Spring therapy for Mediterranean plants

When several weeks or months have passed and it's time for your Mediterranean favourite to move out of its winter home, we recommend that you gradually acclimatise the plant to direct sunlight again first. This is because the leaves of a plant lose their resistance to UV light during the cold and darker months, meaning it's possible they'll get sunburnt if they're moved too quickly. Instead of putting the container plant directly in the blazing midday sun, you should choose a mild, cloudy day and expose the plant to light for only a few hours to begin with. A semi-shaded location next to a sheltered house wall is ideal at first. The plants will usually have acclimatised after a few days and can be moved outside without any problems. Should the temperatures fall below 5 °C at night again, take sensitive plants like lantana, butterfly lavender or dipladenia back indoors. Plants that are winter hardy under certain circumstances like perennial lavender or olive trees can often survive low temperatures if you protect them with jute or something similar. You only need to move them back indoors in severe frosts.

The nutrient requirements of most Mediterranean plants rise in line with outdoor temperatures. Small growth therapies are an ideal way to give your plants a little vitamin boost after the overwintering period but before the main fertilisation is due in April or May. After the dormancy period from September to April, the plant's main growth period begins in May, which is why regular fertilisation is then necessary. A liquid fertilzer such as the COMPO Liquid Fertilizer for Mediterranean Plants gives your plants all the nutrients they need for an intense fruit and flower formation. Alternatively, you can also apply a purely organic liquid fertiliser such as COMPO BIO Liquid Fertilizer for Citrus Plants once a week. If you've transplanted your container plants, wait about four to five weeks before fertilising them again. In the case of new plants, you can mix a solid fertiliser into the soil and put the plants directly in the container or outdoors.

When it comes to the annual beauty treatment each spring, there's one thing to remember: Pruning! This is because a lack of sunlight causes some Mediterranean plants, such as eucalyptus, to grow long thin shoots that are usually stunted and susceptible to pest infestation. You can therefore prune them in the spring without any problems – this encourages growth in Mediterranean plants. It's advisable to use a clean pair of pruning shears for cutting back the plants. You should also remove shoots that have become brown or are suffering from a fungal infection as quickly as possible in the spring to prevent a further spread and encourage the plant to grow healthy new shoots.