Gardening in North Otago 17th July 2010

Another good weather week for Oamaru and a good productive week again in the garden for me. We are getting the good hard frosts we need now so I covered plants like bougainvillea, hibiscus, pelargonium and young daisy bushes. The first hard frost took the front of my large bougainvillea but hopefully it is still protected further in by the damaged outer growth and I don't loose it all together.
Established Margarette daisy bushes will take a knock from the frosts but just leave them, if they do as that frosting on the outside will protect the new growth beneath. In land towards Kurow way gardeners will need to take cuttings of daisy bushes, geranium and paligoniums and protect them until spring because the frosts are too harsh for that soft growth.
I have been pruning back hydrangea's growing in sheltered places around the garden and leaving those which are growing out in the open, the spent flowers left on these will protect them from the frosts.
Prune just before spring by cutting each flower stem off at the second bud from the bottom, leave the stalks which have leaves at the top because these are your flowering stems for this year.
Give pink hydrangeas a dressing of lime now to keep them pink and blue hydrangeas a dressing of sulphate of allium or the specially prepared blue hydrangea mix that can be bought from the garden centres.
This week I attacked a group of large leggy rhododendrons that had leaves, buds and blooms only on the top of long woody branches taller than myself. I was only going to cut the woody non productive wood off because the bushes were beginning to flower, however once I started I ended up cutting them all right back to a healthy bulging nodule and then they got compost and straw, fingers crossed they will push out new bushy growth in the spring.

More rose pruning this week as well, I had to invest in some new secateurs as the pair I have been using did not cut clean and rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal well which will result in die back and this can sometimes claim the whole branch.

Winter is the time you will find the best selection of fruit trees in garden centres. It may be cold and miserable outside but it's the best time to buy your trees for planting through the cold months. They are usually grafted and tall growing so plant up to where they were planted in the bag and stake well to protect against the wind.
A tip I read the other day that could work to eradicate codling moth attacking apple trees. quarter fill a tin or plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree it is said to attract male grubs because the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone which will attract the male grub into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds.

vegetable garden:
Time to start preparing the soil for spring planting. Cultivate vacant spaces, digging in green crops sown earlier. Add compost, and lime if you feel the ground is sour. Dig compost into wet, boggy soils.
Sow seeds of broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, cauliflower, peas, lettuce, onions, radish, spinach, silverbeet, swede and turnips.
In warmer districts sow carrots, parsnips and beetroot.