Create colour with cineraria

Create colour with cineraria

It’s easy to think that impending winter means no more colour in the garden. But it doesn’t need to be this way. There are plenty of annuals which love cooler, shadier conditions and will provide the colour your garden misses over winter.

Cineraria is one such plant and produces striking blue, white, red and purplish blooms. Primula, polyanthus, pansies, antirrhinums (otherwise known as snapdragons) and wallflowers are other examples of brightly coloured annuals that don’t mind a little cold weather. These ones come in a range of colours like pink, blue, yellow, white and more.

Order any these striking plants from our online shop at www.awapuni.co.nz. Or grab a couple of our newspaper wrapped plants next time you’re at your local supermarket, the Warehouse or Bunnings.

Once you’ve got your seedlings you need to find a shady, damp spot to grow them in. Cineraria doesn’t like frost, so under a tree is usually a good place to plant.

They like similar growing conditions to impatiens. So if you planted these with us in November, simply take them out, dig over the soil and plant your cineraria in the same spot.

Once planted, keep an eye out for caterpillars – simply pick them off, or spray with an insecticide.

And watch out for slugs – try using our ‘beer bait’.

Lastly, be careful not to over water. Because you will have planted in the shade and the weather is cooler as we head into winter, they won’t need as much water as plants growing in full sun.

Then sit back and wait for your arrival of colour in around six to eight weeks – depending on the warmth of your soil at the time of planting.

Henri Ham
Awapuni Nurseries
www.awapuni.co.nz

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