Gardening in North Otago August 1st 2017

Water and mud everywhere with many people affected by the deluge last week.  I hope not too much lasting devastation in homes and gardens. During the dry period and mop up here at Rockvale gardens I hired that wonderful small chain saw on a pole and created havoc in my wake as I moved around the garden thinning out and lowering shrubs and trees. Ours like any formal garden needs to be contained to fit the space allotted to it at the beginning of planting, which in our case was 37 years ago. Many trees and shrubs have been removed over these years to change areas and let light onto gardens. 
Bulbs that shot up during warmer winter days will continue to head for an early spring display, if temperatures drop now buds will be held and the cold will have a noticeable effect on soft new growth. However prunus autumnalis are in full flower and the fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel, Daphne,boronia and violets wafting about gardens make spring seem closer so on ward with pruning, humping straw bales and barrows of gravel in readiness for the spring explosion. This is time for me to create and dress the garden by planting out, shifting and feeding. Liquid feeding annuals and perennials that have been nursed through winter, Folia feeding helps new leaf growth, budding and flowering plants from now on, roots are starting to take in nutrients to plump up buds.
Hydrangeas:This week I have noticed nice fat buds swelling on the hard wood stems of hydrangeas which indicates, here on the coast time to prune all stems that flowered last year down to the second bud from the bottom, leaving softer new stems to flower this year. Further inland leave top growth on hydrangeas to protect new buds during the cold of August. Feed hydrangeas now as well to keep flowers shades true, aluminum sulphate for blue flowers, lime for pink, white never changes but are best planted in light shade. The use of coffee grinds, grass clippings or pine needles spread around the drip line can help to lower the PH of pink hydrangeas and encourage them into shades of purple. 

While raking out the last autumns leaves that had blown under shrubs I come across branches from shrubs laid down in soil forming roots, viburnum, choysia, camellia and hydrangeas. Most shrubs growing low to the ground can sometimes drop a branch into the soil and form roots allowing the branch to be cut from the Mother bush to be potted and grown on.  This can also be purposely done at the beginning of spring by pegging branches down into the soil, roots should develop at the covered point, making a small wound on the buried stem will help to stimulate root development.

Peony roses: Cut the old growth from peony roses now and destroy, disease can winter over on last years stems, be careful not to knock the new pink shoots emerging from the tubers. Cut the old growth from dahlias now as well, if thick and tubular bend the cut stalk over to prevent rain water building up inside which will lead to rot in a tuber.

Iris: Remove soil / mulch from bearded iris rhizomes, they need to be partially exposed to give the best flowering, a dressing of lime / potash will boost iris flowering avoid nitrogen which will encourage too much leaf growth. 

Roses: With roses making a move to bud up they will be taking in food, powdered rose food needs watered in around the drip line, slow release fertiliser will work each time it rains and manure away from the crown. 
Bare rooted Trees and Roses are still available in Garden Centres, If you think your garden is too small for trees, I have seen dwarf Peach and Nectarine Trees on offer, if you need a tittle tree growing to a width and height of 1.5 metres to add height in a part of your garden why not have one that blossoms beautifully and then gives you fruit, also planting trees in grow bags into the ground will contain width and height.

Vegetables: The veg I have in are holding well despite the weather extremes, frosty areas inland can make a start now by adding some compost and a little lime for frost to work on in readiness for when you plant out later this month. 

Fruit: Prune newly planted fruit trees, this is probably the hardest cut you’ll make, but the most important. Cut a new tree at about hip height, do this whether your wanting a vase shape or a single leader. If the main branches start here they’ll be reachable when fully grown. 

Lets hope we don't get too many dull overcast days by the time fruit trees blossom, we need those wonderful bee's to come out and set to work pollinating.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago July 18th 2017

Some days during the last week were best spent inside while our home was Grand Children filled, with more than one coughing and sniffing. But I did sneak out from time to time while the sun shone to take hard wood cuttings and pot up the cuttings already rooted from those put into river sand at the end of March /April, rose, lavender and perennial wall flower, these I potted into a pot with potting mix / compost then sat pots in a sunny sheltered spot.

