Monthly Checklist
Plant Now
Tend To
Essentials
Plant Now
Veggies, citrus, passionfruit, subtropical fruit, roses, trees and shrubs, flowers and perennials.
Tend To
Watering, feeding, mulching, protecting, spraying, and harvesting.
Essentials
Kings Fast Food, Living Earth More than Mulch, Kings Rose Food, and Yates Weed N Feed.
Plant Now
Veggies, citrus, passionfruit, subtropical fruit, roses, trees and shrubs, flowers and perennials.
Veggies
- Plant large-grade tomatoes, capsicums, chillies and eggplants in pots and in the garden now for an instant, delicious and productive harvest.
- Get summer seedlings in the ground this month for a delicious late-summer harvest of lettuce, courgettes, cucumbers, squash and melons.
- Stagger your planting so that you can harvest over a longer period: tomatoes, courgettes, chillies, beans, peppers, and basil can go into the garden.
- Lettuce, coriander and parsley should be planted in part shade, and watered regularly, to help prevent bolting (going to seed).
Fruit Trees
- Plant citrus right through summer, making sure you keep them well watered. Add instant zest to your summer by planting a large-grade Meyer lemon that is already flowering.
- Passionfruit is a must for every Auckland garden! Choose a warm sunny fence to plant up against. As it grows, prune it occasionally to increase airflow and reduce the chance of disease.
- Plant subtropical fruit, such as natal plums, pawpaws, guavas and tamarillos. For best results add compost and sheep pellets when planting and keep well-watered.
Trees and Shrubs
- Roses are now in bloom and looking stunning. Keep them well watered, especially while they are getting established after planting. Watering deeply less often is more effective than a light watering daily. Feed while they are in bloom.
- Craft your own tropical oasis. Choose a semishaded spot for bromeliads, ferns, palms, ligularia, and gardenia.
- Plant hydrangeas into partly shaded areas in your garden, under trees or on the south side of a fence or structure.
Flowers and Perennials
- We’ve got a great range of instant colour for any home, whether you’re tidying up in the garden or planting hanging baskets on the balcony. There are loads to choose from, including asters, alyssum, petunias, dianthus, dahlias, salvia, zinnias, snapdragons and verbenas.
- Check out some of our long-lasting flowering perennials, including nemesia, petunias, geraniums, alstroemeria, calibrachoa, lavender, verbena and bacopa. Great in mass plantings or as part of a cottage garden.
- Annual chrysanthemums and feverfew will selfseed, add these to flower beds and enjoy them as they come to life each year.
Tend To
Watering, feeding, mulching, protecting, spraying, and harvesting.
Veggies
- Water, feed, mulch and stay on top of the weeds before they take over.
- Feed your plants regularly with Kings Fast Food to keep them happy and healthy.
- When watering tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers, avoid wetting the foliage to reduce the chance of disease.
- Tomato plants LOVE their food. Feed them every two weeks with a potassium-rich liquid feed like Kings Tomato Food.
- Treat your veggie garden to Kings Sheep Pellets - the perfect organic snack. Dissolve a handful in water before pouring around your normal crops every three weeks.
Fruit Trees
- Protect developing fruit from birds by carefully netting your trees and plants.
- Deeply water newly planted trees (regularly) every 1–2 weeks and mulch them generously with Living Earth More Than Mulch.
- Sprinkle Kings Slow-Release Citrus Food around the base of your potted fruit trees, including lemons, limes, mandarins, feijoas, figs and even olive trees.
Lawn
- Continue to keep your lawn looking lush by feeding and getting rid of weeds the easy way with spray on Yates Weed ‘n’ Feed.
Harvest
- December is berry time! Harvest succulent strawberries, tangy red and black currants, raspberries, blueberries and early blackberries.
- It’s also harvest time for Maori potatoes, tea leaves, eggplants and early tomatoes.
Indoor Plants
- Encourage new growth from hibernating nodes with cloning paste. Use on monsteras, philodendrons, hoyas, epipremnum and other vining and climbing plants.
- With rising temperatures, your houseplants will need more water. Test the soil’s moisture with your finger to see if it needs a deep drink or a light trickle. If the soil feels dry a few centimetres below the surface, it's time for a deep watering.
General Tasks
- With rising temperatures, your houseplants will need more water. Test the soil’s moisture with your finger to see if it needs a deep drink or a light trickle. If the soil feels dry a few centimetres below the surface, it's time for a deep watering.
- Tackle those pesky weeds before they seed and spread throughout the garden! Pull out small ones by hand, or spray with organic weed killer if they are still young.