Shahnee Stockigt, Author at Life is a Garden

Top Plants for July

A list of the top plants per region, for July, to order for your garden centre

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Water Wise Watch: June

This month with Water Wise - Brought to you by Rand Water and Water Wise

What does the weather have in store for us this month?

Forecasts from the South African Weather Service show uncertain results on the direction of rainfall this winter. Higher than normal temperatures can be expected across the country for June. Cape Town has approved Level 4 water restrictions, limiting consumers to 100 litres of water per person per day. Read more here. Remember to reduce water consumption as much as possible, especially during the dry winter season. Be Water Wise!

Thank you to the Catchment Management team at Rand Water for escalating the concerns, as well as those who first reported the issue.

Gill netting in the Vaal Dam

Recently, the number of reports of illegal gill netting in the VaalDam has increased. Nets have been found containing yellowfish (Labeobarbus spp.), moggel (Labeo spp.), carp (Cyprinus spp.), and mudfish (Labeo spp.). The nets have been removed, taken back to Rand Water, and disposed of appropriately. Unlawful gill netting is a huge problem in South Africa and is monitored and policed by Environmental Management Inspectors from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).

The use of gill nets without permission is illegal, and requires a permit. If you notice any suspicious activity, please report it to: Mncedisi Mbele (Gauteng) at 011 240 3019.

What to do about scale in your garden

Symptoms

Our “gogga” of the month for June (Scale) causes yellowing plants, which eventually die. Scale can also cause the growth of sooty mould on plants.

What does this mean for me/my plants?

Scale are little critters which suck the sap from plants, leaving them with no nutrition to survive. If left untreated, the plants will eventually die off.

Suggested Action

Treat with a contact insecticide. Visit your local GCA garden centre for advice on the best insecticide for you!

Tanika (Lomandra longifolia)

Tanika Lomandra has been introduced in landscapes across South Africa recently. An evergreen improved compact fine leaf form, this low maintenance plant is perfect for landscape professionals and gardeners alike. Small yellow flowers from April to October, Tanika is also soft to touch so kids will enjoy this plant as well. Plant in full sun to moderate shade, water once a week. Feeding: 2:1:2. It’s a very drought tough and soft evergreen foliage. It’s one of the toughest, most reliable landscape plants. Looks neat and tidy in landscape and can tolerate frost. Tanika has been performing in tough landscapes. Tanika is one of the toughest, most reliable and versatile landscape plants. An evergreen, low maintenance, non-seeding plant for landscape professionals and gardeners alike. Plant in sunny to semi-shade position. (N) Registered Plant Breeders Rights.

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Floradale Nursery – Port Elizabeth
Builders Express – East London
Builders Express – Jeffreys Bay
Builders Express – Newton Park
Builders Express – Uitenhage
Builders Warehouse – Port Elizabeth

Free State Stockists:

Alma Kwekery – Welkom
Bruwer Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Builders Warehouse – Bloemfontein
Greenside Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Urth Garden Centre – Bloemfontein

Gauteng Stockists:

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Little Ruby (Alternanthera dentata)

The ruby gem for every garden, mounding ground cover with compact spreading habit. Beautiful burgundy foliage with ruby red reverse. Plants are tender to cold. Mature plant size may vary due to growing conditions and climate, ±35cm x 60cm.

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Floradale Nursery – Port Elizabeth
Builders Express – East London
Builders Express – Jeffreys Bay
Builders Express – Newton Park
Builders Express – Uitenhage
Builders Warehouse – Port Elizabeth

Free State Stockists:

Alma Kwekery – Welkom
Bruwer Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Builders Warehouse – Bloemfontein
Greenside Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Urth Garden Centre – Bloemfontein

Gauteng Stockists:

KwaZulu-Natal Stockists:

Blackwood’s Home of Gardening – Pietermaritzburg
Garden Pavilion Halls – Kingsburgh
Hingham Nursery – Durban North
Builders Express – Amanzimtoti
Builders Express – Ballito
Builders Express – Hillcrest
Builders Express – Pietermaritzburg
Builders Express – South Coast
Builders Express – Umhlanga
Builders Warehouse – Riverhorse

Limpopo Stockists:

Builders Warehouse – Polokwane

Mpumalanga Stockists:

Builders Warehouse – Emalahleni
Garden Pavilion – White River
Ninfa Tuinsentrum – Middelburg

North West Stockists:

Garden Pavilion – Geelhout
Sittig’s Nursery – Hartebeespoort

Western Cape Stockists:

