The easiest way to fertilize is to mix slow-release fertilizer pellets for containers into the top 7 cm of potting soil when planting; follow the package directions for exact amounts. The fertilizer pellets release nutrients all season long when temperature and moisture conditions are right.
Daily watering is a must on hot, dry days. You might also consider retaining moisture with a layer of mulch over your potting soil. (I like to use pea gravel, which looks nice and goes with the Mediterranean theme.) When planting in containers, you can also add moisture-retaining products to the potting soil such as SoilSponge (available at garden centres).
With perennials, this might take a month or so, for shrubs it could take a season, but a new tree can take a couple of seasons to become well-established.
If Mother Nature doesn't provide enough rain, get out the watering can, water wand or sprinkler and give your new plants a good drink at least once a week. This is especially important as we head into the hotter, drier months.
Early morning is the best time to cut flowers. If you can't find time to get your clippings before sunrise, sundown is the best alternative. Timing is especially important during hot weather, as flowers and stems are full of water and at their freshest in the morning.
Always use sharp bypass pruners for cutting, as scissors will crush the stems. Take a bucket of fresh cool water into the garden and plunge your treasures immediately.
Back indoors, fill a clean vase with fresh, cool water and add floral preservative, available in packets at florist shops. Or, put a few drops of bleach in the water to rid it of bacteria and microbes.
For extra staying power, strip off any leaves that will be below the water line in the vase.
And here's a bonus to cutting your own: when you cut from many annuals and those perennials that repeat bloom, you encourage more flower buds to form.
Since dull mower blades rip grass instead of cutting it, get your blades sharpened and cut high—at its 8-cm setting. Cutting too short weakens grass plants, allowing weeds to take hold and adding to drought stress. Leave clippings in place—they're natural fertilizer.
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