Care guides › Perth › January
January in the Perth garden
Mid summer in Perth. Mediterranean: wet winters, long hot dry summers and sandy soil. Here is what needs doing this month, with the essentials first.
- What to harvest 32
- Feeding 2
- Pruning and deadheading 21
- Watering 18
- Pests and diseases to watch for 15
- Frost and weather 2
- Tidying up 9
What to harvest in January
-
Tomato
Pick as fruit colours; it finishes ripening indoors
-
Carrot
Pull from about 12 weeks after sowing
-
Cucumber
Pick young and often
-
Capsicum
Pick green, or leave to colour fully
-
Zucchini
Pick at 15-20 cm, every few days
-
Runner Bean
Pick pods young and often
-
Onion
Lift once the tops fall over and yellow
-
Potato
Dig once the tops die back
-
Sweetcorn
Pick when silks brown and kernels squirt milky juice
-
Eggplant
Pick while the skin is still glossy
-
Plum Tree
Pick when soft at the stalk end
-
Fig Tree
Pick when soft and drooping on the stalk
-
Blueberry Bush
Pick berries a few days after they turn blue
-
Raspberry Cane
Pick every couple of days
-
Blackcurrant Bush
Pick whole strings once all the berries are black
-
Gooseberry Bush
Pick when the berries soften
-
Basil
Pick often; take the lot before winter
-
Strawberry
Pick fully red fruit every day or two
-
Rhubarb
Pull (do not cut) the stalks; never eat the leaves
-
Silverbeet
Pick outer leaves as needed
-
Warrigal Greens
Pick the soft tips often; blanch before eating
-
Lemon Myrtle
Pick leaves as you need them; they dry well
-
Rosemary If you have time
Snip sprigs as needed; it keeps it bushy
-
Thyme If you have time
Snip sprigs as needed
-
Mint If you have time
Pick often to keep it leafy
-
Sage If you have time
Pick leaves as needed; best before it flowers
-
Chives If you have time
Snip leaves to 5 cm; the flowers are edible too
-
Parsley If you have time
Pick outer stems first
-
Dill If you have time
Pick fronds, then seed heads as they brown
-
Fennel If you have time
Pick fronds as needed
-
Oregano If you have time
Pick sprigs; dry a bunch before it flowers
-
Lemon Verbena If you have time
Pick leaves for tea as needed
Feeding
-
Summer vegetables If you have time
Liquid feed every 2 weeks while cropping
-
Annual flowers If you have time
Liquid feed every 2-3 weeks while flowering
Pruning and deadheading
-
Lavender
Cut off spent flower stems and a little foliage; not into bare wood
-
Cherry Tree
Prune after harvest in dry weather (winter cuts invite silver leaf)
-
Wisteria
Summer prune: cut whippy new shoots back to 5-6 leaves
-
Boston Ivy
Trim back from gutters, windows and the roof
-
Agapanthus
Cut off spent flower heads before they seed: it is weedy
-
Catmint If you have time
Shear back after the first flush for a second
-
Lemon Myrtle If you have time
Prune after flowering to keep it bushy and in reach
-
Dahlia, Marigold and Cosmos If you have time
Deadhead to keep flowers coming
-
Rose If you have time
Cut spent blooms back to a leaf to keep flowers coming
-
Echinacea If you have time
Deadhead, or leave late heads for the birds
-
Geranium If you have time
Snap off spent flower heads
-
Basil If you have time
Pinch out flower spikes to keep leaves coming
-
Butterfly Bush If you have time
Cut off spent flower spikes
-
Brachyscome If you have time
Shear off spent flowers for more
-
Yellow Buttons If you have time
Snip off spent flower heads
-
Salvia If you have time
Cut spent spikes back to the next buds
-
Day Lily If you have time
Snap off spent flowers
-
Rudbeckia If you have time
Deadhead for more flowers, or leave heads for birds
-
Paper Daisy If you have time
Snip spent flowers for more
-
Billy Buttons If you have time
Cut spent stems at the base
-
Native Bluebell If you have time
Cut spent stems back to the leafy base
Watering
-
Natives
Established plants: only in a heatwave or after 3 weeks without rain, then a deep soak
