Marguerite daisies can flower all year, which makes them tricky to prune, says gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON.

Marguerite daisies are easy to grow and, given the right spot where they are a little protected from the frosts, surprisingly can flower just about all year round. 

Their flower colour ranges from white to all shades of pink. Anyone trying to grow them should use small plants and let them grow to acclimatise to our conditions. It will result in a better growing plant overall. They live to five years. 

Marguerites can be hard to prune because they are either budding or flowering and, in many cases, some flowers are sacrificed by pruning and keeping the plant into a nice, rounded shape. 

Pruning keeps them from splitting at the base from the weight of the flowers.

They are one of the easiest plants to propagate; place a little twig about 10 centimetres long with a few nodes under propagating soil and stand in the shade to grow slowly over the cooler months. In spring, once there are roots, they can be planted out. 

NOW the nights are beginning to cool, there are lots of jobs in the vegetable patch to be done before the soil goes cold. 

All the seedling planting needs to be in the soil this month, fertilised and watered to get them growing fast before the first frost. 

Transplanting of broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbages can be done and placed under netting straight away to keep cabbage moths from laying eggs and destroying the crop. 

Sowing of Asian greens, corn and lettuce can still be done and in punnets in a warm overnight area. That will get them growing ready to plant into the garden when there are a few sets of leaves after the true leaves. 

Covering with a cloche will give some protection from night insects and keep the seedings warm as the night temperatures begin to drop. 

KALANCHOE, with its bell-like flowers, grows well as potted colour in our region.

It loves the heat and can be grown outdoors in the summer and brought into a glasshouse or indoors for winter protection from the frost.

One of the most interesting kalanchoes I grow is the large-leafed K. beharensis. 

If there’s not the room for the larger variety of beharensis, then look for oak leaf, which is a slow grower to a metre tall and is just as striking as its parent plant. As a succulent, it doesn’t need much water nor much care. 

SOWING sweet peas is always about this time of year, around St Patrick’s Day (March 17). Soak the seeds in hot water overnight to help with even germination. Feed with seaweed tonic to get them growing before the cold sets in. 

Over winter they will not really grow, but come spring the speed of growth is fast. 

SMALL, fallen autumn leaves can be placed on to the garden bed in a thin layer, but larger leaves need a good soaking with the hose to begin the decomposition process. 

Larger leaves will need to be broken up and placed into the compost. Once decomposed, it is ready to put on to the garden and around plants to assist in keeping the moisture in the soil and helping the microbes in the soil. 

Jottings

• Add green manure crop to fallow areas of the vegetable garden.

• Fertilise camellias and azaleas for this season’s flowers. 

• Final chance to do summer prune of stone fruit.

• Remove female asparagus plants that have berries. 

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au