Hardwood cuttings: are taken in Winter, The ideal time is just after Autumn or just before bud burst in early spring. Select vigorous healthy shoots grown in the current year, remove soft growth, cut into sections 15-30 cm a sloping cut above a bud at the top, cut straight across the cutting bottom, below a bud. Dip this end into hormone rooting powder / gel which will promote rooting and protect against rotting. Cuttings can go into a prepared slit in the ground ( shaded in summer) or a pot. Two thirds of cutting below the surface, with a layer of river sand at the base. Cuttings should be left until the following Autumn and hopefully you will have a number of well grown beginnings of shrubs and trees. This is the perfect time to select cuttings for future hedging projects, buxus (box), corokia, Sarococca, hebe, viburnum, conifers, Lavender (choose lavender hard wood that has not flowered)

Still pruning roses: here as weather allows, having to take quite a few old branches right out at a low bud on some bushes that have served the garden well for many years, hopefully they will push out new fresh growth. While pruning I enjoyed the presence of the fragrant winter flowering shrubs, winter sweet, daphne bholu, witch hazel,  sarcococca (sweet box)  It is so pleasing to catch these perfumes while moving about the garden.

Bulbs: of every sort are pushing through sodden cold ground reminding us this bleakness will be over soon, all bulbs store food within the bulb and if fed extra nutrient's now it will be put into leaf growth not the flower, only feed bulbs after flowering. 

Frost cloth: has been a must in the last two weeks on potted seedlings I plan to bring through this winter for early spring flowering. Take saucers from under all pots to stop roots sitting in frozen water.

Vegetables:

Broad beans are not every ones favorite but is one veg you can plant now without the problem of aphids and rust. Some trivia: The broad bean was domesticated in about 3000 BC. Egyptians, Romans and Greeks all cultivated broad beans for their good source of protein, fibre, vitamins A and C, potassium and iron.

Beetroot can also be planted now, it will grow slowly and baby beets should be ready during spring.

Fruit. 

Fruit frozen from last summer, gooseberries, peaches, apricots, black currents and plums have all featured in winter pudding cook ups here with the Children during the holidays. There should be a great choice of bare rooted  fruit trees in Garden centers now ready for planting. All fruit trees need a sunny location and shaping starts as soon as they are planted. Height can be reduced from a leader branch to encourage side branching allowing light and sun onto fruit. Unnecessary height on a tree will create leaf shade on lower branches resulting in fruit on unreachable top branches.   

Magnolia, one of the first beautiful flowers to burst into spring .....can't wait for those big fury buds to open.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago July 12th 2017

School holidays and Children inside as days get colder, not ideal, but if no snow on those hills there will be no lakes filling.

With the good hard frosts our gardens need bugs will be zapped and soil broken down. Tender plants need covering with frost cloth, bougainvillea, hibiscus, pelargonium and young daisy bushes. Here on the coast  established Margarette daisy bushes will take a knock from the frosts, leave if they have frosted on outside growth, this will protect the new growth beneath. In land towards Kurow  gardeners will need to take cuttings of daisy bushes, geranium and paligoniums and protect them until spring because the frosts are too harsh for that soft growth.

I have pruned a few sheltered  hydangeas but need to stop myself from being tempted to start on any others until nearer spring, but you can give pink hydrangeas a dressing of lime now to keep them pink and blue hydrangeas a dressing of sulphate of allium or the specially prepared blue hydrangea mix that can be bought from the garden centres.

This week I attacked a group of large leggy rhododendrons that had leaves, buds and blooms only on the top of long woody branches taller than myself. I was only going to cut the woody non productive wood off because the bushes were beginning to flower, however once I started I ended up cutting them all right back to a healthy bulging nodule and then they got compost and straw, they should push out new bushy growth in the spring.

More rose pruning this week as well, I had to invest in some new secateurs as the pair I have been using were not cutting clean and rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal resulting in die back, sometimes claiming a whole branch. Newly planted rose bushes will need pruning at an outward facing bud. 

If winter has left your garden looking a little too bleak, the local garden centres have nice potted colour to brighten things up, small groups of colour make all the difference. I have been buying punnets of small annual seedlings, pansy's, wall flower, stock and primula to pot up for early spring colour and also potting in individual pots delphiniums, hollyhock, lupins, foxgloves and sweet peas grown from seed in the autumn. Winter seems never ending right now but I see spring waiting backstage everywhere.

Vegetables

This week I planted some more garlic cloves, the list of facts, benefits and legends surrounding Garlic are so many and so varied, garlic has been a staple in both pantry's and medicine cupboards for century's.  The shortest day is traditionally garlic planting time but it is still ok to plant now through to August.l separate small cloves and plant pointed end up, five to seven cm below the soil surface and about 10 to 15 cm apart in a sunny, well drained location. Garlic will also grow well in containers or pots growing to about 60-90cm tall during winter and spring, flowering before the top growth dies off over summer. Source bulbs from a garden centre as garlic bought form a supermarket may have been sprayed to inhibit sprouting.

Time to start preparing the soil for spring planting. Cultivate vacant spaces, digging in green crops sown earlier. Add compost / manure, and a few hand fulls of lime to encourage worms. 