Cape Garden – Joostenbergvlakte
Cape Garden – Somerset West
Cape Garden – Stellenbosch
Ludwigs Roses Winelands – Stellenbosch
Starke Ayres Garden Centre – Rosebank
Starke Ayres Garden Centre – West Coast Village
Stodels – Bellville
Stodels – Constantia
Stodels – Kenilworth
Stodels – Milnerton
Stodels – Somerset West
Tulbagh Kwekery – Tulbagh
Builders Express – Kenilworth
Builders Express – Knysna
Builders Express – Stellenbosch
Builders Express – Willowbridge
Builders Warehouse – Cape Gate
Builders Warehouse – City
Builders Warehouse – Constantiaberg
Builders Warehouse – George
Builders Warehouse – Helderberg
Builders Warehouse – Table View
Builders Warehouse – Tygerberg

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Little Rev (Dianella Revoluta)

Its compact blue-grey foliage, great architectural form and little to no maintenance required once established. Little Rev Dianella is a very hardy plant with a beautiful form, making it perfect for modern landscapes. Recent wet periods have shown it is best planted in raised or flat landscapes. Little Rev Dianella has masses of small purple flowers from October to November.

Light Requirements: Full sun to moderate shade.

Water Requirements: Water as required

Frost Resistance: Frost hardy.

Feeding: 2:1:2

Free State Stockists:

Alma Kwekery – Welkom

Bruwer Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Greenside Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Urth Garden Centre – Bloemfontein

Gauteng Stockists:

Colourful Splendour – Craighall Park
Garden Pavilion – Eckards
Garden Pavilion – Sunkist
Hecker Nursery – Boksburg
Lifestyle Home Garden – Randburg
Nicolas Plants – Northriding
Plant Paradise Garden Centre – Pretoria
Safari Tuinsentrum – Pretoria
Schaffler’s Nursery – Johannesburg

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

Garden Pavilion – White River
Ninfa Tuinsentrum – Middelburg

North West Stockists:

Geelhout Gardens
Sittig’s Nursery – Hartebeespoort

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Tree aloe (Aloe bainesii)

Also known as Aloe barberae

Africa’s tallest aloe, forming branches, with orange spikes as flowers. A beautiful, hardy, indigenous winter bloomer which thrives in full fun. Reaches a height of 15 metres

Gauteng Stockists

Lifestyle Home Garden – Randburg

Limpopo Stockists

Mpumalanga Stockists

Western Cape Stockists

Tulbagh Kwekery – Tulbagh

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Krantz aloe (Aloe arborescens)

Hardy, indigenous winter bloomer with attractive green foliage and orange spiky flowers. Enjoyed for its striking display of colour in winter and its many medicinal uses. Plant in full sun

Gauteng Stockists

Lifestyle Home Garden – Randburg

Limpopo Stockists

Mpumalanga Stockists

Western Cape Stockists

Tulbagh Kwekery – Tulbagh

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Barbeque Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Barbecue’)

Barbeque Rosemary is a “must have” evergreen for any South African garden!

It is a fast growing herb, with aromatic, spiky dark green leaves and has strong, straight stems, It is a culinary and medicinal herb that has a good flavour, making it perfect for barbeque skewers! It grows in the sun and reaches 60-90cm high. In the summertime it produces clear blue flowers. It is water-wise and can take light frost.

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Floradale Nursery – Port Elizabeth
Builders Express East London
Builders Express – Jeffreys Bay
Builders Express – Newton Park
Builders Express – Uitenhage
Builders Warehouse – Port Elizabeth

Free State Stockists:

Alma Kwekery – Welkom
Bruwer Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Builders Warehouse Bloemfontein
Greenside Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Urth Garden Centre – Bloemfontein

Gauteng Stockists:

Colourful Splendour – Craighall Park
Garden Pavilion – Eckards
Garden Pavilion – Sunkist
Plant Paradise Garden Centre – Pretoria
Schaffler’s Nursery – Johannesburg

Mpumalanga Stockists:

Garden Pavilion – White River

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Starke Ayres Garden Centre – West Coast Village
Stodels – Bellville
Stodels – Constantia
Stodels – Kenilworth
Stodels – Milnerton
Stodels – Somerset West
Builders Express – Knysna
Builders Warehouse – Cape Gate
Builders Warehouse – City
Builders Warehouse – Constantiaberg
Builders Warehouse – Table View
Builders Warehouse – Tygerberg

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Desert Rose (X Graptoveria ‘Caerulescens’)

Desert Rose is a rosette-shaped, clump-forming succulent.

It grows best in full sun to partial sun. This is a great drought and frost tolerant plant, that needs minimal water. Be sure to let the water drain and let the soil dry out before watering again.

