What to do in your garden during December

In temperate summer-rainfall regions do the following in your garden during December:

Plant and Sow

Annuals

Sow all summer-flowering annuals like:

Vegetables

Sow vegetables like:

Garden Maintenance

Going on holiday?

• Get a friend or neighbour to mow the sidewalk. An unkempt lawn is a sign of an empty house.
• Add water-retention granules to the soil of container plants. This will increase their water-holding capacity, so a good solid watering will last a long time.
• Hydrangeas will be at their best now. Pick the mature flowers (all the small blooms in the centre of the flower head must be open) for the vase. Remove the bark from the bottom of the stems and immerse overnight in a bucket of cold water to their necks before arranging them.

General garden maintenance

• Spray apples, pears and quinces against codling moth, and peaches against fruit fly.
• Deadhead daisy bushes regularly to prolong their flowering period; remember to disbud dahlias at regular intervals.
• Keep the soil well mulched.
  Consider installing a rainwater tank. Many container-grown plants do best if watered with rainwater.
• Stake dahlias and water and fertilize them regularly.
  Mulch roses well.
• Cut back chrysanthemums.
  Deadhead roses regularly.
• Sow lawn seed.
• Water citrus trees well every three weeks and spray against citrus psylla; water other fruit trees thoroughly every second week.

For December maintenance tips on watering, pruning,
pests and disease, fertilizing and much more visit our countrywide maintenance guide.