Happy Hibiscus Have Arrived?

Dear gardening friends
I just had a happy lady buy two “Jazzberry” Supertunias, and I noticed she was wearing a purple shirt. I was wondering if she was a “Purple person”. I’ve had them before, they only buy purple plants and wear purple clothes. Don’t knock it till you try it.

It turns out Denise is wearing her Camden View Club purple shirt, she’s in the Evening View Club, and they always do a morning walk on Wednesday, at 8am, along the River in Camden.

Then they all meet for coffee at The Grove Retirement village Cafe. It’s all about meeting people and having fun.

I’ve given talks to this club and the ladies are just a little bit wild, they are all doers. Denise has been in the Evening View Club for 25 years. They meet on the last Monday of every month, at The Camden Valley Inn. It’s a great group if you’re looking for friends.

Denise works at Clarke Rubber here in Campbelltown, she’s been working there more than 20 years. They helped me find a more comfortable bed for my Caravan.

Denise is going to grow her Supertunia “Jazzberry” in her garden. They will give her Christmas Colour so quickly, because they grow so fast. I love this colour Purple. I just might be joining the Purple Club.

There’s a shortage of Hibiscus in the nursery industry. Gardeners who have come from tropical countries love these colourful shrubs, so demand for them has tripled. You’ve probably noticed that Bougainvilleas, are in short supply too.

Luckily we’ve found a couple of growers who are still growing Hibiscus and Bougainvilleas, so we have stock here today. But they won’t last long.

If you own a Hibiscus shrub, you’ll get more flowers this summer, if you prune it now and fertilise around the base with Tim’s Cow manure. Hibiscus flower from new growth, so the more new growth you have, the more flowers you get.

Sadly gardeners just don’t get around to pruning them, so they get taller and taller, with bare stems, and hardly any leaves or flowers.

If you have an over grown Hibiscus, prune it back hard now, by 50%. Mulch with Tim’s Cow manure and increase your watering time, and you’ll be rewarded with more flowers!!!!!

If you’re planting Hibiscus improve your soil with Tim’s Best Potting mix. Dig a bag into your soil, to improve drainage and fertility. Your new shrub will double in size within weeks, and flowers will soon follow.

Hibiscus love warm spots in your garden. They can be grown in large pots, they love lots of water. Prune them every spring so they stay compact and bushy. If they grow tall you don’t see the flowers.

We have your favourite colours here now. Yes we have yellow and orange and all the bright colours.
Zoom zoom.

Just called into Jimmy’s place in Ingleburn. He’s having fabulous success growing colour in his garden but as the weather gets hotter it gets harder to keep plants alive. I’ve just treated his pots and gardens with Wettasoil.

Jimmy’s gardens and pots are under his eaves so when it rains they don’t get wet. Gardens that don’t get wet when it rains are more likely to become hydrophobic. The soil becomes so dry over time it actually repels water.

Wettasoil removes the oily barrier and allows this dry soil to accept water again. It’s magical. I simply added 15mls in a 9 litre watering can then treated 4m2 of garden. I watered Jimmy’s pots too. Now the plants growing here will grow so much better, more water means more new growth and even more flowers.

Jimmy is so happy with his garden. He’s planted flowers in gardens that have been empty for years. See comments for more photos.

Jimmy turns 92 in January and he’s still gardening.
He really only became a real gardener recently. He’s just had so much success since he filled up his gardens with Tim’s Best Potting mix. Everything’s growing, and that’s made him plant even more flowers.

My Brachychiton “Jerilderie Red” is flowering in Mawson Park. It’s a beautiful native tree that was found growing in Jerilderie Primary School. It can only be grown by grafting it, so every tree descends back to that original tree.

It grows about 8ms high by 4ms wide. It’s an evergreen tree with this lush green foliage. They are incredibly drought hardy. It’s a chance cross between an Illawarra Flame tree and a Kurrajong tree.

We graft them here at the nursery. It’s such a beautiful thing to grow a tree. I’m very proud of this one.

Blueberries are in short supply, I’ve had to search Australia to find these. We have two varieties, nice plants from $21.99.
Happy gardening
Tim