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Floradale Nursery – Port Elizabeth
Builders Express East London
Builders Express – Jeffreys Bay
Builders Express – Newton Park
Builders Express – Uitenhage
Builders Warehouse – Port Elizabeth

Free State Stockists:

Alma Kwekery – Welkom
Bruwer Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Builders Warehouse Bloemfontein
Greenside Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Urth Garden Centre – Bloemfontein

Gauteng Stockists:

Colourful Splendour – Craighall Park
Garden Pavilion – Eckards
Garden Pavilion – Sunkist
Plant Paradise Garden Centre – Pretoria
Safari Tuinsentrum – Pretoria
Schaffler’s Nursery – Johannesburg

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

Garden Pavilion – White River

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Cape Garden – Joostenbergvlakte
Cape Garden – Somerset West
Cape Garden – Stellenbosch
Starke Ayres Garden Centre – Rosebank
Starke Ayres Garden Centre – West Coast Village
Stodels – Bellville
Stodels – Constantia
Stodels – Kenilworth
Stodels – Milnerton
Stodels – Somerset West
Builders Express – Kenilworth
Builders Express – Knysna
Builders Express – Stellenbosch
Builders Express – Willowbridge
Builders Warehouse – Cape Gate
Builders Warehouse – City
Builders Warehouse – Constantiaberg
Builders Warehouse – George
Builders Warehouse – Helderberg
Builders Warehouse – Table View
Builders Warehouse – Tygerberg

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Scotch Moss (Sagina subulata ‘Aurea’)

Scotch Moss is an evergreen perennial groundcover that forms a very low moss-like carpet of bright neon-yellow foliage. It grows 1-2cm high and spreads 15-30cm. Small white flowers begin to appear in late spring to summer.

Scotch Moss grows in the full sun to partial shade. However, more sun will keep the colour brighter. Plant in well-drained, compost enriched soil. Allow the upper layer of soil to dry out. This groundcover dislikes both drought and soggy conditions.

They are truly low maintenance plants, needing little attention.

Great to use as an edging in the garden, it looks good between rocks, plant in containers on its own or use in mixed plantings or use between paving slabs as long as the foot traffic is not too high.

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Floradale Nursery – Port Elizabeth
Builders Express East London
Builders Express – Jeffreys Bay
Builders Express – Newton Park
Builders Express – Uitenhage
Builders Warehouse – Port Elizabeth

Free State Stockists:

Alma Kwekery – Welkom
Bruwer Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Builders Warehouse Bloemfontein
Greenside Kwekery – Bloemfontein
Urth Garden Centre – Bloemfontein

Gauteng Stockists:

Colourful Splendour – Craighall Park
Garden Pavilion – Eckards
Garden Pavilion – Sunkist
Plant Paradise Garden Centre – Pretoria
Safari Tuinsentrum – Pretoria
Schaffler’s Nursery – Johannesburg

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

Garden Pavilion – White River

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Cape Garden – Joostenbergvlakte
Cape Garden – Somerset West
Cape Garden – Stellenbosch
Starke Ayres Garden Centre – Rosebank
Starke Ayres Garden Centre – West Coast Village
Stodels – Bellville
Stodels – Constantia
Stodels – Kenilworth
Stodels – Milnerton
Stodels – Somerset West
Builders Express – Kenilworth
Builders Express – Knysna
Builders Express – Stellenbosch
Builders Express – Willowbridge
Builders Warehouse – Cape Gate
Builders Warehouse – City
Builders Warehouse – Constantiaberg
Builders Warehouse – George
Builders Warehouse – Helderberg
Builders Warehouse – Table View
Builders Warehouse – Tygerberg

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Abelia Francis Mason Patio Standard

Masses of small and long lasting, white, trumpet-shaped flowers appear on the branches in summer. Hardy and ideal for growing hedges. Plant in sun to semi shade, water regularly for lush foliage and feed monthly with something like 2:1:2. Trim between spring and midsummer. Pinch off the growth points each time you walk past one, to keep it in perfect shape.

Gauteng Stockists

Colourful Splendour – Craighall Park
Hecker Nursery – Boksburg
Nicolas Plants – Northriding
Plant Paradise Garden Centre – Pretoria
Safari Tuinsentrum – Pretoria
Schaffler’s Nursery – Johannesburg

North West

Sittig’s Nursery – Hartebeespoort

**Please note that not all stockists will have every plant featured**

Vital Veggie – June: Growing Broccoli

It is hardly an exaggeration to describe broccoli as “the wonder vegetable”. It is the most nutritionally rich of all vegetables and, as everyone knows by now, a major agent in preventing different kinds of cancer and heart disease. Fresh, home grown broccoli is best because it loses more nutritional value the longer it is stored.

