Featured Plant: Agathosma ciliaris

Agathosma ciliaris is known as the Bergboegoe in Afrikaans, but does not have a widely used common name in English. Translated, the name means "Mountain Buchu".

This small evergreen shrub has tiny fragrant leaves. It grows about 60cm tall and up to 1 meter wide. The white flowers appear during Winter (July / August).

Agathosma ciliaris is native to the Western Cape province of South Africa. It grows well in full sun or semi-shade, but requires a thick mulch to keep the roots cool and prevent it drying out during Summer. (A 5cm thick layer of straw or some other organic material works well.) It needs regular watering while small, but copes with dry summers once established. Avoid the use of chemical fertilizers - only apply organic liquid fertilizers if necessary.

Agathosma ciliaris can be propagated by cuttings. The cuttings should be taken during Autumn and kept moist and in shade until they have formed roots. Cuttings of Agathosma ciliaris are normally large enough for planting out in the garden after about 2 years.

How to plant a tree

There are many options when it comes to planting a tree, but the method described below works well in dry and mediterranean climates like Cape Town.

The best time to plant a tree is Autumn for trees native to winter-rainfall areas, or Spring for trees from summer-rainfall areas.

Step 1: The hole

Dig a square hole that is at least 3 times wider than the pot the tree was growing in. The hole should be at least 50cm deep, to accomodate the plactic pipe that will be used for watering and applying liquid fertilizers later.

Note that the hole should not be round, as this can sometimes cause the tree's roots to grow in a circle all around the edge of the hole in areas with hard or compacted soil. A square hole will force the root to break out into the surrounding soil when it reaches the corner.

Step 2: Initial watering

Fill the hole with water and wait for it to drain away. This will ensure that the surrounding soil is moist and that there will be adequate moisture available for the tree at root level.

Step 3: Install watering pipes and stake

It can be difficult for water and fertilizer to reach a tree's roots after it has been planted. So to make your life easier later on, this is a good time to prepare.

Get some round plastic pipes that are at least 5cm in diameter and 50cm in length. Drill evenly spaced holes in the bottom two thirds of the pipe. Place the pipes in the hole, ensuring that a short piece will stick out above ground level once finished. (After the tree has been planted, you will use these pipes to water and fertilize the tree more efficiently.)

If the tree needs to be staked, also place the stake in the hole now, so that the tree's roots will not be damaged if you push the stake into the soil later.

Step 4: Plant the tree

Add soil and compost until the hole is shallow enough that the surface of the soil will match the level / depth at which the tree was planted in it's pot. Mix compost with the original soil removed from the hole (use a 50/50 ratio of compost to soil).

Remove the tree from it's pot and place it in the hole. Continue filling the hole with the mix of compost and soil until it is filled. Punch the soil with your hands to ensure that there will be no air pockets and that the soil is firm around the tree. Some people will stomp their feet, but this may cause the soil to become compacted, so using your hands to firm the soil is a safer bet.

Step 5: Finishing touches

Tie the tree to the stake. The trunk should still be loose enough to sway in the wind without blowing over. Don't tie it so tightly that the tree doesn't move at all, as that discourages it from developing a thick, strong trunk and standing upright by itself when mature.

Mix a liquid fertilizer with water and pour it into the pipes. Continue watering and fertilizing the tree for the first year or two until it is well established.

Also apply a thick mulch around the tree to prevent the soil drying out.

Featured Plant: Clivia miniata

Clivia miniata is also known as the Bush Lily.

This evergreen plant has no bulb, but grows from an underground rhizome with thick, fleshy roots. It grows about 50cm tall and wide (80cm tall while flowering), with long strap-like leaves and trumpet shaped orange flowers. The flowers appear in Spring, mainly August and September.

Clivia miniata is native to South Africa, growing from the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Swaziland. It grows in large colonies in the dappled shade of subtropical forests. Sun damages the leaves and makes them turn yellow and sickly, so Clivias should be planted in the shade. It requires well drained soil with compost and will benefit from liquid fertilizer in Summer (although it will usually grow fine without the fertilizer). The soil should be covered in a thick layer of mulch. As this Clivia originates from summer-rainfall areas of the country, it should be watered in Summer (about once every 2 weeks) and kept dry in winter. It does fine in Cape Town's wet winters though, provided that it's not planted in a boggy area of the garden.

This bulb also grows well in containers and can be used as a house plant. It flowers well when pot-bound and the container should be allowed to dry out between waterings. The leaves can be wiped with a damp cloth if they get dusty in the house.

