Gardening in North Otago 5th June 2018

With the shortest day just around the corner and snow on the Kakanui's I am once again wearing thermals, gloves and woolly socks as fewer leaves are now falling ( thank goodness) and temperatures drop into winter. Ground should remain damp now to boost spring growth already pushing through, pea straw is still going on here to help retain that ground moisture.

Gardeners can pick days that suit to be out in the garden from now on, nothing is desperately needing done apart from tiding up while sap declines, at least not until pruning takes place. Divide overgrown perennials and plant rooted cuttings from the outer edges of clumps, if you think the mother plant is past it's best dispose of it as new plantings will keep making roots and zoom away in spring.

Get early plantings of gladioli bulbs in for November flowering, same for sweet peas they will pop up, sit while ground is still cold with frosts then take off and flower early once ground starts to warm. Sweet peas enjoy a rich growing space, a trench dug at least two or three shovels deep lined with manure to take them to great heights with masses of those beautifully perfumed flowers. Same planting procedure for Clematis.

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

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 cuttings top end and bottom end is to make a flat cut on top, and a slanted cut on the bottom. Dust the bottom of each cutting with powdered sulfur to control fungi and make sure bottom of the cuttings are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the soil in a  deep pot, (frost free) with a little sand in the bottom of the planting hole, cover with a layer of  coarse river sand or small sharp gravel and water only when soil becomes dry. 

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, Acanthus mollis, 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 to soften and turn clay content into soil. 

Vegetable : Cool season vegetables grow best when temperatures are 10-20 degrees C or even lower. They include broad beans, brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions, peas, cauliflower, spinach, turnips  garlic, shallots and rhubarb. Colder areas nothing can be planted directly into ground but I am sure plants are being nurtured in protected enclosures.

End of season hydrangea 

Only a few leaves left to drop.