Yates Thrive Granular Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron is a specially developed fertiliser to feed acid loving plants like camellias.
It contains extra potassium to promote lots of flowers as well as nitrogen and phosphorus to encourage healthy leaf and stem growth and a strong root system. Scatter Yates Thrive Granular Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron around the root zone of camellias after they’ve finished flowering and water in well after applying.
Camellias can be susceptible to attack from scale insects, which can appear as white, grey, black or pink bumps along stems and leaves. Ants crawling up and down stems and sooty mould (a black or dark grey ash-like covering over leaves and stems) can both indicate the presence of scale insects, as they’re attracted to the sweet honeydew that is excreted by scale.
Scale can be controlled with regular sprays of Yates Nature’s Way Pyrethrum & Oil Citrus & Ornamental Insect Gun. Ensure all stems and leaves (including the undersides) are sprayed to the point of run off and repeat every week if required. Dead scale may remain on the plant for a few weeks after spraying.
Pruning tip: if you need to prune camellias, prune just after flowering has finished. Pruning later than this can lead to reduced flowers next season.MangoesMangoes are a divine, sweet and juicy fruit that grow best in warm temperate to tropical climates, though some varieties will tolerate cooler zones in the warmest spots in New Zealand, that are protected from frost.
Mango trees are self-fertile, so don’t need another tree to produce fruit. However, mango addicts could consider growing several different varieties to extend the harvest season over several months.
Mangoes do best in moist but well-drained soil. They can be planted during spring, after any chance of frost has passed, in temperate areas. When planting a new mango tree, enrich the soil in the planting hole with some Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food and keep the new tree well-watered while it establishes.
Navel orangesNavel oranges are so named because they have what looks like a strange little belly-button on the base of the fruit. There are a few varieties of navel oranges, including Washington, Lane’s Late, Cara Cara and Navelina, and different varieties ripen during different months, predominantly in winter and spring.
Brightly-coloured Washington Navel oranges are dripping from trees during winter. They’re sweet, juicy, easy to peel and seedless and make a fantastic citrus to grow at home. Dwarf varieties of navels grow to around 1.5 m tall, so they’re easy to maintain (and you don’t need a ladder to harvest them) as well as being perfect for growing in a container.
To get the best out of homegrown navel oranges, find a sunny spot that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day with well drained soil. Navel oranges prefer growing in a temperate or sub-tropical climate, though will also handle cooler locations.
If you’re growing a navel orange in a container, choose a dwarf variety, use a pot that’s at least 40 cm in diameter and fill with good quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix.
Feeding citrus regularly is the key to promoting the best possible harvest. Citrus are very hungry plants! Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food is a complete plant food that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need.
Apply Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food every week while oranges are still on the tree and then start feeding again in early spring when new foliage and flower buds start to emerge.
Planting tip: when planting a new navel orange tree into the ground, mix some Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone into the bottom of the planting hole. This improves the quality of the soil and supplies the newly planted orange with gentle, organic nutrients as it establishes.Citrus root and collar rotProlonged wet weather or poorly-drained heavy clay soil can create ideal conditions for collar rot and root rot diseases like phytophthora stem canker. They affect the plant’s ability to absorb water and one of the first symptoms is wilting, which can be confused with drought stress.
Citrus trees are particularly susceptible, as are ornamental plants like daphne and rhododendrons.
Here are some tips to help reduce the risk of citrus stem canker:
Move mulch at least 5 cm away from around the trunk so it does not remain moist.Remove weeds and grasses close to the trunk, to help improve air flow.Trim off low branches to enable more sunshine and air to reach the trunk.In areas with clay soil, improve drainage around the root zone by incorporating a rich source of organic matter.Apply some Yates Waterwise Soil Wetter over the soil, to help moisture penetrate more effectively below the surface.Apply Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide onto stems where cankers appear, after removing any dead tissue. Reapply up to 5 times per season until natural healing has commenced. You can also mix Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide with water-based paint, and when applying this way one or two treatments per season may be all that's required.