Broccoli contains significant amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene), calcium, folic acid, fibre and two phytochemicals. One of these phytochemicals increases the activity of a group of enzymes in our bodies that suppress cancer-causing agents. Broccoli’s high calcium content may help prevent colon cancer and its high fibre content may also contribute to colon health.

Now that you know that you can’t afford not to grow broccoli, the other piece of good news is that this vegetable is easier and quicker to grow than those other Brassicas, cabbage and cauliflower.

Soil preparation

Broccoli grows in any type of soil, but for a good crop, dig in as much compost as possible, as well as bone meal or superphosphate. It is a heavy feeder.

Sowing times

Sow seed from February (in cooler areas), March and April. Being a cool season vegetable, broccoli likes day temperatures of between 10 to 20°C. It must certainly not exceed 26°C because the plants will bolt. Growth will slow down in winter but then pick up for a spring harvest. If you are able to sow early enough you might get a first crop in autumn. Good broccoli varieties to try include: Green Sprout Calabrese (which is late maturing), Green Valiant and Premium Crop.

Sowing

You can sow seed directly into beds but seedling trays are preferable. Plant out the seedlings when they are big enough to handle – usually about four to five weeks after sowing.

Father’s Day June 2017: Spoil Dad With A Raised Veggie Box Planter

A dad is a son’s first hero and a daughter’s first love. He is the one who picks you up, brushes you off and lets you try again. It takes a special someone to be a Dad to look up to. What better way to celebrate Dad this Father’s day than by getting him outside in the sunlight with the kids?

This planter is a great way to spend Father’s Day with the kiddies, getting them to plant yummy veggies and give Dad some extra love! The planter is the perfectly simple gift to give Dad an excuse to take a break from his usual fatherly duties - like hogging the TV remote - and let his green thumbs get to work.

This is what you will need:

Some wooden planks, as follows:

10 x 54.5 cm slats,
6 x 34.5cm slats
4 x 22cm x 3.9cm square wooden batons

Hammer
Nails
Plastic sheeting
Scissors
Drainage stones
Potting mix
Seedling growing mix
Bonemeal
Vegetable seedlings (We used pak choi and baby cabbage)
Tubtrug/bucket or wheelbarrow
Optional decorative rocks

Here’s what to do:

Before buying wooden planks or cutting them yourself, remember the size of the planks very much depends on what size veggie box you would like to make. Choose seedlings that are appropriate for small-size plantings if you make a smaller sized planter box.
Start by knocking the pieces of wood together with nails. This should be done very carefully - so mom and dad please take the lead here! Leave a few spaces in the bottom for drainage. You will need three long planks at the bottom and four on both the left and the right. Three shorter planks need to go at the top and another three should be used for the bottom. Place one baton in each corner to complete the box and nail that in.

A1 Poster: Vital Veggie – Broccoli

A1 Vital Veggie poster for your garden centre

Preview

A1 Poster: Ideal for Indoors – Cymbidium

A1 Ideal for Indoors poster for your garden centre

Preview

Ideal for Indoors – June: Stunning Cymbidiums

June might be a cold and gloomy time in South Africa but it’s the highlight of the year for Cymbidium orchid lovers!

Cymbidiums symbolise virtue and morality. In Asian cultures, it is considered an honour to give or receive a Cymbidium as a gift and they are considered a gift of respect and friendship.

Cymbidiums are amongst the most popular, desirable orchids in the world and June is their ‘show time’! The exquisite, incredibly detailed flower blooms need little introduction and are available in almost any colour imaginable.

Orchid blooms are carried in mass on long flower spikes or sprays, making them ideal and striking home/patio decorations. The length of flowering varies, but typically from the time the first flower bud opens, the sprays will remain in bloom for 4 – 6 weeks, often lasting months if the plant has several flower spikes.

Cymbidiums are most commonly grown in South Africa as potted plants with the flower spikes being incredibly sought-after for floral arrangements and floral corsages.

Growing Cymbidiums:

Cymbidiums orchids grow both in the soil and on trees. Historically select varieties were produced in European chateau gardens as a hobby of the upper classes; today cymbidium orchids are most commonly grown as pot varieties.

Pot cymbidiums have long, narrow leaves. Flower spikes are produced during the cooler months (June – Sept), typically carrying six or more flowers. The older the plant, the more flower spikes and hence, the more expensive. Cymbidiums’ colour spectrum ranges through white, yellow, green, pink and red to brown.

