GARDENING: Early autumn and the jobs are piling up '“ with Brian Kidd

'¢Have you stopped watering your indoor amaryllis? I hope so. The pot needs to be put on its side somewhere sunny and not watered at all. The leaves should all die back by October. Then repot in DRY JI 3 compost and don't water again until February or once the FAT flower bud emerges.

'¢The hardy type of amaryllis is in garden centres at £2.99 each. Buy three bulbs, plant them in a sunny spot and you will be rewarded with flowers in the autumn forever.

'¢Enjoy visiting garden centres? See if you can find autumn-flowering crocus corms.The flowers are usually pink and give a good show when the weather gets colder.

'¢Cuttings of bedding geraniums will root very easily if taken now. Simply cut off non-flowering shoots. Cut below a node and pop them in alongside the parent plant and they root like weeds!

'¢Orchids, bird of paradise plants and any tender indoor plants put out in the garden for summer should be brought indoors now.

'¢Think about getting hold of some manure. Keep it in the bags until you are ready to dig it in during the autumn.

'¢If mildew spoils the fruits on grapevines, blow some sulphur dust through the berries.

'¢Take cuttings of expensive basket plants such as Japanese petunias. If they aren't producing enough new growth for cuttings, give the plants a high nitrogen feed or a teaspoon of sulphate of ammonia in one gallon of water.