Clivias are poisonous and should not be eaten or used in any home-made herbal concoctions!

Clivia miniata can be propagated by division or seeds. The seeds are ripe when the fruit turns bright red. Remove the pulp and skin around the seed and sow immediately, while it is still fresh. The seed should not be buried too deeply - the top should be flush with the soil surface. It will germinate after about a month and the seedlings will need several years before they are large enough to plant out in the garden. As the seedlings grow slowly, dividing a clump of Clivias is a much faster method of propagation. Simply divide the clump with a spade and plant immediately. (Note that dividing a clump may cause the plant to not flower for up to 2 years.)

Gardening in Cape Town's climate - Hail

This is the second time we've had hail this winter. It seldom hails in Cape Town - it is rare enough that people will talk about it at work the next day, or post photos of it on Facebook. (Much like I am posting mine on this blog!).

We are fortunate that Cape Town's hail is never bad enough to damage the garden. The individual hail particles are small, seldom more than 5mm across and the hail does not last very long either. It quickly melts away again within a few hours, causing no damage to plants or flowers.

Hail in the flowerbed. The orange flowers are Gazania 'Kontiki Orange', which flowers right through the year

Hail on our Green Peppers.

Growing Orange Trees in containers

One of the easiest Orange trees to grow in a container is the Satsuma Orange (Citrus reticulata). It does not need any pruning, is self-fertile and will start bearing fruit from a young age while the tree is still small (see photos!) Also, this type of orange is easy to peel and has no seeds.

The Satsuma Orange tree is native to Japan and will grow to a maximum height of about 2 meters when grown in a container. It can be planted at any time of the year, but Spring is best.

An Orange tree should be planted in a very large container - preferably a half wine barrel or something similar in size. Add stones to the bottom of the container to improve drainage and mix sand with the compost when planting. If you only use compost or potting soil the tree is very likely to fall over in windy conditions, container and all, so mixing in sand helps to keep the tree and it's pot bottom-heavy. (The soil can be acidic or alkaline - both are fine.) Place the container in a relatively sheltered position, as warm, dry winds can dry out the tree, which will cause the leaves and fruit to drop. After planting, don't dig in the pot again, as it will damage the shallow roots. Also ensure that you place the container where it will get a minimum of 6 hours sunshine a day, but preferably 8.

Orange trees flower in Spring and then bear fruit by the end of Autumn, or early Winter. (My oranges normally ripen at the end of May.) Leave the oranges on the tree for a week after they have completely turned orange, as that is when they will have the best flavor.

Satsuma Oranges need to be watered well in Summer, especially when grown in a container. Water your Orange tree as soon as the top 2cm of soil has dried out, but be careful not to overwater. If you need to fertilize, the best time to do so is in March, July or December.

Featured Plant: Pentas lanceolata

Pentas lanceolata is known as the Egyptian Starcluster.

This fast-growing little shrub grows about 60 to 90 cm tall and wide, with lush, evergreen leaves and large clusters of red flowers. (White and pink varieties are also available.) The main flowering period is from Spring right through to Autumn and in Cape Town it flowers almost the entire year.

Pentas lanceolata is native to East Africa - growing roughly from Yemen to Madagascar. It can grow in any soil, but does best in fertile soil, so remember to add plenty of compost when planting. Although it is a very heat-resistant plant, it does need regular watering during Cape Town's dry summer months. Water about once a week during summer, depending on the weather.

The best way to propagate Pentas lanceolata is from cuttings. Cuttings should be taken in Spring and can be rooted in sand or in water. Once they are ready to plant out, you can plant them in full sun or semi-shade - they also grow well in containers. Prune lightly at the end of winter to keep the plant's shape neat and bushy.

Lawn progress

After living here for a year, the main lawn area is finally starting to look the way I want it to. All the overgrown vegetation has been pruned away and the lawn now has neat, straight edges with a brick border. At the moment I am still busy levelling the lawn with sand, as it is very uneven and slopes slightly downhill to the patio.

I also built a step for the patio, so that visitors can get on and off easier, with a small flowerbed on each side. (On the left of the step is the King Protea (Protea cynaroides) which is South Africa's national flower; on the right is a trellis with a white Dipladenia creeper.)

The silly little patch of paving you can see on the "before" foto has been removed so that we can make the lawn wider - It is now 3 meters wide. The bricks from the paving was re-used to create the brick border around the lawn.

BEFORE: February 2013 - overgrown garden with a random paved strip.

DURING: April 2013 - paving removed and reused to straighten edge of lawn with brick border.

