours available.
• Lavenders are well suited to cooler climates. Keep them in good health by cutting back lightly after flower flushes to promote new growth. In acid soil areas, give a sprinkling of Yates Thrive Natural Garden Lime once a year.
• Don’t forget citrus, too. With their scented leaves and perfumed blossoms, they’re some of the world’s top fragrance plants. An avid foodie might appreciate a Makrut lime, with leaves that add flavour to Asian dishes.
• Rosemary, the herb of remembrance, makes an ideal Valentine’s gift. Attach a card explaining the long history of this pungently fragrant herb and the full significance of your gift will be explained.
  
  If your Valentine’s gardening skills are a bit limited, don’t gift them a high-maintenance plant that could overwhelm them. You can include some instructions on growing the plant (the Yates Garden Guide would be a good place to start) and the basics of fertiliser and plant protection. A bottle of plant food such as Yates Thrive All Purpose Liquid Plant Food and Yates Rose Gun Spray for ornamental pest and disease control would make up a basic care kit suitable for even the least experienced gardener.

Here’s how to keep your potted Valentines’ Day rose looking fabulous:

• Feed potted roses with a specific rose fertiliser like Yates Thrive Rose & Flower Granular Plant Food. It contains the right blend of nutrients to promote healthy green leaf growth and lots of gorgeous blooms.  
• Trim off spent flowers regularly, to keep the rose looking tidy and encourage more flowers to develop.
• Potted roses can dry out rapidly in hot summer weather, so make sure to water them regularly.
• Watch out for pests and diseases, like aphids and black spot, which can ruin both leaves and flowers. Yates Rose Gun Spray will control the most common pests and diseases on roses, so you don’t need to be a rose expert to protect them!
• Gift idea: team your potted rose with a beautiful pot and some Yates Premium Potting Mix to give the rose the best possible start.