-
Shrubs and perennials
Deep soak weekly in dry spells
-
Azaleas, camellias and other acid-lovers
Shallow roots: deep soak weekly in dry spells
-
Citrus
Deep soak weekly, more while fruit is setting
-
Fruit
Deep soak weekly in dry spells, more as fruit swells
-
Summer vegetables
Deep water 2-3 times a week; uneven watering splits fruit
-
Herbs and annual flowers
Water when the top few cm are dry
-
Red Flowering Gum and Red Flowering Gum (Dwarf)
Young trees: deep soak weekly in summer for the first two years
-
Hydrangea
Thirsty: water deeply in heat, it wilts first
-
Japanese Maple
Keep moist and shelter from hot wind: the leaves scorch
-
Daphne If you have time
Keep just moist: it hates both wet feet and drying out
-
Smoke Bush If you have time
Water deeply in dry spells while young
-
Kidney Weed If you have time
Water in dry spells or it browns off
-
Blue Stars If you have time
Keep it moist in summer; it likes damp spots
-
Hop Goodenia If you have time
Water in long dry spells; it likes moist ground
-
Adenanthos If you have time
Water in long dry spells, but never overwater
-
Sturt's Desert Pea If you have time
Water sparingly at the edges, never over the crown
-
Boronia If you have time
Keep the roots cool and moist; mulch well
Pests and diseases to watch for
-
Bottlebrush, Weeping Bottlebrush, Bottlebrush Slim and Melaleuca If you have time
Sawfly larvae can strip leaves: snip off the clusters
-
Tomato, Capsicum and Eggplant If you have time
Fruit fly: check fruit for stings and set traps
-
Grevillea, Grevillea Moonlight and Grevillea Strawberry Smoothie If you have time
Check stems for scale; wipe off or use horticultural oil
-
Cucumber and Zucchini If you have time
Powdery mildew: water the soil, not the leaves
-
Apple Tree and Pear Tree If you have time
Codling moth: set traps, and pick and bin fruit with entry holes
-
Pittosporum and Bay Laurel If you have time
Scale and sooty mould: wipe scale off, or spray horticultural oil
-
Rose If you have time
Black spot and aphids: bin spotted leaves; hose or squash aphids
-
Mint If you have time
Mint rust: cut off spotted stems and bin them
-
Viburnum If you have time
Thrips silver the leaves in summer; hose the undersides
-
Crepe Myrtle If you have time
Powdery mildew: water the soil, not the leaves; prune for airflow
-
Ornamental Cherry If you have time
Pear and cherry slug: hose off or dust with wood ash
-
Wattle If you have time
Borers: if you see sawdust, cut the branch back below the hole
-
Clivia If you have time
Lily borer: check for chewed leaves and pick off caterpillars
-
Lilly Pilly If you have time
Psyllids pimple new leaves: cut off affected growth
-
Finger Lime If you have time
Citrus leafminer: cut off silvery curled new leaves
Frost and weather
-
Fig Tree, Blueberry Bush, Raspberry Cane and Grape Vine If you have time
Net against birds as the fruit ripens
-
Magnolia If you have time
Mulch over the shallow roots to keep them cool; do not dig near it
Tidying up
-
Kangaroo Paw
Cut spent flower stems right down to the base
-
Allium If you have time
Let leaves die down before cutting
-
Silver Falls If you have time
Trim runners to keep it tidy
-
Iris If you have time
Divide crowded clumps after flowering
-
Watsonia If you have time
Cut spent flower spikes to the base
-
Artichoke If you have time
Cut spent stems to the ground
-
Bulbine Lily If you have time
Cut off dead leaves as it goes dormant
-
Morning Iris If you have time
Cut spent flower stems at the base
-
Lemon-scented Gum If you have time
Clear shed bark and fallen twigs
Not listed: Waratah, Flannel Flower, Rock Orchid, Common Heath, Cooktown Orchid, Christmas Bells, NSW Christmas Bush, Illawarra Flame Tree, Blueberry Ash, Tree Fern and Native Violet, which don't suit Perth's climate.