February checklist

✓ Sweet peas can be sown at the end of the month. Prepare a trench for them alongside a fence or trellis, and add a lot of well-rotted kraal manure, compost, bonemeal and an organic fertiliser (Atlantic✓ Plant indigenous bulbs like lachenalias, veltheimias and belladonna lilies.✓ Neaten hail-damaged plants lightly and treat pro-actively against fungal diseases with EcoBuz Disease Pro.✓ Keep filling shallow fishponds with fresh water to cool them down.✓ Look out for red spider mites, which are problematic in periods of drought and very hot weather – use a miticide or a product like EcoBuz Pest Pro to control this pest properly on permanent plants like fruit trees and shrubs, but destroy annuals like tomatoes if too heavily infested.✓ Feed stag horns with a liquid fertiliser and mist-spray them regularly.✓ Citrus psylla cause blisters on the upper surface of the leaves of citrus trees, white ironwoods and coral trees – treat with a suitable insecticide such as Protek Complete 350SC or Biogrow Bioneem.✓ Fuchsias need to be kept cool and well-watered to get them through the high heat of summer.✓ You can start sowing those winter- and spring-flowering annuals and bi-annuals that need a bit of time to grow up first in seedling trays before being planted out as sturdy seedlings into the garden. The seeds to sow are cinerarias, gazanias, Iceland poppies, primulas, violas, pansies, larkspurs, Canterbury bells, columbines, sweet Williams and aquilegias.✓ Feed dahlias with bulb food and remove faded flowers. Also keep them well-staked to stop them from toppling over.✓ You can replace tired bedding plants with heat-loving annuals like marigolds, vincas, salvias, verbenas and portulacas – they all like it hot and dry and will flower into late autumn.