In this post we will show you how easy and quick it is to plant Kangaroo Paws in your garden and keep them in continuous flowering for months!
The Municipality of Marathon entrusted us a part of Mayor’s garden, a place which gathered all the necessary features for Anigozanthos: sun, good drainage and visitors to admire it.
We started the plantation by removing the dry vegetation and clearing the weeds from the field. That job proved harder than what we thought:
We defined the area in which we would do the planting and calculated the rows and the distances between each plant. We decided to use Pearl, Tenacity and Pizzazz because they are really impressive when they flower (for further information for each variety please click on the name to visit its page. You’ll find all the important information there like how tall or wide it can grow). Pizzazz tends to grow taller than Pearl so we used it for the back rows. On the other hand, Pearl extends in smaller diameter (45cm) so we chose a denser planting, placing the plants every 50cm.
We opened the pits making a hole three times bigger than our pots and added pumice on the bottom to improve drainage for the first days of planting. We don’t want to take care of our garden more than 2-3 times per year, so we decided to use drippers for controlled water flow in each pit. We began planting carefully placing each kangaroo paw in the right position. We filled the holes with the soil we took out and pressed well to leave no gaps between the roots and the peat. We used Pearl in the front, Pizzaz in the back and some Tenacity for extra color in the center. By the end of the first day the result was really promising:
The second day we finished planting and tried our dripping system to make sure it works properly. We spread some metaldehyde to prevent snails and slugs from eating our newly planted kangaroo paws. Finally, we used a light layer of pine bark to cover the soil, hiding imperfections and hoses. This layer also helps us to have fewer weeds which results in lower maintenance for our garden. Before we leave, we added a few stones on the surface to emphasize the decorative character of the garden. Within hours, two people manage to finish this:
That was just the beginning. The kangaroo paws need a few days to acclimatize to the new environment and to spread new roots. Planting in the ground marks the beginning of a richer flowering as the plant feels that it can grow out of the pot’s narrow limits and grow bigger. Within a month, the picture of our garden changed satisfactorily:
In gardening the ideal planting season is autumn because it gives plants enough time to create strong rooting system before the very demanding warm summer. Despite that, we started this garden in the end of February, knowing the plants won’t reach their most impressive stage before the next year! However, in May 2016 the image of our garden was very pretty, catching the attention of visitors and giving the best example of how easy and fast it is to change our garden and our mood! If we can achieve this result in a corner of the municipality’s garden, then think of what you can achieve in your garden with a little more time! Good luck!
We’d like to thank the Municipality of Marathon, and especially the Mayor Mr. Psinakis for the trust and the beautiful photographs he gave us!
Find more inspiration here.
