FAQ’s

We are open everyday of the year 8.30am to 5.30pm (except Christmas Day).

We sure do! We deliver throughout the Perth metropolitan area. Deliveries can be arranged in store while making your purchases or over the phone. We deliver Monday to Friday only. A minimum purchase of $50 is required for delivery. Delivery fees range from $40.00 for Perth Metro to $50 for outer Metropolitan areas. Your delivery fee will be confirmed when your delivery is processed. Your local store will be able to advise you of delivery fees to your area. Dawson’s Online Store has it’s own delivery system and is able to make deliveries all the way from Geraldton down to Esperance. Visit our online now to see the areas we deliver to and delivery fees.

At Dawson’s we’ve been growing with Perth for 110 years. Over 80% of the plants Dawson’s sell are grown in our own production Nursery located in Forrestfield. We also operate four retail Dawson Garden World Centres; one in Forresftfield, Joondalup, O’Connor and Swanbourne. We constantly endeavour to provide you with Perth’s best range of quality plants and garden products. Our staff are passionate gardeners just like you, so there’s no-where better to go for friendly, local gardening advice. Remember we dont’t just sell plants, we want to help you get the best out of your plants and garden…..it’s what we have been doing for 110yrs.

Absolutely! At Dawson’s we grow the plants we sell, so we can confidently offer an unconditional 12 month guarantee. If for any reason, a Dawson’s plant fails to perform, we will happily give you a free replacement plant. Just bring in the plant and sales receipt as proof of purchase.

Dawson’s roses are grown on quality Rosa fortuniana rootstock because it has been proven to outperform all other rootstock in our local conditions. Rosa fortuniana in particular has proven itself to be of great strength and resilience. It thrives in relatively poor, dry, sandy soils. The early adoption of using fortuniana rootstock by pioneer rose growers like Dawson’s helped lead to the explosion of successful rose growing in Perth and Western Australia.

Black Spot is an environmental disease and is troublesome when the nights are still cool and damp, for example the period early in the season over September to late October and again in April through May. It can also be a problem during humid weather during summer. To control black spot usually some preventive spraying over the periods mentioned above is required. Spraying at 1-2 week intervals over susceptible periods is a good policy. A bonus is that most of the sprays that control Black Spot will also control Powdery Mildew which is also prevalent in the same times of the year conducive to Black Spot.

Your plant is most probably suffering from an iron deficiency which is very common in Perth Soils. Symptoms include veins stay green, whilst the rest of the leaf goes yellow). In severe cases the leaves may even start to go white. Affects a wide range of plants including, Azaleas, Camellias, Gardenias, Hibiscus, Roses, Citrus and fruit trees. Symptoms appear first in youngest leaves. Treat iron deficiency with a soil drench around the drip- line of the affected plant, with Iron Chelate (at recommended rate).

Perth has one of the most nutrient poor soils of any major city in the world. To successfully grow most exotic plants, on-going soil improvement is required. Perth’s soils are 1. Naturally low in nutrients and organic matter, meaning our soils have little ability to hold the nutrients required for healthy plant growth and little ability to retain moisture 2. We have predominantly free draining sands 3. Our sands are usually limey or alkaline in pH, anywhere below the Darling Scarp and getting progressively more limey as you go closer to the coast 4. Often water repellant making it difficult for precious irrigation water to penetrate. Adding organic materials like soil improver to the soil are immensely beneficial to plant growth because it helps increase soil fertility and promotes a healthy soil environment (encourages worms and the soil micro flora growth), increases the soil’s ability to hold nutrients and water, allows for easier water penetration, modifies the pH of limey soils making them less limey and greatly increases the chances of successful establishment of plants.

During the growing season from September to May, we are limited to the 2 day a week watering regime. For most established plants watering twice a week will be adequate. Remember good practices like soil improvement and mulching will also play a role in making your plants more resistant. During periods of extreme heat in summer, some additional hand watering might be needed for certain plants, eg annuals, vegetables, herbs and other higher water-requirement plants. New plantings will generally need daily watering over the first season in the garden or until they are well established. Conatiner plants will also generally need daily watering as they will dry out much quicker than plants in the ground. Remember to water wisely, green survival depends on you!

In general fertiliser should be supplied to support peak growth periods. For many plants spring is a big growth period, so spring is an important feeding period, as is autumn. Many plants also respond to regular small feeds for example roses, vegetables and herbs, perennials and annuals. Limit fertiliser use over the hottest months, as feeding then can encourage water-demanding new growth. Our staff will be happy to advise you regarding the feeding the requirements of specific plants.