Fruit

Winter is the time for planting fruit trees and for finding the best selection in garden centres, They will be tall having been grafted onto strong root stock, plant up to where they were planted in the bag and stake well to protect against the wind.

A tip to eradicate codling moths as they climb  attacks apples, pears,walnuts,quince,crab apple, and some plum and peach trees. quarter fill a tin or plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree it is said to attract male grubs, the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone attracting the male grub into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds. Grubs start climbing trees at blossom burst, good to have all ready and on the trees.

Frosts again here on the coast last week as it should be at the end of June which also means sun, blue skies and gardening after the thaw.  

At long last we have come to the end of leaves and while trees rest for a couple of months there is plenty going on beneath them. Bulbs are pushing through with early snowdrops almost in flower, shrubs are budding up along with hellebores, ericas, wall flower and all the pollys and primulas planted last month, it's time once again to notice all the special little things happening in our gardens.

Tiding up and dividing perennials is what I am up to along with pruning the large climbing and old fashioned roses, some ramblers have become so entangled I need to use a hedge trimmer to reduce the height and width. 

 Make early plantings of gladioli for November flowering and sweet-pea planted now will flower in early spring. 

Roses: Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread of pest and disease, I have done a lime sulphur spray which needs to be left a few weeks before pruning then after pruning a spary of Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil to eliminate powdery mildew, lichen and moss. 

wisterias have lost all their leaves now, prune off all long and unruly canes, if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.

More new seasons trees available locally:Prunus, Flowering cherries and Malus, crab apples are ballerinas in the garden but when choosing the important factors are Height and width when fully grown. Some grow vase shaped which allow garden beneith others spread branches wide and down and weeping which spill to the ground from the top. All are grafted onto standard 1.2m/ 1,5m/ 1.8m root stock which allows height when first planted, each label will tell the allotment height and width. Very few are suitable for small gardens. 

Yedoensis -med/large,spreading mass of mid season  single white or pale pink blossom, Shirotae (Mount Fuji) large spreading, early season double white blossom. Shimidsu sakura late season, low spreading double pale pink blossom. Pink perfection med/large, upright spreading,mid season double pink blossom. Autumnalis rosea: smaller branched pale pink small blossom 3 times a year, flowering now. Weeping varieties:falling snow, white blossom pendula rosa pink blossom and Kiku shidare double pink blossom. They all start at a manageable size but within 5 years they become a sizable tree.

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

Fruit: This week I will go through the pruning required for pear trees, it is not recommended to heavily prune pear trees but if this is required the best time to do major pruning is during winter. The more you prune, the greater the chance that fire blight will develop where leaves and branches look as if they have been burned by fire, this delays fruit production. If a light trim is required this is best done late in the summer. If living in an area where there's a chance of winter damage, wait to prune until late winter. Pear trees bloom and bear fruit on the sharp, short spurs that grow between its branches, older spurs should be removed occasionally to be replaced by more vigorous young ones.Too many spurs will result in small fruit, thin them out to let the remaining fruit grow larger. Envision how you want your pear trees to look and set a three-year plan to get them into that shape and size. 

First year: remove damaged, crossing or crowded limbs, ssuckers need to be removed as soon as you notice them to avoid them turning into wood.

Second year: Thin out the tree some more and bring down some of the height. 

Third year: thin out the trees some more and cut down to the desired height. (Burn all trimmings) There are many new varieties of both pear and apple trees that have been cultivated to be very resistant to fire blight, this is one disease that can severely damage and, or kill your fruit trees.The leaves and twigs of the trees get the disease from insects who enter the flowers during springtime, insects get it by gathering pollen from nearby cedar trees. Choose a resistant variety and keep trees moist, especially during blossom time and when fruit is ripening. If your tree has already been hit by fire blight, you will need to prune out the affected shoots at least several inches below the damaged area. Be sure to sterilize your clippers between cuts and burn cuttings. . 

Cheers, Linda. Blogspot http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz

Gardening in North Otago June 21st 2017

Frosts again here on the coast last week as it should be at the end of June which also means sun, blue skies and gardening after the thaw.  

At long last we have come to the end of leaves and while trees rest for a couple of months there is plenty going on beneath them. Bulbs are pushing through with early snowdrops almost in flower, shrubs are budding up along with hellebores, ericas, wall flower and all the pollys and primulas planted last month, it's time once again to notice all the special little things happening in our gardens.

Tiding up and dividing perennials is what I am up to along with pruning the large climbing and old fashioned roses, some ramblers have become so entangled I need to use a hedge trimmer to reduce the height and width. 