AFTER: April 2014 - almost done!

Garden progress in April

The area surrounding the garden shed took a lot of work, but finally it is presentable enough to post some before and after photos. The shed itself looked more like some hillbilly's shack than anything else! So, you may ask, what exactly needed to be done here?

• Paint the fence, shed and house
• Install brick edging around the lawn
• Remove every existing plant except the Palm tree
• Clear invasive grass from flower beds
• Plant a hedge against the fence
• Plant a tree in the middle of the lawn

Before: February 2013 - the day we bought the house.

After: April 2014

Before: February 2013 - the previous folks did not seem to mind having grass in their flower beds.

After: April 2014 - view showing the tree I planted (Apodytes dimidiata, the White Pear). The tree grew to this size in just 1 year so I am impressed with its progress to date.

Before: February 2013 - looking from the shed to the neighbor's house.

During: August 2013 - view just after I finished planting the new hedge.

After: April 2014 - view from the shed, showing the hedge and dramatically taller White Pear tree.

The new Fynbos bed

At the side of our house is a 2.5 meter wide paved area that has been there ever since the house was built in 1994. The paving consists of pale grey concrete slabs with cracked cement between. I'm not a big fan of paving, especially not ugly paving, so it was time to dig up these stained and uneven old slabs and create a new flower bed to house my fynbos plants.



The concrete paving was surprisingly easy to get rid of. All you need is a hammer, chisel and shovel. First chip away the cement between pavers using the hamer and chisel and then lift out the slab by levering a shovel into the gap. This is a very easy way to remove a slab without damaging the surrounding paving. After that you can simply pop up the remaining slabs one by one with the shovel.



I dug over the entire bed, removing rocks, roots from the neigbor's tree and random junk that the original builders left on-site and simply paved over. Then came my favorite gardening activity - planting! I decided to use the newly created bed only for indigenous plants, preferably fynbos. I also added a False Olive Tree (Buddleja saligna). There are some power lines visible on the other side of our fence, so the tree was positioned in such a way that it will block those lines when viewed from our front door and living room window. Buddleja saligna is supposed to grow at the rate of 1 meter per year, so this should happen within the next 3 years or so.



Several of the plants I planted out were grown from cuttings. The rest were purchased from the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens in Betty's Bay. They have a fantastic range of fynbos plants and prices are a lot lower at Harold Porter than at Kirstenbosch. I didn't photograph all of the plants, but the ones in this photo are:

• Athanasia crithmifolia
• Cliffortia ferruginea
• Euryops abrotanifolius
• Euryops thunbergii? (Not too sure about this one - this was a cutting from the wild)
• Felicia filifolia
• Helichrysum argyrophyllum
• Hermannia pinnata
• Hymenolepis parviflora
• Leonotis leonorus (replaced at the last minute with the Buddleja saligna tree)
• Osteospermum fruticosum
• Pelargonium cucullatum

My wife is not too crazy about fynbos, so we reached a compromise: I will only plant indigenous plants in this bed now, but if something dies, I will replace it with conventional garden plants (whether they are indigenous or not).

The plants are so small as to be practially invisible on the photos, but after a year or two it should look a lot better. I will post some "after" photos once they are established and there is more to see.

Featured Plant: Coleonema Album

Coleonema album is also known as "Cape May" or "White Confetti Bush".

This is a compact and bushy evergreen shrub that grows from 1.5 to 2 meters high and wide. It branches from the bottom and has fragrant, needle-like leaves. The small white flowers are only 6mm wide, but appear in clusters that cover the entire bush as if it was strewn with confetti. Flowers appear during Winter and Spring and attract bees and butterflies.

Coleonema album is indigenous and grows along the coast, all the way from Saldanha in the North down to Cape Town and the slopes of Table Mountain, then east to Bredasdorp. This plant is highly recommended for coastal gardens as it tolerates the coastal winds and sandy soils very well. It also grows well in containers.

The best soil for growing this shrub is a well drained, acid soil with plenty of compost. Coleonema bushes should be planted close together and mulched heavily to keep the soil and roots cool. Never let them dry out completely during summer while small, although they survive drought once established. (Note that this plant is susceptible to root rot fungus if over-watered during summer, so only water when necessary.)

Coleonema album is widely available at most garden centers and the best time to plant it is during Autumn, Winter, or early Spring. It can be grown from seed (sown in Autumn), or from cuttings (taken in Autumn or Spring).

Always plant this shrub in full sun - although it can grow in partial shade, it will not flower as prolifically.

