Pretoria - Feb 2021

Indoor plant of the month
Roses are always a winner during Valentine’s Month, and for
long-lasting blooms, pot roses are the best. Choose one with a good
selection of buds in addition to the open flowers. There are so many
colours that it is easy to give your loved one their favourite. And let’s
face it, there is nothing more appealing than a perfect rose bloom
in miniature. Pot roses can be displayed in any position that receives
bright light, indoors or on the patio. Remember roses love water,
so keep the soil moist. After flowering, take the pot outdoors and
cut back the stems to 5cm above the ground. As soon as it shoots,
fertilise with a liquid feed and after two months it will flower again.
It can then be taken back indoors, kept as an outdoor pot rose, or
planted in the soil where it will receive at least six hours of sun a day.
Details: lvgplant.co.za
Veggie of the month
For those who like it hot, the range of table-top
dwarf pot peppers grow happily indoors, producing
mild to hot chillies. The compact plants (15 to 35cm
tall) bear fruit in the pot and can be harvested when
needed. Grown indoors they need bright light
and medium watering; let the soil almost dry out
before watering again. For good fruit production,
apply a liquid fertiliser at half strength every two
weeks. Plants can remain in the pot (both indoors
or outdoors) or transplanted into the garden, where
they need morning sun and afternoon shade. The
names say it all: hot burrito (Red), hot carrot (yellow),
hot fajita (red), macho (red), cosmo (purple) and the
ever-popular jalapeño. Details: ballstraathof.co.za
Garden tasks for February
Help plants to survive the heat by watering regularly and
mulching beds to keep the soil cool. • Summer annuals looking
tired? Replace them with heat-hardy marigolds, zinnia, salvia,
and portulaca. • Cut back pelargoniums and trim ivy leaf
varieties that have become untidy. • Water the lawn regularly
and in very hot weather set the mower so that the grass is
higher to shade the roots. • Delay fertilising until the end of
February or early March when it is cooler. • Vegetables that
get midday and afternoon sun can be protected with a 20 or
40 per cent shade cloth. This also helps to save water because
they do not need watering as much. • Keep pests under control
with an organic insecticide like Ludwig’s Insect Spray or
Margaret Roberts Organic Insect Spray. • Keep your birdbaths
filled with fresh water for the birds and butterflies.
Text: ALICE COTZEE
February 21 Get It Magazine 25