Gardening in North Otago 6th December 2011

As I write the rain is falling and I am happy about that because after those hot days just past, my garden needs a freshen up.
The big clean up after all the hedge trimming has been on going here, things look as I said last week a little too neat and tidy but nature will do it's best to put that right!
I know you will be finding there is so much to be cut back in the garden, plants like tree peony which doubles in size each growing season. Don't let tree peony swamp your garden and smother other plants. When finished flowering the older woody canes can be cut down to the second bud from the bottom leaving the new green stalks to be next years flower branches. By doing this now seed pods will be cut off as well, if allowed to ripen they will pop all over your garden and grow. Other larger plants I have had to cut back are bush lavatera's, English abutilon, ornamental broom, and false Valerian. These will all grow back soon and look a lot nicer, some will flower again.

Dead head roses spoiled by the rain, they will only rot on the bush if left which will encourage fungus. Cut back to an outward facing bud on a strong lower section of the branch.

Begonias are really pushing through now and I see that I have lost a few of the ones I left in the ground from last year, I am guessing all the rain we had rotted them. I did dig out and store most of them and have planted them out. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertiliser, as a folia spray or watered in around their roots.

Hydrangeas are producing flower heads now so it is important to keep the water and food up to them, blood and bone, dry, liquid or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy and flowering well. Remember it's lime for pink and Epsom salts or aluminum sulphate to keep them blue.

Fuchsias are making a lot of growth now as well, if you missed cutting any back do it now, they will flower later than the ones you have cut back but will soon catch up .Fuchsias are on sale right now and are wonderful in pots for a shady spot. Because they put on a lot of growth in one season they soon become bushy and fill a pot.
Tip cuttings can be taken from fuchsias now, if you spot some you like in a friends garden ask for some cuttings.
Tip cuttings from Hebe's will root with no trouble as well right now. Use wet crusher dust or river sand to strike them, never beach sand.

If you are looking for something non invasive to make a show of colour against a wall why not try Abutilon (Chinese lantern ) it comes in three Strong colours, yellow, orange and burgundy. I have planted yellow and burgundy together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below them, being a rather spindly plant I am intertwining them as they grow, they are just starting to flower now and look great together. If you do train them against a wall you could leave some longer branches and shorten back others to get a good cover of flowers.

What a wonderful addition to the flower garden peony roses are, they are fantastic this year or am I just seeing more in peoples gardens? The brilliant shades and very large blooms fill many vases I am sure. Remove seed pods once blooms have finished to stop plants putting effort into making seed.

With the weight of rain I can see which branches need lifting on large deciduous trees, if left they will cast too much shade over surrounding plants. It's the lower branches that can be removed without making the tree look as though it has been cut. The upper branches will hide the cuts, so any branch growing downwards with a canopy branch directly above it can be cut back or removed altogether.

Lawns
keep feeding lawns, dry lawn fertiliser must only be applied when we get rain to wash it in but a liquid fertiliser is fine any time. Lawns get really stressed from now on as the heat of the day intensifies.
If your lawns are inclined to crack when dry they have probably been planted on clay soil, apply gypsum ( soluble lime) and water in. After a couple of years of doing this your lawns will have a spring back in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil.
If lawn weeds are a problem spray before cutting or remove flat weeds with a knife when noticed. I spot spray with lawn weed spray because I don't want to upset the balance of the work going on in the soil beneath the lawn by contaminating it with chemicals.


Vegetables

Perfect weather for vegetables and fruit this year, keep the hoe going because the weeds are doing well also. The days are warm and the nights a little cooler, just right for growing. I am amazed that the white butterfly is still not a problem, in our garden! not that I want them laying their eggs on my veg plants, long may it last.

Tomatoes will be getting taller and starting to fruit now, the removal of over half the leaves on a plant will benefit your plants, more nutrients going to the fruit along with more sun to encourage flowering and allowing flowers to become more visible to insects for pollination. Try it and see if you get a better crop.
The cooler nights tend to upset tomato plants, leaves an become bluish and tend to curl causing plants to become susceptible to blight. One method of keeping them in good health I have been reading up on is the use of copper wire.
Basic premise: The presence of copper (wire) would help the tomato plants be more resistant to "blight" related diseases during the course of the growing season.
Material: 12" length of 18 gauge, uninsulated copper wire (usually for wall picture hanging). 12" per tomato plant.

In spring, right after transplanting your tomato plants (assuming main vine is at least 1/4" in diameter and transplant shock is over). Insert or force one end of the wire thru the center of the main vine about 1" above ground level. Kink the protruding wire end so that it doesn't slip out of the vine. Force the remainder of the wire (9-10") into the root zone in the ground. That's all that's to it.
The person who wrote the above also wrote that he use this method on half his crop and controlled the other half with sprays. Result, the copper prevention was as successful as his spraying programme.

Our Daughter Tamin ( Golding Arts 2011) has designed a calendar for 2012 which includes my North Otago gardening suggestions for each month along with images of our garden. Should you be interested in purchasing one for yourself or to give as a gift they are available at Paper plus.

Cheers, Linda.