Seaweed and plant health

This week, Neutrog’s Microbiologist and R&D Manager, Dr. Uwe Stroeher gives us the rundown on seaweed and kelp, and how they affect your plants.
Seagrass is a plant that produces flowers. It has a root system and represents much of what you may see on the beach. Seagrass can be a good source of a number of nutrients, especially some of the micronutrients such as zinc and iron.
Then there is seaweed or kelp, which is an algae, not a plant. Kelp is special because it contains significant amounts of plant growth hormones.

Highcroft Garden, Harrogate

Highcroft Garden is a 2 acre garden at Harrogate in South Australia. Maureen & Chris Highet’s beautiful property, which also farms Red Angus cattle, captures the wonderful views across the ranges. After retiring 12 years ago, Maureen was disappointed when she realised she had absolutely nothing to do. At the time, Maureen had no interest whatsoever in gardening other than maintaining the lawns and shrubs. “I found myself wandering out into the front garden and doing a bit of pottering around, and you know what, I enjoyed it!” enthused Maureen. “It didn’t take long before I fell completely in love with gardening.

Plant Hormones

This week, Neutrog’s Microbiologist and R&D Manager, Dr. Uwe Stroeher delves into the science of plant hormones.

Just like animals, plants are dependent on a set of hormones to regulate how they grow. How does a plant know where to grow roots? Why do plants grow at the tips and where along a shoot do leaves come out? All of these processes are regulated by hormones.

Plants growth is essentially regulated by five major hormones that the plants themselves produce, but surprisingly, three are also produced by microbes. Even the way fruit ripens is controlled by a hormone known as ethylene, which is the only know gaseous hormone.

July in the Rose Garden – Cultural Notes

The coldest month is also the busiest in our gardens as the old is swept away and we prepare for the coming bounty that our roses will soon offer. With frosts as heavy as I have seen in our area, temperatures dropped to minus 2.7 and as a consequence the roses have largely defoliated.

Naked plants makes visualising the location of each pruning cut easier, it makes disposal of the prunings easier; it however adds to the burden of cleaning the beds of fallen leaves much more onerous.

Gardening in Karratha, WA

Bel and David Quinn live in Karratha, Western Australia. Karratha is situated high on the WA coast and has a semi-arid climate – not quite reaching the classification of desert. Temperatures are warm to hot year-round, with winter minimums being in the high 20’s and summer maximums reaching the high 40’s. Rainfall is also low, which means a tough climate for growing, but not tough enough to beat Bel and David.

Garden project in Rutherglen

Joy & Ray Nolan made the tree change from Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne to Rutherglen 6 years ago. Joy & Ray had had many wonderful family holidays along the Murray and when it became time to consider making the move, Rutherglen was on their list. What a great decision it has been for them too. Nothing is too far away and they’re living in a vibrant country town.

Joy describes their home as being on a “battle-axe” of a 1 ¼ acre block. Built in 1994, some of the original owner’s garden plantings were evident, although the overall impression was of a neglected garden. However, they could see the potential for an impressive display. There were 12 very neglected roses in the driveway roundabout with the plan being to save them. The removal van put paid to that and squashed five of them! Today though, there are 18 roses in the roundabout.

Snapdragons

Snapdragons are often thought of as old-fashioned flowers, evoking childhood memories of a grandparents’ garden. The snapdragon gets its common name from its flower shape, which (if you use a little imagination) resembles a dragon’s head, and its mouth opens and closes when you squeeze it. Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are short-lived perennial plants that survive well in cold seasons but are often replanted each spring, and are therefore considered annuals. They do best in full or partial sun in well composted, well-drained soil, since their roots are susceptible to rotting (although they do require regular watering).

Productive Pastures Key for Sustainable Grazing

‘Loddon Lea’, the farm of Rick and Helen Lovel, is located at Eddington in Central Victoria and has been carefully developed to maximise the year-round grazing for their Black Angus cattle herd.

Caring for your Chrysanthemums

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to have been given a bunch or pot of Chrysanthemums, you’ll know how colourful and beautiful they are. Available in a huge variety, there are a few secrets to caring for your Chrysanthemums which will help to maximise their stunning blooms.

The Uni Rose Garden – Hobart

Heather Huxley has spent many years in the horticultural field, and in March 2019 was successful in obtaining the role of Program Officer Parks & Reserves with the City of Hobart, which encompasses the care of 148 parks and gardens in the metropolitan area.

The Uni Rose Garden is one of the main gardens under Heather’s care, and is located on a main entrance into the Hobart CBD. The garden features almost 700 roses with around 40 varieties. “Most of the roses were quite old and well past their prime” said Heather. “Given the condition of the roses, I made the decision to get tough – either they had to improve or we’d make the decision to remove them.”

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