 Make early plantings of gladioli for November flowering and sweet-pea planted now will flower in early spring. 

Roses: Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread of pest and disease, I have done a lime sulphur spray which needs to be left a few weeks before pruning then after pruning a spary of Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil to eliminate powdery mildew, lichen and moss. 

wisterias have lost all their leaves now, prune off all long and unruly canes, if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.

More new seasons trees available locally:Prunus, Flowering cherries and Malus, crab apples are ballerinas in the garden but when choosing the important factors are Height and width when fully grown. Some grow vase shaped which allow garden beneith others spread branches wide and down and weeping which spill to the ground from the top. All are grafted onto standard 1.2m/ 1,5m/ 1.8m root stock which allows height when first planted, each label will tell the allotment height and width. Very few are suitable for small gardens. 

Yedoensis -med/large,spreading mass of mid season  single white or pale pink blossom, Shirotae (Mount Fuji) large spreading, early season double white blossom. Shimidsu sakura late season, low spreading double pale pink blossom. Pink perfection med/large, upright spreading,mid season double pink blossom. Autumnalis rosea: smaller branched pale pink small blossom 3 times a year, flowering now. Weeping varieties:falling snow, white blossom pendula rosa pink blossom and Kiku shidare double pink blossom. They all start at a manageable size but within 5 years they become a sizable tree.

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

Fruit: This week I will go through the pruning required for pear trees, it is not recommended to heavily prune pear trees but if this is required the best time to do major pruning is during winter. The more you prune, the greater the chance that fire blight will develop where leaves and branches look as if they have been burned by fire, this delays fruit production. If a light trim is required this is best done late in the summer. If living in an area where there's a chance of winter damage, wait to prune until late winter. Pear trees bloom and bear fruit on the sharp, short spurs that grow between its branches, older spurs should be removed occasionally to be replaced by more vigorous young ones.Too many spurs will result in small fruit, thin them out to let the remaining fruit grow larger. Envision how you want your pear trees to look and set a three-year plan to get them into that shape and size. 

First year: remove damaged, crossing or crowded limbs, ssuckers need to be removed as soon as you notice them to avoid them turning into wood.

Second year: Thin out the tree some more and bring down some of the height. 

Third year: thin out the trees some more and cut down to the desired height. (Burn all trimmings) There are many new varieties of both pear and apple trees that have been cultivated to be very resistant to fire blight, this is one disease that can severely damage and, or kill your fruit trees.The leaves and twigs of the trees get the disease from insects who enter the flowers during springtime, insects get it by gathering pollen from nearby cedar trees. Choose a resistant variety and keep trees moist, especially during blossom time and when fruit is ripening. If your tree has already been hit by fire blight, you will need to prune out the affected shoots at least several inches below the damaged area. Be sure to sterilize your clippers between cuts and burn cuttings. . 

Cheers, Linda. Blogspot http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz

Gardening in North Otago June 21st 2017

Frosts again here on the coast last week as it should be at the end of June which also means sun, blue skies and gardening after the thaw.  

At long last we have come to the end of leaves and while trees rest for a couple of months there is plenty going on beneath them. Bulbs are pushing through with early snowdrops almost in flower, shrubs are budding up along with hellebores, ericas, wall flower and all the pollys and primulas planted last month, it's time once again to notice all the special little things happening in our gardens.

Tiding up and dividing perennials is what I am up to along with pruning the large climbing and old fashioned roses, some ramblers have become so entangled I need to use a hedge trimmer to reduce the height and width. 

 Make early plantings of gladioli for November flowering and sweet-pea planted now will flower in early spring. 

Roses: Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread of pest and disease, I have done a lime sulphur spray which needs to be left a few weeks before pruning then after pruning a spary of Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil to eliminate powdery mildew, lichen and moss. 

wisterias have lost all their leaves now, prune off all long and unruly canes, if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.

More new seasons trees available locally:Prunus, Flowering cherries and Malus, crab apples are ballerinas in the garden but when choosing the important factors are Height and width when fully grown. Some grow vase shaped which allow garden beneith others spread branches wide and down and weeping which spill to the ground from the top. All are grafted onto standard 1.2m/ 1,5m/ 1.8m root stock which allows height when first planted, each label will tell the allotment height and width. Very few are suitable for small gardens. 

Yedoensis -med/large,spreading mass of mid season  single white or pale pink blossom, Shirotae (Mount Fuji) large spreading, early season double white blossom. Shimidsu sakura late season, low spreading double pale pink blossom. Pink perfection med/large, upright spreading,mid season double pink blossom. Autumnalis rosea: smaller branched pale pink small blossom 3 times a year, flowering now. Weeping varieties:falling snow, white blossom pendula rosa pink blossom and Kiku shidare double pink blossom. They all start at a manageable size but within 5 years they become a sizable tree.

