Care guides › Melbourne › January
January in the Melbourne garden
Mid summer in Melbourne. Cool temperate: frosty winters and warm, dry summers. Here is what needs doing this month, with the essentials first.
- What to plant 2
- What to harvest 32
- Feeding 2
- Pruning and deadheading 23
- Watering 21
- Pests and diseases to watch for 15
- Frost and weather 2
- Tidying up 9
What to plant in January
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Carrot
Sow seed direct every few weeks
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Leek
Plant seedlings deep to blanch the stems
What to harvest in January
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Tomato
Pick as fruit colours; it finishes ripening indoors
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Carrot
Pull from about 12 weeks after sowing
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Cucumber
Pick young and often
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Capsicum
Pick green, or leave to colour fully
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Zucchini
Pick at 15-20 cm, every few days
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Runner Bean
Pick pods young and often
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Onion
Lift once the tops fall over and yellow
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Potato
Dig once the tops die back
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Sweetcorn
Pick when silks brown and kernels squirt milky juice
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Eggplant
Pick while the skin is still glossy
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Plum Tree
Pick when soft at the stalk end
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Fig Tree
Pick when soft and drooping on the stalk
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Blueberry Bush
Pick berries a few days after they turn blue
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Raspberry Cane
Pick every couple of days
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Blackcurrant Bush
Pick whole strings once all the berries are black
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Gooseberry Bush
Pick when the berries soften
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Basil
Pick often; take the lot before the first frost
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Strawberry
Pick fully red fruit every day or two
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Rhubarb
Pull (do not cut) the stalks; never eat the leaves
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Silverbeet
Pick outer leaves as needed
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Warrigal Greens
Pick the soft tips often; blanch before eating
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Lemon Myrtle
Pick leaves as you need them; they dry well
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Rosemary If you have time
Snip sprigs as needed; it keeps it bushy
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Thyme If you have time
Snip sprigs as needed
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Mint If you have time
Pick often to keep it leafy
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Sage If you have time
Pick leaves as needed; best before it flowers
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Chives If you have time
Snip leaves to 5 cm; the flowers are edible too
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Parsley If you have time
Pick outer stems first
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Dill If you have time
Pick fronds, then seed heads as they brown
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Fennel If you have time
Pick fronds as needed
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Oregano If you have time
Pick sprigs; dry a bunch before it flowers
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Lemon Verbena If you have time
Pick leaves for tea as needed
Feeding
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Summer vegetables If you have time
Liquid feed every 2 weeks while cropping
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Annual flowers If you have time
Liquid feed every 2-3 weeks while flowering
Pruning and deadheading
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Lavender
Cut off spent flower stems and a little foliage; not into bare wood
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Cherry Tree
Prune after harvest in dry weather (winter cuts invite silver leaf)
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Wisteria
Summer prune: cut whippy new shoots back to 5-6 leaves
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Boston Ivy
Trim back from gutters, windows and the roof
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Agapanthus
Cut off spent flower heads before they seed: it is weedy
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Tomato If you have time
Pinch out side shoots and tie the stem to its stake
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Bidens If you have time
Shear back by a third in midsummer to refresh it
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Catmint If you have time
Shear back after the first flush for a second
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Lemon Myrtle If you have time
Prune after flowering to keep it bushy and in reach
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Dahlia, Marigold and Cosmos If you have time
Deadhead to keep flowers coming
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Rose If you have time
Cut spent blooms back to a leaf to keep flowers coming
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Echinacea If you have time
Deadhead, or leave late heads for the birds
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Geranium If you have time
Snap off spent flower heads
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Basil If you have time
Pinch out flower spikes to keep leaves coming
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Butterfly Bush If you have time
Cut off spent flower spikes
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Brachyscome If you have time
Shear off spent flowers for more
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Yellow Buttons If you have time
Snip off spent flower heads
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Salvia If you have time
Cut spent spikes back to the next buds
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Day Lily If you have time
Snap off spent flowers
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Rudbeckia If you have time
Deadhead for more flowers, or leave heads for birds
