When watering the Australian brake, you should aim to use filtered water that is at room temperature. Filtered water is better for this plant, as tap water can contain particles that are harmful to its health. The reason that the water should be at room temperature or slightly warmer is that the Australian brake comes from a warm environment, and cold water can be somewhat of a shock to its system. Also, you should avoid overhead watering for this plant, as it can cause foliage complications. Instead, simply apply your filtered room temperature water to the soil until the soil is entirely soaked. Soaking the soil can be very beneficial for this plant as it moistens the roots and helps them continue to spread through the soil and collect the nutrients they need.

Both overwatering and underwatering will be detrimental to the health of your Australian brake, but overwatering is a far more common issue. When this species receives too much water, its stems and leaves may begin to wilt and turn from green to yellow. Overwatering over a prolonged period may also lead to diseases such as root rot, mold, and mildew, all of which can kill your plant. Underwatering is far less common for the Australian brake, as this plant has decent drought tolerance. However, underwatering remains a possibility, and when it occurs, you can expect to find that the leaves of your Australian brake have become brittle and brown. It is crucial that you notice the signs of overwatering as soon as possible when caring for your Australian brake. Some of the diseases that arise from overwatering, such as root rot, may not be correctable if you wait too long. If you see early signs of overwatering, you should reduce your watering schedule immediately. You may also want to assess the quality of soil in which your Australian brake grows. If you find that the soil drains very poorly, you should replace it immediately with a loose, well-draining potting mix. On the other hand, if you find signs that your Australian brake is receiving too little water, all you need to do is water more regularly until those signs have subsided.

If your plant is in a pot. The most precise way to decide whether your Australian brake needs water is to plunge your finger into the soil. If you notice that the first two to three inches of soil have become dry, it is time to add some water. If you grow your Australian brake outdoors in the ground, you can use a similar method to test the soil. Again, when you find that the first few inches of soil have dried out, it is time to add water. During the spring and early fall, this method will often lead you to water this plant about once every week. When extremely hot weather arrives, you may need to increase your watering frequency to about twice or more per week. With that said, mature, well-established the Australian brake can show an admirable ability to withstand drought.

When it comes time to water your Australian brake, you should not be shy about how much water you give. With the first two to three inches of soil dry, this plant will appreciate a long and thorough watering. Supply enough water to soak the soil entirely. The amount of water you add should be enough to cause excess water to flow through the drainage holes at the bottom of your pot. If you don’t see excess water draining from the pot, you have likely underwatered your plant. But do not let the water accumulate inside the soil, which will be very dangerous to the plant as well. Alternatively, a lack of water draining through the pot could indicate poorly draining soils, which is detrimental to the health of this plant and should be avoided. If the plant is outside, 1 inch of rain per week will be sufficient.

The water needs of the Australian brake can change depending on growth stages as well. For example, when your Australian brake is in the first few years of its life, or if you have just transplanted it to a new growing location, you will need to give more water than usual. During both of those stages, your Australian brake will put a lot of energy towards sprouting new roots that will then support future growth. For those roots to perform their best, they need a bit more moisture than they would at a more mature phase. After a few seasons, your Australian brake will need much less water. Another growth stage in which this plant may need more water is during the bloom period. Flower development can make use of a significant amount of moisture, which is why you might need to give your Australian brake more water at this time.

The Australian brake will have its highest water needs during the hottest months of the year. During the height of summer, you may need to give this plant water more than once per week, depending on how fast the soil dries out. The opposite is true during the winter. In winter, your plant will enter a dormant phase, in which it will need far less water than usual. In fact, you may not need to water this plant at all during the winter months. However, if you do water during winter, you should not do so more than about once per month. Watering too much at this time will make it more likely that your Australian brake will contract a disease.

It is most common to grow the Australian brake indoors for any gardener that does not live in temperate and tropical regions. Those gardeners should consider the fact that soil in a container can dry out a bit faster than ground soil. Also, the presence of drying elements such as air conditioning units can cause your Australian brake to need water on a more frequent basis as well. if you planted it outside. When that is the case, it’s likely you won’t need to water your Australian brake very much at all. If you receive rainfall on a regular basis, that may be enough to keep your plant alive. Alternatively, those who grow this plant inside will need to water it more often, as allowing rainwater to soak the soil will not be an option.

