Gardening in North Otago 28th February 2014

More lovely summer days this week along with dark dramatic sky's, there are parts in our garden that are really tired now particularly the long boarders which I plan to attack this weekend. Cut back border and rockery perennials as they finish flowering then top dress with compost and some blood & bone to give all a boost. To get superior blooms on gerberas, dahlias, delphiniums and chrysanthemums dead head and give fortnightly feeds of liquid fertiliser, remove excess buds from large flowering chrysanthemums they will be putting on a show soon. I would dearly love to shift shrubs but I know they would suffer by being shifted at this time of the year even if the water was kept up to them. Best to wait until the end of Autumn when the sap has gone down. However if you have no option and have to shift trees and shrubs it would not be as traumatic if they were first wrenched to cushion them from the shock. Wrenching is when one half of the roots are dug around and lifted, then compost is added under them for new feeder roots to grow into. It is important to keep the water up once roots have been cut or disturbed. A tree or shrub will survive with being fed from the remaining untouched roots while at the same time the other half is making new roots into the compost in readiness for a shift later. Wrenched trees and shrubs have a much higher transplant success rate than trees and shrubs that are lifted in one go and transplanted. Wrench now and transplant in winter when plants are dormant. I am still gathering seeds with the help of two little Grand Daughters, the hot days we have been experiencing are ripening seeds on foxgloves, Poppy's, dianthus, lupin, marigold, sweet pea, lavender, snapdragon & hollyhock. We planted poppy, hollyhock, lupin & marigold into trays and stored the rest in brown paper bags in a dry place( where mice cannot get at them) to sow into seed raising mix at the end of winter. Watering plants is a priority now but it is best not to water in the heat of the day, wait until it cools down and your plants will absorb and retain the moisture. Mulching is also beneficial right now, but always apply mulch to ground that has been well soaked then forget about watering for a while because the mulch will do the job of keeping that moisture in the ground. I am sure many people will be on the look out for bales of new seasons pea straw soon, I look forward to passing on contacts should I be given any. Because I pile a lot of my garden waste in a sheep paddock along side the garden I am mindful of what I am leaving for the sheep to eat. There are a number of common plants that can poison animals and Children : Arum lillies, Calico bush, Daphne, English yew, foxglove, Hemlock, Holly berries, Iris, Ivy, Kowhai (especially seeds) Laburnum, Lily of the valley, Ngaio, Night shade,Privit, Rhododendron, Rhubarb (leaves) Spindle berry, Potato ( green berries & green tubers) Lawns: The lawn weeds I sprayed last week are wilting away, even the Hydrocotyle which I thought was not going to succumb to the spray. I am ready with grass grub granules next significant rain fall we get, I can see where the grubs are eating away at the roots of grass, mostly in the ground at the foot of trees the night beetles (Grass grub turn into these beetles) strip leaves from. Veg & Fruit Keep the water up to corn and pumpkins to ensure a juicy crop, they both need a long ripening season. Dig out old spent strawberry plants that have finished cropping and discard. Plants that are being kept for another season should have runners cut off now to preserve the strength of the main clumps. Transplant strong runners and keep the water up to them until they make roots. Grapes are filling out now, I will be putting the net over mine soon and keeping the moisture up to them. Cheers, Linda Blog: http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz/