Gardening in North Otago January 15th 2013

What a stormy January we are having, with all those spectacular cloud formations have been. I am liking the heavy rain falls keeping the garden fresh, but not so good for hay making. Some of my roses are still suffering from rust on leaves. Some roses are more susceptible to rust attack and I feel these roses succumb when the ground becomes dry during strong warm winds, becoming distressed between watering's. I continue to remove rust effected leaves then spray with a fungicide when time allows. I don't use sprinklers late in the day if overcast, wet leaves going into warm nights encourages mildew. Deep watering around the roots is what I recommend to keep fungus at bay. I continue to dead head roses and give then a summer prune. cut a spent flower stem down to an out facing bud on a thick, strong part of stem. There are so many plants requiring a cut back now, my wheel barrow is on the go most days filling up in no time with cut back lupins, munkshood, mignonette, nasturtiums, iris, buddleia and delphiniums to name a few. I have just cut back my one plant I grow a lot of which flops all over the place now, it is acanthus mollis known sometimes as (Bears britches) or (The oyster plant) cut well back to guarantee new fresh growth during autumn and winter. Keep taking tip cuttings from chrysanthemums, I find they root well in river sand. My hydrangea's are wonderful right now, big healthy leaves and large full blooms, and I guess because of the frequent rains the colours are very intense. Petunias are taking center stage now, they are wonderful gap fillers for sunny gardens, they do not preform well in shade. A shady spot can be filled with impatiens which are also coulourful when planted in bold groups. Dead heading rhododendrons is really boring and time consuming but worth doing on newly planted bushes to encourage growth into the bush not into making seeds. There is a point where the spent flower seed heads break off cleanly without disturbing the new growth shoots at the sides, once you start you will find that break off point. I was out with the lawn fertiliser in that last heavy rain and see the weeds have been fed as well so will need to spot spray again, it's never ending when lawns need to look good. Fruit & Veg. I got many pots of black current jam made last week and there are still some ready to pick to freeze for winter pies this week...It's one of those jobs I need to find time for and always pleased I did once it is done. The vegetable garden is doing fine,seeds are popping up in no time after sowing, my lettuces seem to be sitting waiting to be picked without bolting, the corn is putting on some growth now but I find myself telling the pumpkins to hurry up as they and corn need a long hot ripening season. Keep planting all veg, seeds & plants (apart from corn and pumpkin) they should have been started before now. Gardening by the moon FULL MOON Sunday, 27 January 2013 Full Moon The full moon is the time to plant watery or fleshy plants like marrows and cucumbers or planting. The moon is at her most influential at this time over the water element (the tides are also strongest then). This is also a good time for harvesting stems, seeds especially as the full moon and fiery signs coincide. Cheers, Linda