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

Fruit: This week I will go through the pruning required for pear trees, it is not recommended to heavily prune pear trees but if this is required the best time to do major pruning is during winter. The more you prune, the greater the chance that fire blight will develop where leaves and branches look as if they have been burned by fire, this delays fruit production. If a light trim is required this is best done late in the summer. If living in an area where there's a chance of winter damage, wait to prune until late winter. Pear trees bloom and bear fruit on the sharp, short spurs that grow between its branches, older spurs should be removed occasionally to be replaced by more vigorous young ones.Too many spurs will result in small fruit, thin them out to let the remaining fruit grow larger. Envision how you want your pear trees to look and set a three-year plan to get them into that shape and size. 

First year: remove damaged, crossing or crowded limbs, ssuckers need to be removed as soon as you notice them to avoid them turning into wood.

Second year: Thin out the tree some more and bring down some of the height. 

Third year: thin out the trees some more and cut down to the desired height. (Burn all trimmings) There are many new varieties of both pear and apple trees that have been cultivated to be very resistant to fire blight, this is one disease that can severely damage and, or kill your fruit trees.The leaves and twigs of the trees get the disease from insects who enter the flowers during springtime, insects get it by gathering pollen from nearby cedar trees. Choose a resistant variety and keep trees moist, especially during blossom time and when fruit is ripening. If your tree has already been hit by fire blight, you will need to prune out the affected shoots at least several inches below the damaged area. Be sure to sterilize your clippers between cuts and burn cuttings. . 

Cheers, Linda. Blogspot http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz

Gardening in North Otago July 5th 2017

Mud and more mud, very sticky underfoot with the frequent bursts of rain and lack of drying winds or frosts to firm ground. Probably the year to lift dahlia tubers if sitting in saturated ground to prevent rotting of those you do not want to loose.

Full on pruning here now, pruning through the day then removing thorns from fingers at night, some thorns are stubborn to remove requiring a dab of magnesium sulphate paste held in place with a plaster, this helps to draw the thorn closer to the surface of the skin. Roses live without pruning but being deciduous they respond well to a good prune in winter, doing this will give you new shoots to replace the old ones, keep the plant young with more flowers per season on shapely bushy plants. Roses are very forgiving if you get it a bit wrong, so don't worry! it is handy to have a good set of tools to make pruning easier (leather gloves, secateurs, loppers, and a pruning saw. 

New seasons rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and daphne's will be on offer soon with fat healthy buds to tempt the gardener and moist soft ground is perfect for getting these settled in the ground. Early sasanqua camellias are flowering now, these camellias are fast growing and probably the most sun tolerant of all camellias. They are extremely tolerant of shaping, clipping or espaliering and are ideal as hedges, screens or growing in containers.

If young trees or shrubs need transplanting now is a good time to do it whilst they are at their most dormant stage, plant with a firm stake if height is involved.

Even though frosts are few here on the coast continue protecting tender plants inclined to produce soft growth during a mild winter, they will be badly effected by the arrival of severe frosts.
Turn over compost, add some lime now if you have not already done so and moisture if the pile is dry. 

Vegetables
On the coast plant in full sun seedling veg plants that are now on offer, if your veg garden looses sun in winter use this time to dig in manure/compost and a sprinkle of lime to sweeten.

I have long known the advantages of growing comfrey but have lately been reading up on it again, such a useful plant. If you can get your hands on some I suggest you plant root sections in an area of garden where it can spread and send roots very deep into the soil to tap into much needed nutrients. It is fast growing, high in potassium and can be cut back again and again. I have listed below some uses for comfrey around the garden. 
Compost activator, add to your compost bin to heat up the decomposing materials and enrich the compost. 
Cram comfrey leaves into a bucket, add water and let them rot down. The leaves soon turn into a repulsive smelling sludge and after two weeks the mixture will be like brownish, green soup, strain it and put the sludge on the compost then bottle the liquid to use as a base fertiliser, use 1 part to 10 parts water.

Lay comfrey leaves in a potato trench and leave for 3 days prior to planting the tubers to give a potassium rich boost of fertiliser. 

Use as a Comfrey leaf mulch around plants, by layering leaves around the stems of plants. Potassium will slowly be released to the plants as the leaves break down – Great for tomatoes, beans and fruit bushes.

It has been discovered that wilting comfrey leaves become irresistible to slugs and snails, strew them around the plants they chew to distract them. Happy to share a section of comfrey root if contacted.