Gardening in North Otago June 1st 2016

June already, with the shortest day just around the corner and snow on the  Kakanuis I am once again wearing thermals, gloves and woolly socks as leaves still fall and temperatures drop into winter. The rain last week was fantastic for dry North Otago and ground should remain damp now to boost spring growth slowly pushing through. Pea straw is still going on here to help retain that ground moisture.

Keep tiding up perennials that need to rest now, divide overgrown plants and plant rooted cuttings from the outer edges of perennial clumps, if you think the mother plant is past it's best dispose of it. 

Keep planting or shifting lilium bulbs, they should never become dry and are best planted in raised well drained gardens, as are early plantings of gladioli for November flowering. 

I see early roses on offer, the sooner they are out of plastic bags and in chilly air the better. The warmth of the packaging will have encouraged new shoots which will drop off as stems harden in cold air. Newly planted roses need pruned to out facing buds, bare rooted roses on sale are field grown and are all mass trimmed before lifting.

Root cuttings: If you've ever had problems propagating some of your favorite plants, Root cutting is worth trying to produce many perennial and woody plants, it is a straight forward process best done during the plant's dormant season between June and September.

Carefully remove dirt around the roots on one side of the plant, dig fairly close to the base of the plant to make sure you find healthy roots pencil thick belonging to the plant you are working on, take 2 to 6 inch cuttings and cut into 2 to 3 inch (6 to 7.5 cm) sections. 

To keep track of the cuttings top end and bottom end is to make a flat cut on top side, and a slanted cut on the bottom side. 

Plant in a deep pot, (frost free) with a little sand in the bottom of the planting hole, dust the bottom of each cutting with powdered sulfur to control fungi. Make sure that the tops of the cuttings are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the soil and cover with a layer of  coarse river sand or small gravel, water only when soil becomes dry.

For Perennial Plants.
It is usually easier to lift the entire parent plant, look for large fleshy roots, the thicker the better.Take 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cuttings the same way as above, then replant the parent plant and water in. In three to four weeks your cuttings should be forming roots, and some even may start to push through new growth,when new shoots appear give them some liquid fertilizer at half strength.
List of Plants suitable for Root Cuttings.
Figs, Hydrangeas, Choysia, Poplar, Red and yellow twig dogwoods, old roses (non grafted), viburnum Snowball bush, Weeping willow, Yucca, Aster, Bear’s breeches, tall phlox's, geranium, globe thistle, hollyhocks, horseradish, aster, Oriental poppies,Primrose, Rhubarb, Sage, Sea hollies, perennial statice, Raspberry and Blackberry.

Lawns; Growth should have slowed right down now, if you noticed your lawn was hard and cracked during the dry summer spread gypsum during rain or water in to soften and turn clay content into soil. 

Vegetable On the coast Sow broad beans, garlic, shallots and rhubarb. Colder areas nothing much can be planted