It is helpful to lightly prune this plant periodically during the spring and summer. When performing this light pruning, you should search for leaves that have wilted, become discolored, show signs of disease, or have died completely. Remove dead or damaged leaves by cutting their petioles, or trimming off stems that have died. This will increase the light and ventilation of the plant and help it to grow. Some gardeners also choose to remove the flower buds of the Australian brake. However, removing flower buds before they open is a strictly aesthetic decision that will emphasize the beauty of this plant’s showy leaves.

You can prune your Australian brake any time you notice dead, diseased, or damaged leaves during the growing season. Once you notice such a leave, locate an unwanted leaf, then follow its stem all the way to the bottom of petiole. Removing dead stems will increase the light and ventilation of the plant and help it to grow. you can cut its stem just above the soil’s surface to remove it. Such pruning can take place as needed during spring and summer. Also, this plant can bloom any time between spring and fall, and some gardeners choose to remove flower buds before they have a chance to open. Removing unopened flower buds allows this plant to focus most of its growing energy on its beautiful leaves. However, pruning in this manner does not necessarily influence the plant’s overall health.

Pruning the Australian brake is as easy as waiting until you notice dead or damaged leaves on your plant. When you recognize these leaves, equip yourself with a pair of sharp and sterile hand pruning shears. Hand pruning shears will work best as larger tools like loppers will not be well suited to the precise cuts you need to make. Once you have a proper set of pruning tools, locate an unwanted leaf, then follow its stem all the way to the bottom of petiole. Removing dead stems will increase the light and ventilation of the plant and help it to grow. Cut the stem just above where it exits the soil to remove it entirely. If you wish to stop this plant from flowering, you can use the same pruning shears to remove any buds before they open. Finally, you may prefer to just trim off dead or damaged portions of the plant, including deadheading spent flowers, to keep it looking its best. This can be done at any time of year. Diseased or damaged stems should be cut right at the soil line and removed completely. Blooms should be cut off just below the flower head.

Since pruning for the Australian brake should take place periodically throughout the season, what you do after pruning can vary. For instance, if you prune to remove selected leaves and stems from your Australian brake, you won’t need to do anything except continue your regular maintenance routine. At times, you may choose to remove healthier leaves and include them in a display of cut flowers and foliage. However, there is no crucial maintenance task to perform for this plant after typical pruning. The only thing to note is that when watering after pruning, you need to be careful not to touch the wound to prevent fungus from infecting the plant through the fresh wound. Placing Australian brake in a well-ventilated location will also help the wounds to dry out and heal in time. The timely replenishment of Australian brake after pruning will help the Australian brake to recover as soon as possible.

For your major pruning, use sharp pruning sheers that will make clean cuts to avoid damaging your plants. As you are pruning your Australian brake, step back occasionally to check the appearance of the plant to make sure it has the shape you want and that you are pruning it symmetrically. If the overall growth of the plant is weak, the flowers need to be pruned back in time for flowering to be able to save nutrients for leaf growth and allow the plant to grow more vigorously.

Although this plant doesn’t particularly like a lot of light, it does need some throughout the day to photosynthesize and therefore grow properly. Full shade plants like Australian brake don’t need a full eight hours of sunlight per day, but they do need access to at least six hours of indirect sunlight every day in order to grow at a healthy rate.

Australian brake is a shade-loving plant that requires lots of shade. During the hottest parts of the day, this plant needs to be protected from direct sunlight; however, it can tolerate partial sun during other parts of the day. Morning sun is ideal for Australian brake, but it can tolerate small amounts of afternoon sun if it’s not too hot in one spot for the entire afternoon and evening.

There are a few tricks to planting Australian brake that can prevent you from having to take extra measures to protect it from direct sun. You can try strategic shade planting using buildings or trees to plan where to plant, or even layer using taller plants that can tolerate bright, direct light all day. Otherwise, you can try using shade cloth to build a sunshade over your Australian brake facing toward the sun during the hottest parts of the day.

