The more neglect and stress, the better the foliage colour is when it comes to growing sacred bamboo, which flowers brightly in the middle of winter, says gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON.
Sacred bamboo or heavenly bamboo (Nandina Domestica) is not a bamboo at all. It is from the Berberis family and one of the most popular garden plants in our region. I reckon they would have been grown in just about every street in Canberra at some time.
A small, evergreen shrub, it doesn’t need much water or attention and is grown for its amazing winter foliage and its winter berries.
It has been spread to the bushland by wildlife by birds attracted to the berries and now the Nandinas have found their way on the national weed list.
It’s important to give them a good prune in autumn to prevent them forming berries. Nana is a small, sterile seedless Nandina Domestica variety that could be used as a replacement, but there are many new cultivars and varieties to try for the winter garden such as Blush, Firepower or Obsession.
THERE are still plenty of jobs to do in the vegetable patch and the most important is spraying citrus trees for summer stink bugs.
They lay their eggs in the bark of the trees, in the mulch and anywhere it is warm. Horticultural oil is the best to use this time of year to break the breeding cycle of these pests and, with cooler temperatures, the oil will not burn the leaves of the plant.
Horticultural oil works by smothering insects. Commercial horticultural oil can be petroleum based, so making a homemade oil is as easy as two cups of vegetable oil and half a cup of dishwashing detergent, shaken before use.
This mixture can be used for removing scale from indoor plants or for leaf shine, but try to treat the plants outdoors where possible.
It’s also great for getting rid of aphids, mealy bugs and citrus leaf minor that are around in the summer.
White oil is also safe to use as it’s vegetable based and has lower toxicity than other oils. Apply to all parts of the leaves and bark to dripping point and leave to dry.
A GROUNDCOVER that’s looking good right now is Pachysandra terminalis. It can take a little while to get growing, but with the right conditions it’s good to cover a difficult, heavily shaded spot in no time. From the box family, it’s just as tough as its cousins. I have seen them grow well under trees and also the southern side of the house, where very little else can grow.
They are acid lovers and planting them out with azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons gives them the same growing conditions of minimal care. A good cover of compost just before the spring growing season will give them a good start as the soils warm up in October.
Jottings
- Mulch fruit trees with compost and keep them moist.
- Plant tomato seedlings in punnets and grow on the window sill.
- Turn compost, add blood and bone to help accelerate it breaking down.
- Liquid feed anything in foliage or flowers.
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