Protect new plants from frost this week by ...

* rigging up protective hessian enclosures around frost senstive plants

* where possible, bring any frost sensitive potted plants inside or place on a covered balcony or veranda

* cover frost senstive plants with a thick layer of sugarcane mulch or garden straw

Plant...

camellias and order roses now. Stocks are low so be early to get the rose you desire.

crepe myrtle, buddleia or butterfly bush, hydrangeas and plumbago now.

potatoes, rhubarb and asparagus crowns, and prepare soil for planting tomatoes in spring.

Tidy...

Tidy up clumps of pokers. Remove dead leaves from the base pokers every 3 years. Replant into re-conditioned soil. Other perennials needing this treatment include shasta daisy, perennial aster, sunflower, balloon flower, bergamot, rudbeckia, echenacia, day lily, sedum, yarrow and salvia.

Propagate ...

...anything dormant like frangipani, snowball tree, roses and hydrangeas. Make the cuttings about 10-15cm long and dip into some hormone gel and place in a pot filled with coarse, sharp sand. Most nurseries sell propagating sand. Don't over water, keep just moist and while leaves might appear in spring the roots take several more months to strike.