Tasmanian gardeners have mixed results with apricot trees and it has a lot to do with temperature.
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Although the varieties grown here are cool climate trees, fruit set can be poor if it is cold and wet in spring, from the moments the buds open to the time the first small fruit sets.
They flower very early in spring, before peaches and just after almonds, so are vulnerable to late spring frosts.
Unfortunately, they are also vulnerable to fungal diseases such as brown rot.
The antidote for this is to spray with bordeaux mixture as soon as the first flowers open, then with mancozeb plus at full bloom, at petal fall and again when the remains of the dried blossoms fall.
Spray again at four weeks and two weeks before harvest.
A good place to plant an apricot tree is against a warm brick wall and trees should have plenty of room on all sides. Crowding increases humidity and encourages fungal diseases.
Most apricots are self fertile and don’t need another variety for pollination.
Apricots only develop their true, intense flavour if left to fully ripen on the tree, by which time they are extremely vulnerable to brown rot fungus or bird attack, and in many areas, possums.
Winter planting
Most vegetables in our gardens now will be finished by winter, but we can have fresh vegetables through the colder months if we plant with that in mind this month.
Brussels sprouts will give a good yield for up to six months if they go in now.
Broccoli is another one that can go in this month, and next, and you will be able to cut it all through winter. Like silver beet, you can take as much as you want for one meal and it will keep coming on. You can plant this a month or two later than sprouts.
Leeks are another winter favourite to plant now. Give them some lime and occasional watering with liquid fertiliser, and by the end of autumn you will have succulent big specimens.
If you are in a cold district early- to mid-February is the best time to plant, but in warmer places they can go in now.
Of course caulies are a major winter crop. You can give yourself a staggered yield by sowing half a dozen seeds every fortnight or so.
Swede turnips should be sown this month too for winter eating.
White turnips grow more quickly than swedes and can be sown right up to April.
Grow your azaleas
This is the perfect time for increasing your azalea plants by taking cuttings. Cut off shoots about 15cm long that formed in the current season.
The shoot should be cut close to the parent plant. Do this early in the day.
Remove the leaves from the lower part of the shoots and cut the base straight across, just beneath a leaf node, so that the cutting is from five to 10cm long.
Cut a sliver of bark 2-3cm long from the bottom of the cutting.
If the few remaining leaves are longer than eight millimetres, cut them cleanly in half.
Insert the cuttings into a pit containing a mixture of two parts coarse sand and one part well-moistened peat moss.
Keep them moist but not wet, and keep out of direct sun.
The same can be done with rhododendrons, but these are much harder to strike.
Pine mulch
Although pine needles make a good mulch for acid-loving plants, they tend to pack down and prevent water reaching the soil, so give soil should a good soaking first.
In summer, check the soil underneath them. If it is dry, rake the mulch back, give it a soak and restore the pine needles.
When used as a mulch, it is advantageous to sprinkle nitrogen-rich fertiliser such as blood and bone around before watering or applying mulch.