Now that water has become more precious than oil, it’s imperative that gardeners optimise their water use so that not a drop is wasted. Even though the draconian restrictions at the time of writing this article only apply to certain Local Government regions of the south east corner of the State, it is a foregone conclusion that watering restrictions are going to be foisted upon a large section of the community before too long.

Much of the lawn seed sold by nationally-based chains is unsuited to the warmer climates. Many of these products are blends containing 85–100% cool season species. The names on the packages do not normally indicate what the species mix is and may actually claim a deceptive range of climatic adaptation.

As you know, grafted plants are really made up of a combination of two plants – the ‘rootstock’ which forms the root system, and the scion which forms the top part of the plant.

But things sometimes go wrong. The graft can fail and the top part of a young tree can die back, leaving the rootstock to shoot away. It will produce some very spiny growth and leaves that are very different from the scion. More importantly, it won’t produce the fruit you were hoping for.

That’s the problem that we faced recently, and we decided to give our young tree a second chance by re-grafting it.

Our busy editor still finds time to provide some useful tips and tricks in and around the garden, whether it be for the home or commercial knowledge.

Paul Plant looks at:

How to...make a tillandsia tree;

…prick out seedlings;

…separate brom pups; and

…make a milk spray for fungus problems.