The best time to plant

Plant in the cooler months - autumn, winter or early spring - when there's usually a higher rainfall, reducing the need for watering.

If planting in the ground, loosen the soil to twice the length of your spade and twice as wide. This allows the root system to spread without much difficulty. Place the plant in the created hole making sure that the top of the soil from the pot sits level with the top of the soil in the ground. Back fill the hole and firm the soil down around the plant.

Indigenous plants have evolved on the local un-amended soils. No soil improvement should be necessary if the correct plants have been chosen. Improving the soils will, however, give your new plant an easier time of it. For example if you are planting into sand the addition of bentonite clay will help to retain water around the plants root system.