Mulching is one of the easiest and most beneficial of gardening practices. Applying a layer of coarse mulch between 5-10cm thick over the soil surface can reduce soil water loss through evaporation by a staggering 70%. Other benefits include; cooling the soil surface improving plant growth, it breaks down over time, improving soil and feeding plants, encourages worms and soil microbial activity and suppresses weed growth, reduced soil erosion and looks attractive. Mulching is one of the easiest and most beneficial of gardening practices. Applying a layer of coarse mulch between 5-10cm thick over the soil surface can reduce soil water loss through evaporation by a staggering 70%. Other benefits include; cooling the soil surface improving plant growth, it breaks down over time, improving soil and feeding plants, encourages worms and soil microbial activity and suppresses weed growth, reduced soil erosion and looks attractive. Good mulches have large irregular shaped and sized particles. This type of mulch allows water to penetrate quickly through it to the soil below and absorbs little water on the way through. Products sold by Dawson’s like the Water Wise Pine Bark Mulch are excellent mulching products to recommend. Apply mulch to a depth of 5-10cm thick over the soil and top up as required. Remember don’t mulch right up the trunks of plants (as this can cause collar rot!). Leave a mulch free area around the trunk of each plant.

In Perth we are spoilt for choice when it comes to fruit trees. We live in a temperate Mediterranean climate with relatively mild winters. Because of this we can grow a wide range of fruiting plants from temperate, Mediterranean and even sub-tropical regions. Mediterranean plants such as Figs, Mulberries, Olives, Grapes, Pomegranates and Citrus trees certainly seem to thrive in our climate. The majority of traditional temperate fruits also do well including Apples, Almonds, Blueberries, Peaches, Pears, Plums and Nectarines. Due to our mild winter many sub-tropical fruits are also a viable proposition in Perth including Avocados, Mangos and Passionfruits.

The hardiest indoor plants are those which are able to grow in low or diffuse light situations. A rule of thumb is that dark green foliage is often a bit of an indicator for low light tolerance. Some of the toughest indoor plants are Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plants), Chlorophytum (Spider Plant), Cissus, Dieffenbachia, Dracaena, Dizygotheca ,Ficus, Spathiphyllum (Madonna Lily), Philodendrons like Xanadu, Congo and Rojo Congo, Radermachera (China Doll), Sanseverias (Mother In-Laws Tongue), Schefflera (Umbrella plants) Scindapsus (Devil’s Ivy), Syngoniums, Zamioclucas (ZZ Plant). Remember not to overwater indoor plants during the winter and also make sure plants are not left sitting in saucers of water, both can lead to browning leaf tips, leaf drop or rotting.

Yes, native plants will also benefit from fertilising but care must be taken. When feeding natives the period from autumn to spring is particularly important as it is the time when natives are growing quickly. The safest way to feed natives is to use a specialist native fertiliser. These are specially formulated with low phosphorous levels safe for native plants. Proteacea family plants like Grevilleas, Banksias and Dryandras for example, have developed over millions of years to grow in Australia’s low phosphorous soil. Because of this they can easily be poisoned by fertilising them with regular higher phosphorous fertilisers, so it very important only to feed them with dedicated fertilisers for native plants.

One of the real keys to successful Camellia and Azalea growing in Perth, is proper soil preparation before planting. These plants are acid soil lovers, so in Perth’s Limey sands it’s important to improve the planting soil with generous amounts of acidic organic matter. An easy way to do this is to blend in Dawson’s Soil Improver at the rate of 2 parts Soil Improver to 2 parts existing soil (50:50 mix). If soil is too limey (alkaline), it will show up in pale or yellowish foliage, often with brown –black spots along the edges. The time spent undertaking good soil preparation is a great investment in your plants’ health. Using coarse grade acidic mulch like pine bark mulch will also gradually acidify the soil as it breaks down.

Most varieties are genetically stable, so can’t really change colours. What we do see however is the intensity of colour and our perception of colour will change depending on the season. During the mild days of early spring and again in autumn rose colour can often be more intense or quite different than the colours displayed in mid summer when temperatures are high. Colours can often appear a bit “washed out” during the summer as they can be affected by high temperatures. Often white coloured roses or pale pinks will display some light pink blushing early and late in the season, due to cooler temperatures or damp conditions. This is commonly seen for example on Iceberg for example. Some roses for example the Hybrid Tea rose Abracadabra seem to have unstable genetics this allow each flower to be slightly different.

There are so many options. Have a look at fact sheet title “Trees For Perth Gardens” available on our web site. This fact sheet lists a comprehensive range of small to medium sized trees suitable for Perth gardens.

These can be difficult spots due to the factors of shade and root competition. Some plants to try include: Clivias, Philodondron Xanadu, Native grassed like Lomandras and Dianellas, Nandina (Chinese scared bamboo), Azaleas and Camellias, Correas, Succulents (eg. Aloes or Agaves), Chinese Star Jasmine used as a groundcover, Acanthus, Ivy used as a groundcover (but be careful it doesn’t become invasive, Sanseveria, ground cover type grevilleas, Coprosma (Mirror Bush), Arthropodium (New Zealand Rock Lily), Native Violet, Native Iris (Pattersonia) and Rhaphiolepis (Indian Hawthorns).

Yes! We believe that for gardening to be good for you it must also be good for the planet. We carry a range of environmentally friendly products including many organic certified pest control products and fertilisers. We are, for example, one of the few nurseries where customers can order predatory mites to help control garden (red spider mite) populations.