Gardening in North Otago 8th April 2011

more rain this week and so cold, the first frost on the coast is not far away.
It's that waiting time of year again, waiting for the deciduous trees and shrubs to put on their spectacular autumn show and then drop their leaves, waiting for plants to finish flowering so I can cut them back, waiting for the roses to make seed and not be tempted to cut them back until pruning time in July. It is important not to dead head them now, I know they can look untidy at this stage.
When a spent bloom sets seed the sap continues to be drawn up to feed these seeds and keep them developing. When this is happening the bud shoots going up the steam are not activated because the sap is bypassing them to get to the seed. If we cut the seed head off the sap will go into making new growth which will be too soft to go through the winter and will most probably die back. this will encourage disease and stunt the growth of the bush. Hard wood is needed for pruning so all I am doing with roses right now is removing and disposing of all the diseased leaves from and around the bushes, plus spraying to prevent the over wintering of rust, black spot and mildew. Guild or super shield is ok for this and will hold the bushes until a lime sulphur spray next month.

It is a good time to shift camellias, rhododendrons and conifers now, if still smallish. Larger conifers and shrubs may need to be trenched now and shifted in the winter. If a lot of roots have been removed in the shifting a third of the top growth should be removed, if you do not do this nature will do it for you.


I sprayed weeds around our garden, drive way, paved areas, and lawns this week. I chose to spray at the end of a warm dry day when weeds were thirsty, already I notice wilting. Frosts will take care of the next lot of weed seeds that germinate so the weed spray can go away now until spring.

If the dampness stays around get the grass grub granules on, the grubs are actively eating grass roots until May and then they go dormant and will re-emerge as the night beetle around November.
There is still time to dethatch lawns and resow thin patches of lawn, the ground is still warm enough to get a strike but not for long the nights are cooling down fast. This is the time I give lawns that have not done well a dressing of sifted compost, about 1/2 a bucket to the sqm working it down to the roots with the back of a rake. It will improve both very light and very compact soils. For really compacted areas gypsum can be added to compost.

In glass houses begin to give plants more light, remove any shading and give plants less water.

Vegetable & fruit
Clean up sprays should be applied to all fruit trees and fruiting shrubs that have shown leaf spots. Super copper or Natures way fungus spray can be used. Any citrus bushes that have shown signs of leaf or fruit spot spray with super copper as well.
Still time to sow a green crop when space becomes available in the vegetable garden, dig in veg gone to seed and annual weeds before they go to seed, it's all good humus.

Keep planting winter veg.
Cover pumpkins still growing if there is frost predicted

Cheers, Linda