Roots are beginning to move this months looking for nutrients, plants like lilac, clematis, carnations, dianthus, can have a dressing of lime, all herbs as well, it takes time to be taken down where needed by worms.
Lime can also go on compost heaps to sweeten, I am also adding manure to add nitrogen to leaf mulch which is rotting down in readiness for late spring garden mulch, manure will also encourage worms up towards new layers of organic matter.
Roses: are beginning to bud which is an indication they are looking for food, apply rose fertiliser and watered in. Watering is not so important for slow release fertilisers they are designed to feed each time water is applied. My roses will also get a dose of worm tea when I get around to it.
Wisteria is next to be pruned, All the long slim leaders growing out in all directions can be removed. Once your wisteria has reached the length required with a chosen leader, or maybe two going in opposite directions all other leaders can be removed. If allowed to grow, a wispy new leader can eventually become as thick as a tree branch, and too many of theses become a tangled mess and very heavy if being trained along a balcony.Don't prune any other part off a wisteria at this time of the year because you will remove the flower buds forming right now. Reduce the size of large established wisterias once flowering has finished.
Clumps of hellebore's should be looking fantastic right now, once pollinated the center of the flower changes to form seed pods, when this has taken place the stems become firmer and will last in water when picked. Hellebore's seed down very readily growing masses of baby plants beneath the mother plants. These seedlings can be transplanted or potted up in the second year when they have developed two strong leaves, but will not flower until around the forth year.
I notice Marguerite daisies and my bouganvillea have been damaged by frost, I will leave the damaged growth on top to protect the growth. In case August proves to be our coldest month I hung frost cloth in front of the bouganvilla.
Only this month to go and we will can roll head first into spring leaving these really cold months behind us. Plants that do appreciate cold days and nights are erica's and calluna's they come into their own during winter, displaying stunning shades of pink and white. Some ground cover erica can spread up to a meter and stay looking fresh for a good number of years. As a front planting in a boarder garden they form a carpet to stop that bird scratching problem and suppress weeds, they are so pretty when other plants are resting. Erica's require a dry, sunny situation, no feeding just a hair cut when finished flowering. I noticed a good choice of flowering ericas on offer in Garden centers this week.
Lawns that are regularly fertilized can become more too acid so a dressing of lime now will work down over the next few months, encourage worms and sweeten them a little.
Vegetables & Fruit
On milder North Otago mid-winter days, especially after rain it seem perfect for planting at a time when we usually don't. There are edibles that can go into the ground when it is cold and damp. But remember none of these will survive in boggy soils so good drainage is essential with early plantings. Garlic and Shallots are available to plant - dig compost through your soil or fill a container and plant separated cloves of garlic approximately twice the depth of the clove. Take care not to damage cloves when separating out the bulb. You could get up to 20 cloves per bulb!
Strawberries are easy to plant in all kinds of containers or straight into sunny / raised garden beds along with slow release fertiliser. Strawberries also seem to do very well in a hanging strawberry bag with an abundance of slow release food, but it would pay to have some bird netting on hand once the fruit starts turning red.
Gooseberry bushes can be attacked this month, clean the middle out of cross over branches and take off branches skirting the ground which lifts the bushes up higher for picking underneath, some of these lower branches can grow roots into the ground, I have potted these sections up to develop into good size bushes in a couple of growing seasons.
Wisteria is next to be pruned, All the long slim leaders growing out in all directions can be removed. Once your wisteria has reached the length required with a chosen leader, or maybe two going in opposite directions all other leaders can be removed. If allowed to grow, a wispy new leader can eventually become as thick as a tree branch, and too many of theses become a tangled mess and very heavy if being trained along a balcony.Don't prune any other part off a wisteria at this time of the year because you will remove the flower buds forming right now. Reduce the size of large established wisterias once flowering has finished.
Clumps of hellebore's should be looking fantastic right now, once pollinated the center of the flower changes to form seed pods, when this has taken place the stems become firmer and will last in water when picked. Hellebore's seed down very readily growing masses of baby plants beneath the mother plants. These seedlings can be transplanted or potted up in the second year when they have developed two strong leaves, but will not flower until around the forth year.
I notice Marguerite daisies and my bouganvillea have been damaged by frost, I will leave the damaged growth on top to protect the growth. In case August proves to be our coldest month I hung frost cloth in front of the bouganvilla.
Only this month to go and we will can roll head first into spring leaving these really cold months behind us. Plants that do appreciate cold days and nights are erica's and calluna's they come into their own during winter, displaying stunning shades of pink and white. Some ground cover erica can spread up to a meter and stay looking fresh for a good number of years. As a front planting in a boarder garden they form a carpet to stop that bird scratching problem and suppress weeds, they are so pretty when other plants are resting. Erica's require a dry, sunny situation, no feeding just a hair cut when finished flowering. I noticed a good choice of flowering ericas on offer in Garden centers this week.
Lawns that are regularly fertilized can become more too acid so a dressing of lime now will work down over the next few months, encourage worms and sweeten them a little.
Vegetables & Fruit
On milder North Otago mid-winter days, especially after rain it seem perfect for planting at a time when we usually don't. There are edibles that can go into the ground when it is cold and damp. But remember none of these will survive in boggy soils so good drainage is essential with early plantings. Garlic and Shallots are available to plant - dig compost through your soil or fill a container and plant separated cloves of garlic approximately twice the depth of the clove. Take care not to damage cloves when separating out the bulb. You could get up to 20 cloves per bulb!
Strawberries are easy to plant in all kinds of containers or straight into sunny / raised garden beds along with slow release fertiliser. Strawberries also seem to do very well in a hanging strawberry bag with an abundance of slow release food, but it would pay to have some bird netting on hand once the fruit starts turning red.
Gooseberry bushes can be attacked this month, clean the middle out of cross over branches and take off branches skirting the ground which lifts the bushes up higher for picking underneath, some of these lower branches can grow roots into the ground, I have potted these sections up to develop into good size bushes in a couple of growing seasons.
Cheers, Linda.
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