Unfortunately, too little sunlight is still possible, even though this plant loves the shade. You might notice leaves straining to grow towards better-lit areas, leaves that grow progressively smaller, and even generally-stunted growth. In these cases, you can try moving Australian brake if it’s in a pot, or move other foliage out of the way so that some of the sunlight can reach into your Australian brake.

Australian brake can be damaged fairly easily from sunlight overexposure. When its leaves are exposed to bright, direct sunlight for multiple hours per day in the same spots, you may begin to notice some yellowing and/or brown discoloration at the leaf tips. The leaves in heavily burned spots may also start to curl under or in. These are signs that your Australian brake is being cooked in the sun, and needs a little bit more shade to be happy.

In some climates, sunlight for plants coming out of dormancy may be a bit much. When your Australian brake is in its early stages for the year, it shouldn’t be exposed to much sunlight. The new, tender leaves are far more susceptible to sunburn than mature ones, so be sure to shade your plants properly if they aren’t already protected from direct rays of sunlight. It’s important to keep the first foliage intact, as this will be the primary source of energy the plant as it puts on new growth for the year!

Colder temperatures can affect plants since they have the same temperature as the air around them. When they are exposed to the sun, they can start to get warm again, but this is not the case during winter. The temperature range for the Australian brake is often 70~85℉(21~30℃). They might tolerate 20~30℉(-6~0℃) even 15℉(-10℃), but not for long since this can result in frost damage. Maximum temperatures should be around 70~85℉(21~30℃), but make sure that you spray them with water from time to time and give them some shade to prevent wilting.

Do some research and make sure that the temperature is right when growing Australian brake. Some growers might consider decreasing the plants' thermostats during the growing season to reduce HVAC costs. However, it's vital to understand that the temperature can affect the flowering, pest management, and quality of the plants. There will be a temperature point where the Australian brake will stop growing, and this can happen during the winter when some species might go into a dormant state. The base temperature becomes warmer when the season changes and the Australian brake can grow faster. The species that are naturally growing in warm habitats have higher optimum temperatures when you compare them to the ones that thrive in a cooler climate. When the seeds of Australian brake are exposed to cool temperatures, this can cause a decrease in uniformity and delays. You might also want to lower the temperature during flowering but not at other phases. Cooler temperatures at night will also require less water, so adjust the irrigation as needed.

Stop fertilizing the plant to avoid new growth and allow the old ones to become hardy. This way, they can endure colder temperature when it begins to drop. To keep them warm, you can build structures around the Australian brake like cages or trellises. There are also options to use heat mats that can gently warm the soil since they can consistently maintain an ideal temperature range for the Australian brake.

During winter, you can protect the Australian brake from frost by covering it with cloths, tarps, burlaps, sheets, or plastic buckets. Make sure to keep them down so they continue to act as insulators and the wind will not blow them away. However, ensure that the plastic sheets or burlap covers should not touch any part of the fruit or foliage, or the cold temperatures can transfer to the material and cause burns. When the temperatures begin to rise during the daytime, remove the covers.

When growing the Australian brake in spring, you might want to increase humidity since the air temperature tends to be cooler at this time. A dry temperature can be a stressful growing environment for various species, which can help. If summer arrives, the large cover of the greenhouse and the warm temperature will mean that there will be a higher humidity level in the air. Some signs to look for are the condensation that is often found on the walls of the greenhouse, and this can cause issues with pollination and the development of infections when the water begins to fall on the leaves. Make adjustments according to the temperature and do some spraying during the hotter days of the year.

Generally, the first cold snap can destroy the Australian brake and others might go into a dormant state when the temperature is low. Some plants can get chilled when the temperatures range from 20~30℉(-6~0℃). They can freeze when the temperature begins to drop below 32℉(0℃). Those species that hide most of their parts under the soil might lose their structures above ground, but they can recover in spring. Some of the associated issues with too low temperatures are the lack of availability of resources like water, and nutrients, and those subtropical plants can suffer when the temperature reaches below 20℉(-6℃). The plants can also get damaged because of extreme heat stress when it's too high. This can reduce the transpiration rate that can affect the growth and productivity of Australian brake.

