Gardening in North Otago 5th March 2013

Autumn begins: "Ahhh this warm ripening season I love, long shadows, low sun in Cornflower blue sky's above". ( At this mellow time of the year the poet in me emerges!!) I am still cut, cut cutting back plants that looked stunning last season but are now just tied and straggly like bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops, geraniums, they will all leaf up again to go through the winter. I am still seed collecting, there are so many ready now, I plant a few now but save most to sow in spring. What I am planting now are lupin, Iceland poppy, pansy, pollyantha, primullia, aqulegia and ageratum ( snapdragon) wall flower, stock, Virginia stock and sweet-pea. if these sunny days keep up they should all be up and ready for me to prick out and and plant into containers where they will continue to grow and harden off a little before the danger of hard frost. If some of these seedlings grow big enough to reach bud stage I will plant into the garden but most will need to be carried over until the ground warms up again in spring.( Sweet pea seeds should to be planted straight into the garden now, they will pop up and hold over the winter and as soon as the ground starts to warm in August they will shoot up and flower early ) This week I have had the hedge trimmer out again because some shrubs in our garden have out grown their space with the favorable conditions we have experienced this growing season. I thought this might be a good time to mention the pruning and shaping of shrubs. Shrubs that have flowered on previous years growth like rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, ceonothus, forsythia, coleonema (breath of heaven) only if they need to be trimmed and shaped to reduce their height and width. they should always have this done while there is still enough growing season left for them to make new growth and harden off before the frosts begin. In colder areas like Kurow the trimming of all flowering shrubs should be done as soon as flowering has ended, with the exception of hydrangeas the old growth can be left on these through the winter to protect the new shoots, pruning can be done in mid to late Spring. I have also thinned out crowded camellia bushes, there should be enough open spaces for a bird to fly through which will let enough light in to encourage the best buds for next spring. Shrubs that flower on current years growth like daisy bushes, rosemary, fuchsia are best left with top growth on them now until the end of winter. They will make rapid new growth then, you will only risk loosing them if you cut them back hard now. This month is the latest I feel to cut back natives like pittosporums and hebe's they to need to have new growth harden off before winter, if you intend to shape them be quick or leave them until after winter. You can always tell when it is time to trim hebe's, if they are covered in flower heads gone to seed they need the spent flower heads trimmed off, if this is not done hebe's will get lanky, woody and look untidy. Once they have been trimmed plant a few tip cuttings, remove the bottom leaves and cut the top leaves back by half then plant into the ground or trays, keep them moist and in no time at all they will develop roots. Once growing pinch the cuttings back at least twice to get nice bushy plants. The rule of thumb is hedging plants such as photinia, box hedge, viburnum and tecreium can be cut any time during the growing season but in late autumn I apply that only to here. Late spring and summer is a safer time in colder areas. Autumn is said to be the best time to plant conifers, there are such a lot of different types on offer now and I consider these contribute to the bones of the garden. Tall narrow conifers planted in groups give larger gardens a vertical push and formality. Read labels carefully they will give you the height and width for the first ten years, after that they do keep growing and can be removed if they start to look untidy but most ornamental conifers look wonderful for years & years. Lawns. This is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn,because perennial weeds have slowed down, the ground is nice and warm as are the nights and if the moisture is kept up grass seed will be up in no time. I have been spot spraying the flat weeds in my lawns and when we get rain again I will apply grass grub granules, from February until may is the time to do this. Vegetables: What a great year for produce it is, I have so much ready to use, parsnips, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, corn and pumpkins scrambling all over the place. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg has been, the warm soil will keep germinating and producing until the first frost, and right now that seems ages away. When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green. I take what I need from a dig and leave the rest in the ground until needed. When the time comes for you to store them there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will share a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with dried sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots. Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches so much at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be waiting patiently for the nuts and sun flower seeds to ripen, such abundance! Gardening by the moon Waning crescent This is not a good time to be sowing anything in the garden. Instead use this time to weed and harvest from the garden. It is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap. Dry and barren is a good time to plant bulbs. It is also a good time to sow Root plants like Asparagus , Beetroot , Carrots , Chives , Leeks ,Onions , Parsnips , Shallots , Spring Onions , but it would not be a good time to sow Flowering veg plants like Broccoli , Cauliflowers , Globe Artichokes. Cheers Linda