Caring for your Cymbidium

Place the plant in a high-light spot but avoid the full heat of the sun. Ensure fresh air, but avoid drafts or cold. No extreme temperatures. Ideally the plants should be cooler at night. The plant flowers for four to six weeks.

After buying the plant, immerse it immediately.

SANA Marketing News: May 2017

Your one-stop link for news in May 2017!

Click here to read the First Marketing Newsletter for May

Click here to read the Analytics and Publicity Report for May

Colourful Winters

One of nature’s gifts to us during winter is the sweet, fragrant face of pansies and violas. These gorgeous little plants really take the bite out of winter. Bring some joy to your winter garden with these special flowers which are extremely easy to grow! Pansies have bigger faces and leaves than their cousin the viola which is also known as Heart’s Ease.

Vygies, otherwise known by their hard to spell name, mesembryanthemums, are quite possibly South Africa’s most colourful group of plants! What more could you ask for in a winter garden. Did you know that their most commonly used name which is Afrikaans in origin, ‘vygie’, means ‘small fig’? This is because its fruiting capsule resembles a small fig.

Pansies and Violas

Both pansies and violas brighten up an early spring garden with their multi-coloured faces that are delicately perfumed and edible too. The blooms offer a soft, sweet fragrance that is most noticeable in the early morning and at dusk. For those of you who want to plant pansies for their smell, choose yellow or blue blooms; they have the strongest scent.

Pansies generally have fewer blooms per plant, but make up for it with much larger flowers. Violas have small, dainty flowers, but they are very florific. Both perform well in a sunny or partially shaded position, so planting under deciduous trees in autumn is ideal. Violas are even happy in quite shady positions, so are perfect for brightening up dull areas. If we happen to experience a hot “Indian (late) summer, be sure to mulch well around your newly planted seedlings as they don’t like warm soil.

Mesembryanthemum

Technically classed as succulents, vygies are excellent for those areas that are experiencing drought or even prone to drought conditions. The best known spring-flowering vygies are Drosanthemum, Delosperma and Lampranthus species.

June in the Garden

June in your garden

Avid gardeners will tell you that their lifelong love of gardening and plants probably originated from the gift of a cool plant such as a cactus, bonsai tree, fly catcher, or a little love palm when still only a child. So, as June 16th, is officially Youth Day and a public holiday to boot, take your teenagers to the closest GCA garden centre to spend quality family time in the peaceful company of plants and flowers, rather than on the streets. While there, buy them a living gift to love and to nurture, the same way as they deserve to be loved and cared for.

Smart planting

The so-called ‘bleakness of midwinter garden’ is a total myth as lots of plants, whether indigenous or exotic, flower with abundance in the cooler months. Pretty foliage reigns supreme too as the colour spectrum of foliage plants like conifers, nandinas and leucadendrons intensify spectacularly in cool temperatures. Add the ‘wow’ factor to your garden with the following winter beauties…

Stalwart creeper: Allow Carolina Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) to trail over a smart trellis – it can become a pretty focal point for many future winters with its golden yellow flower trumpets.

A cold garden’s backbone: Conifers live long and look good all year long, but really come into their own in winter. Plant Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Gold Crest’, with a neat conical shape and bright, yellow-green foliage in winter in the garden, and fill empty pots with the compact Platycladus ‘Aurea Nana Compacta’ which will turn to a rich bronze in winter. They grow best in full sun in an area where there is good air circulation. Other hardy evergreen shrubs which look good all year round are nandinas, viburnums, camellias, hollies and elaeagnus.

Halloo aloe!: Compact aloe hybrids bred by our own aloe experts, produce wonderful winter colour and fit into even the smallest garden.

Author: Shahnee Stockigt

In this issue:

Water Wise Tip of the Month from Leslie Hoy

This month with Water Wise - Brought to you by Rand Water and Water Wise

Gill netting in the Vaal Dam

Symptoms

What does this mean for me/my plants?

Suggested Action

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Free State Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists:

KwaZulu-Natal Stockists:

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Free State Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists:

KwaZulu-Natal Stockists:

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Free State Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists:

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

North West Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists

Limpopo Stockists

Mpumalanga Stockists

Western Cape Stockists

Gauteng Stockists

Limpopo Stockists

Mpumalanga Stockists

Western Cape Stockists

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Free State Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Free State Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists:

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Eastern Cape Stockists:

Free State Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists:

Limpopo Stockists:

Mpumalanga Stockists:

North West Stockists:

Western Cape Stockists:

Gauteng Stockists

North West

Soil preparation

Sowing times

Growing Cymbidiums:

Caring for your Cymbidium