You need to cover the plants at night since these can add about 5 degrees more to protect the species from frost and freezing temperatures. The cloth rows can work well as blankets and ensure that there are no openings where the heat could escape. When using the covers, avoid the plastic from touching the foliage because this can cause the Australian brake to freeze. Remember to keep the covers during the day and stop using heat pads during the summer. It will always be worth the effort to protect the cold-intolerant plants from freezing temperatures to help them survive.

If you prefer not to use a heat pad, bring the Australian brake inside, especially if it's freezing outdoors. During spring, consider the ones you need to bring indoors and plant them in moveable pots and containers.

Most often, the ones caring for the Australian brake will grow them in greenhouses. This is because they can provide adequate temperature in these areas that won't affect the photosynthesis process of a specific process. Some install the proper HVAC systems to control the temperatures of Australian brake. This can handle many species' cooling and heating needs, especially during the summer and winter. They generally place the cooling or heating pad under the plants rather than above to achieve their desired temperatures. If outdoors, you can protect the Australian brake from frost by covering it with cloths, tarps, burlaps, sheets, or plastic buckets.

Heat mats are often left on Australian brake to set the temperatures at a more consistent level. When the weather becomes warmer during the day, you can remove them, especially if the species are exposed to the sun. Put the pads away once the plants are established and when they start growing flowers and fruits.

The leaves of the Australian brake comprise most of its main structure, and fertilization is one of the most impactful ways that you can ensure that those leaves look great while also serving their function. Proper fertilization will help your Australian brake hold leaves with consistent color and a healthy texture. Fertilization also works below the soil's surface to help your Australian brake generate new roots and maintain the roots that are already part of the root system. This means that fertilization will not just keep your plant healthy now, but it will also help your plant be better capable of absorbing soil nutrients in the future.

If you grow your Australian brake outdoors each year, this perennial plant will send new growth shooting out in early spring. The emergence of those leaves is a sign that the time is right to begin fertilization for the year. Often, a Australian brake will perform just fine with a single application of fertilizer when the spring arrives. However, if you wish to maximize the growth of your Australian brake, you can repeat the feeding multiple times throughout the spring and early summer. If you choose this route, you can feed your Australian brake about once every month to a month and a half.

In the late fall and winter, your Australian brake will enter a dormant phase in which it will no longer produce new growth. At this time, you should avoid fertilizing your Australian brake. If you choose to fertilize multiple times during spring and summer, you should begin reducing your fertilization rate as summer approaches, as your Australian brake 's growth rate will also slow. Overall, it is never a wise choice to fertilize your Australian brake during times when the weather is unseasonably hot or when the soil is extraordinarily dry. Fertilizing in either of those cases can stress your Australian brake and cause it to perish prematurely.

Fortunately, choosing the best fertilizer for a Australian brake is a very straightforward task. These plants will thrive on a general-purpose garden fertilizer that has equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. A fertilizer that has a ratio of 10-10-10 or something similar will be very effective. When in doubt, be sure to avoid fertilizers that have high amounts of nitrogen. Most of the best fertilizer for a Australian brake will come in a granular form. These fertilizers should be slow-release and will be very easy to apply to the soil. It can also be helpful to feed your Australian brake using an organic soil amendment such as compost.

Wait until your Australian brake has just barely poked its first leaves through the soil's surface in early spring. Once you see that sign, apply a granular slow-release fertilizer with a balanced formula to the soil that surrounds the base of your Australian brake. You can repeat a similar process later in the season if you choose. When reapplying fertilizer to a Australian brake, you should, again, apply the fertilizer to the soil at the base of the plant rather than to the plant itself. At times, this may require you to move some leaves out of the way to access the soil above the roots. It's also often a good choice to water your Australian brake before and after you feed it.

The Australian brake doesn't necessarily need to receive high volumes of fertilizer each year, which means overfertilization is entirely possible. If you overfertilize your Australian brake, you will likely notice first that the leaves have turned brown. Overfertilization of Australian brake is especially common if you use a fertilizer that has higher concentrations of nitrogen. High nitrogen content will likely cause the leaves of your Australian brake to become discolored, lose much of their moisture, and begin curling at the margins. Many gardeners avoid such complications by limiting fertilization of their Australian brake to once per year in early spring.