April is the best time for planting in Cape Town

For most plants, Autumn is by far the best time for planting in Cape Town. The dry, hot summer weather will be safely in the past, while the soil temperatures will still be high enough for new root growth, particularly in April. This will give plants time to grow new roots and establish themselves before Summer arrives again. Since the plant will focus on its roots in Autumn, when Spring comes it will be ready for a flush of new growth and flowers.

Plants require the most water during the first 4 months or so after they've been planted - so let nature do the watering for you when the winter rains arrive! You would need to water your new plants a lot more if you planted them in Spring or Summer.

Never, ever, ever plant something in Summer. Cape Town's heat, wind and dryness during Summer makes it the worst possible time for plants to be planted out in the garden. (Not to mention how hot and sweaty you would be yourself!)

* As with most things, there are always exceptions - some annual 6-packs may still be planted in Spring, while planting times for bulbs will depend on the individual bulb species. When a plant is featured on this blog it will include details on the best time to plant it.

Featured Plant: Drosanthemum speciosum

Drosanthemum speciosum has many common names and is also known as: 'Scarlet Dewflower', 'Red Bush Vygie' or 'Berg Vygie'.

This is a very fast-growing, evergreen small shrub or groundcover that grows in a low mound about 60 cm wide. The flowers are roughly 5cm wide and red with a white center. Flowers appear in Spring (October in my garden) and close in the evening or cloudy weather.

After 3 to 5 years the plant will become a bit woody and scruffy and should then be replaced. Fortunately it is easy to grow yourself, from cuttings (taken in Autumn) or from seed (also in Autumn). It is also commonly sold in 6-packs at the larger garden centers. The best time to plant it out in the garden is during Autumn, before the winter rains start.

Plant Drosanthemum speciosum in full sun to get the maximum amount of flowers, although it will also tolerate some light shade. This is a very drought tolerant species and only needs water once every 3 weeks in Summer once established. In fact, over-watering may cause the plant to rot, so you should keep it dry during the summer months. The soil should be well-drained, preferably sand or loam. As this plant grows naturally in the Worcester and Robertson areas, which are even hotter and drier than Cape Town, this plant grows very well in the milder conditions found in Cape Town.

Transformation of an old garden

For the first post of the Gardening in Cape Town blog, it seems like a good idea to start at the very beginning: Buying our house in February 2013 and starting a new garden to replace the old one.

The house was empty for several months before we bought it, so the garden was decidedly scruffy. The majority of plants were all boring, common species. I decided to rip out everything smaller in height than the fence and replace them with as many indigenous species as possible.

We painted the fence a dark green color, to make it less obtrusive when viewed from within the house. The next improvement was adding a neat brick edging around the lawn and a decorative wooden log edging around flower beds.

Enlarging the front flowerbed
First on our list of priorities was the lawn and small flowerbed at the front gate. This is the widest part of the garden, at about 7 meters from the house to the fence. I removed almost all of the lawn to expand the flowerbed, then replaced all of the plants. I also planted 2 indigenous, evergreen trees to create shade: Bastard Saffronwood (Cassine peragua) and Bladder Nut (Diospyros whyteana), both of which can be found growing on the slopes of Table Mountain. This bed contains sun-loving shrubs and perennials now, but will one day become a shade garden, once the trees are mature.


BEFORE: February 2013


AFTER: October 2013

Hedge of Kei Apples
Absolutely everything growing on this side of the house looked terrible and had to be removed. As this fence borders on a public park, I planted tall, thorny shrubs to create a hedge. The best plant for this purpose is the Kei Apple (Dovyalis caffra). This shrub grows to about 3 meters tall, growing appoximately 50 cm a year. They have vicious thorns and the female plants also have edible berries. Although they originate in the summer-rainfall regions of South Africa, they grow very well in Cape Town, provided that they are watered from December to March.


BEFORE: February 2013


AFTER: August 2013

A shady corner for Clivias
I had a lot of Clivias in my previous garden that I dug up and moved to our new house. As these bulbs need shade, I cleared the shadiest area in the garden and planted them here, underneath a palm tree and large old Viburnum. Clivia leaves turn yellow in sun, so it is important to ensure that there is enough shade to cover them, especially during summer. Clivias are also from the summer rainfall regions of South Africa and need water at least once a week from December to March. They flower in September and October (Spring) and are easily grown from seed once their berries turn red.


BEFORE: February 2013


AFTER: October 2013

Well, that's it for the first Gardening in Cape Town post, showing what happened in the garden during its first 6 months. Next time I will post articles on some of the best plants to grow in Cape Town.