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Paper Daisy If you have time
Snip spent flowers for more
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Billy Buttons If you have time
Cut spent stems at the base
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Native Bluebell If you have time
Cut spent stems back to the leafy base
Watering
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Natives
Established plants: only in a heatwave or after 3 weeks without rain, then a deep soak
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Shrubs and perennials
Deep soak weekly in dry spells
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Azaleas, camellias and other acid-lovers
Shallow roots: deep soak weekly in dry spells
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Citrus
Deep soak weekly, more while fruit is setting
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Fruit
Deep soak weekly in dry spells, more as fruit swells
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Summer vegetables
Deep water 2-3 times a week; uneven watering splits fruit
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Herbs and annual flowers
Water when the top few cm are dry
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Red Flowering Gum and Red Flowering Gum (Dwarf)
Young trees: deep soak weekly in summer for the first two years
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Hydrangea
Thirsty: water deeply in heat, it wilts first
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Japanese Maple
Keep moist and shelter from hot wind: the leaves scorch
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Tree Fern
Water down the top of the trunk into the crown, daily in heat
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Daphne If you have time
Keep just moist: it hates both wet feet and drying out
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Smoke Bush If you have time
Water deeply in dry spells while young
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Kidney Weed If you have time
Water in dry spells or it browns off
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Blue Stars If you have time
Keep it moist in summer; it likes damp spots
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Hop Goodenia If you have time
Water in long dry spells; it likes moist ground
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Adenanthos If you have time
Water in long dry spells, but never overwater
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Boronia If you have time
Keep the roots cool and moist; mulch well
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Rock Orchid If you have time
Water weekly in summer; keep almost dry in winter
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Christmas Bells If you have time
Keep it moist while it flowers
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Native Violet If you have time
Water in dry spells
Pests and diseases to watch for
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Bottlebrush, Weeping Bottlebrush, Bottlebrush Slim and Melaleuca If you have time
Sawfly larvae can strip leaves: snip off the clusters
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Tomato, Capsicum and Eggplant If you have time
Fruit fly: check fruit for stings and set traps
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Grevillea, Grevillea Moonlight and Grevillea Strawberry Smoothie If you have time
Check stems for scale; wipe off or use horticultural oil
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Cucumber and Zucchini If you have time
Powdery mildew: water the soil, not the leaves
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Apple Tree and Pear Tree If you have time
Codling moth: set traps, and pick and bin fruit with entry holes
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Pittosporum and Bay Laurel If you have time
Scale and sooty mould: wipe scale off, or spray horticultural oil
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Rose If you have time
Black spot and aphids: bin spotted leaves; hose or squash aphids
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Mint If you have time
Mint rust: cut off spotted stems and bin them
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Viburnum If you have time
Thrips silver the leaves in summer; hose the undersides
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Crepe Myrtle If you have time
Powdery mildew: water the soil, not the leaves; prune for airflow
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Ornamental Cherry If you have time
Pear and cherry slug: hose off or dust with wood ash
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Wattle If you have time
Borers: if you see sawdust, cut the branch back below the hole
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Clivia If you have time
Lily borer: check for chewed leaves and pick off caterpillars
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Lilly Pilly If you have time
Psyllids pimple new leaves: cut off affected growth
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Finger Lime If you have time
Citrus leafminer: cut off silvery curled new leaves
Frost and weather
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Fig Tree, Blueberry Bush, Raspberry Cane and Grape Vine If you have time
Net against birds as the fruit ripens
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Magnolia If you have time
Mulch over the shallow roots to keep them cool; do not dig near it
Tidying up
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Kangaroo Paw
Cut spent flower stems right down to the base
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Allium If you have time
Let leaves die down before cutting
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Silver Falls If you have time
Trim runners to keep it tidy
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Iris If you have time
Divide crowded clumps after flowering
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Watsonia If you have time
Cut spent flower spikes to the base
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Artichoke If you have time
Cut spent stems to the ground
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Bulbine Lily If you have time
Cut off dead leaves as it goes dormant
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Morning Iris If you have time
Cut spent flower stems at the base
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Lemon-scented Gum If you have time
Clear shed bark and fallen twigs
Not listed: Lime Tree, Sturt's Desert Pea, Cooktown Orchid, Illawarra Flame Tree and Tuckeroo, which don't suit Melbourne's climate.