Garden maintenance calendar for Mallorca
A Mallorca garden runs on a different calendar from a northern European one. The growing season here is broadly October to May, the hard part of the year is July and August, and several of the jobs that matter most are tied to a narrow window rather than to a season. Missing the irrigation check in April or pruning an olive in the wrong month costs more than skipping a month of general tidying.
Key takeaways
- The two jobs with the least flexible timing are the spring irrigation check and the autumn firebreak clearance.
- Winter is the working season here. Structural pruning, planting and hard landscaping all belong to the cool months.
- July and August are for keeping things alive, not for planting, feeding or hard pruning.
- Watch for red palm weevil year round; the pruning wounds that attract it are the risk, not the season.
The year at a glance
| Month | What the garden needs |
|---|---|
| January | Bare root and citrus planting, structural pruning of deciduous trees, dormant sprays, drainage checked after heavy rain |
| February | Olive and almond pruning towards the end of the month, roses cut back, soil improvement before spring |
| March | Feeding as growth starts, weeding before it seeds, mulch laid while the ground is still damp |
| April | Full irrigation test zone by zone, controller reprogrammed, filters cleaned, frost risk over inland |
| May | Watering schedule stepped up, hedges cut before nesting is over, last window for a heavy feed |
| June | Water early morning, mulch topped up, shade and pots checked daily, pest inspection on palms |
| July | Survival month. No feeding, no hard pruning, watch for irrigation faults and heat stress |
| August | Same again, plus holiday cover. Check the controller has not lost its programme after a cut |
| September | Firebreak and dry vegetation clearance, tidy after the season, irrigation still running |
| October | Best planting month of the year. Reduce watering, lift and divide, sow ground cover |
| November | Olive harvest, gutters and surface drains cleared before the rains, leaf clearance |
| December | Winter checks, terrace and wall repairs, plan next year while the garden is dormant |
The spring irrigation check
April is the month this is worth doing properly, because a fault found then is a repair and a fault found in July is a dead border. Run every zone manually from the controller, walk the garden while each one runs, and note dry patches, permanently wet patches and zones that do not come on at all. Clean the filters, check the controller has kept its date and programme through the winter power cuts, and adjust the run times for the season ahead. If something is wrong, working out which fault you have before calling anybody makes the quote far more accurate.
Pruning windows worth respecting
- Olive. Late winter into early spring, after the worst cold and before growth starts. Details in the olive pruning guide.
- Almond and other stone fruit. After flowering, and avoid cutting in wet weather when fungal infection spreads fastest.
- Citrus. Light work after harvest in late winter. Citrus resents heavy cutting.
- Evergreen hedges. Trim in late spring and again in early autumn. Check for nesting birds before a spring cut.
- Bougainvillea and vigorous climbers. Cut back hard in late winter, tidy after each flush.
- Palms. Dead fronds and fruit stalks only, and mind the weevil risk that fresh wounds create.
The autumn clearance nobody should skip
Dry vegetation clearance around buildings is a fire risk question first and a tidiness question second, and it is regulated in some circumstances on rural land. The practical version is that the dead growth accumulated over a dry summer should come out before the season’s end rather than sit against a wall. The same visit is the sensible time to clear gutters, surface channels and any soakaway, because the first serious rain of the autumn arrives quickly and tests all of them at once. Local rules on clearance and on burning green waste vary and change, so check the current position with the town hall; our note on disposing of garden waste covers the practical routes.
What a maintenance contract usually covers
Most regular garden maintenance on the island is sold as a number of visits per month, and the difference between quotes is usually what those visits include rather than the price per visit. Worth establishing in writing: whether irrigation checks and repairs are inside the contract or billed separately, who removes the green waste, whether seasonal pruning of trees and palms is included or quoted per job, and what happens between October and March when the garden needs less frequent attention. Read what garden maintenance costs on Mallorca for how those visits are normally priced.
When should I check my irrigation system in Mallorca?
April, before the demand rises. Run each zone manually, clean the filters and confirm the controller kept its programme through the winter. A fault found in April is a repair; the same fault found in July has already cost you plants.
What is the best month to plant in Mallorca?
October, and the autumn generally. Planting into warm soil ahead of the winter rain gives roots several months to establish before the first dry summer. Spring planting works but means watering through that first July.
What garden jobs should I avoid in summer?
Feeding, hard pruning and planting. All three push growth the plant cannot support in July and August heat. Restrict summer work to watering, mulching and keeping an eye out for pests and irrigation faults.
How often does a Mallorca garden need maintenance?
It varies with the planting. A dry, gravel and native garden may need monthly attention; a lawn, hedges and an irrigated border in a rental property usually need weekly or fortnightly visits through the growing season.
Getting the year covered
We do not maintain gardens ourselves. Describe the property, the planting and how often you are there, and we pass it to vetted garden maintenance companies on Mallorca covering your area, who quote you directly. Request free quotes and compare what each visit actually includes, which is where quotes differ most.
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