Gardening in North Otago August 21st 2018

Almost the end of August which means we should be leaving winter behind, BUT we had a few good frosts last week which had my small seedlings all a quiver, thankfully with frost cloth protection they are hung in and will soon be ready to pot on into punnets. Plants have been putting on slow growth in the last couple of weeks. Weed growth is not so slow, chickweed and bidibid are romping away but at this stage are very easy to pull out before they produce seed. 

Magnificent magnolias are center stage right now, very worth while trees to grace any medium sized garden. Beautiful bare branching through winter, stunning blooms and then large attractive leaves take them through to winter, they grow well with azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias because they all prefer an acid soil. There are many different choices in tree size and blooms, for the smaller garden Magnolia billowing cloud is White / Pink Upright habit- Hgt / width 3m x 2,5m, for a larger garden Magnolia Charles Raffill soft Pink upright habit, Hgt/wdth 7m x 5m, so many different beauties to choose from in Garden centers now.

Lavenders can be cut back now as they begin to put out new growth, really old woody bushes can be cut back hard to encourage new lower growth, if they do not respond it may be time to replace them. Newly planted lavender plants just need a hair cut and fed manure enriched compost plus a little lime.

Climbers are in bud now ready to do their spring thing so when trimming watch you are not cutting off new buds, Jasmines can get knocked by frosts (yet), leave  a bit longer until sure frosts are over before trimming them.

Roses:  As I mentioned last week  feed roses  they are moving fast now, well worth the effort to minimize spaying needed later on. 

Sow seeds under cover, seed packs that recommend spring sowing should germinate now. I sow seeds in trays of peat, potting mix and compost combined with a layer of seed raising mix on the top. Once planted cover trays with plastic or glass, using spacers to let air circulate.

Lawns will be greening up now and will need some attention after Winter dormancy. Water on (watering can) sulphate of iron to eradicate moss, once moss has turned black rake out. The presence of moss in lawns indicates poor growing conditions for grass. Moss grows where grass cannot survive, such as nutrient poor soil, soil with high acidity, soil that is compacted or drains poorly or where there is excessive shade or thatch accumulation. Give the older lawns a good rake to lift any thick thatch, cut and then aerate to improve drainage. Once all this has been completed, over the next 2 to 3 weeks apply lawn fertiliser during rain to keep them spring green. The word is our summer will be a dry one and lawns are the first to suffer so give them a good start now.

Vegetables: If you are planting out a veg garden seedlings are best planted later in the day when the heat is out of the sun, watering however is best done at the start of the day allowing time for soil to warm before the night chill. In area's you do not plan to plant for a while sow a green crop to add humus to the soil, Mustard, lupine, barley or wheat they will germinate in no time then dig in when lush, soft and green, don't let it get to the flowering, stalky stage because it takes too long to break down.

Plenty of seed potatoes on offer now for you to get sprouting, early varieties can go in and should show leaf in about a month when frosts are over. Keep frost protected if they show leaf early.

Fruit: This is also the time to give fruiting shrubs and trees a dressing of pot ash enriched fertiliser  to help with fruiting. As mentioned last week deciduous fruit trees and everything in the way of small fruit should be planted in August / early September at the latest. Keep an eye on peach tree buds, spraying with copper for leaf curl should be done just on bud break.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago August 14th 2018

It is a pleasure to walk about the garden each day now with early spring beginning. This week magnolias, rhododendrons, and camellias are taking center stage while blue bells, iris, crocus and tulips are up to join the already flowering snow drops, daffodils and jonquils and of cause the early plum blossom, what a treat to witness the new growing season beginning.   

Keep an eye out for flowering camellias and rhododendrons now in the garden centers, most are showing buds and flowers, this is the time to choose the right shades for your garden, they thrive in semi shade or afternoon shaded areas of the garden.

It's the perfect time to sow seeds under cover as I mentioned last week, the seeds I planted two weeks ago and have had under plastic are up already.Any seeds that say spring sowing on the back of the packet will pop up now. I use a tray of compost / soil with a layer of seed raising mix on the top.This way your seed raising mix goes further. Once planted cover the trays with plastic or glass, but use spacers to let air circulate between the plastic / glass  and tray.

lavenders can have a cut back now, I see them starting to put out new growth and really old woody bushes can be cut back hard to encourage new lower growth. If these lavenders did not do well last year it is probably time to replace them, newly planted lavenders just need light clip. (Early enough yet though), Feed them manure enriched compost and a little lime.
Softer shrubs that are encroaching on drive and walkways can be trimmed back , they will soon recover with new spring growth. Also reduce the height on some of taller shrubs like phebaliums, pittosporums, psudopanax and the like now if you need to. You can do this without spoiling the shape by cutting out the center branch down to where the other branches bush out, this removes the natural point at the top of the shrub and will sometimes reduce the height by 2 or more meters.  New leaders will sent up over time  but more growth will be put into the side branching which can be trimmed into shape if a problem. This being just the start of a new growing season plants are intent on just growing. (Leave doing this for another month further inland.)
A lot of climbers are in bud now ready to do their thing in Spring so when trimming watch you are not cutting off new buds. Hardenbergia ( happy wanderer) flowered in early winter so that is one that can be cut back. Jasmines have been knocked by frosts in my garden, I will leave them a bit longer until I am sure the frosts are over before trimming them. 
If you have still not feed your roses do it as soon as possible! they are moving fast now and need food kept up to them if you want them to stay healthy.
If you have no time to do anything else in the garden now feeding plants is a must for health and vigour to take them right through to the next autumn, it is well worth the effort and will minimize the spaying needed for unhealthy plants.
Slow release fertilisers are a safe bet for continual feeding over a long period, they are very clean and easy to apply and now days formulated to feed specific Now would be a good time to mention plants that resent being fed. Many South African plants and Australian natives such as proteas, leucodendrons, banksias, and all grevillia's do not need feeding. I have lost some of these because they had absorbed fertiliser from neighbouring plants.
There is still time to divide hostas, these dramatic shade loving perennials can really highlight a shaded spot with their fresh greens and variegated light shades. Simply lift established clumps at least 4 to 5 years old, use a sharp spade to slice them into a few good sizes pieces, then replant. They also look great in pots but get slug bate around them as soon as they start showing leaf or try some of the slug repellent methods that have been passed down by gardeners listed below.
Coffee Grounds: Used coffee grounds spread around susceptible plants may work.
Epsom Salts: Epsom salts sprinkled on the soil will supposedly deter slugs and also helps prevent Magnesium deficiency in your plants. Magnesium helps to deepen color, thickens petals and increases root structure.
Oat Bran: Scatter oat bran on the soil to deter slugs and snails.
Builders Sand: Try barriers of builders sand which has a sharp texture.
Nut Shells: Ground shells of  walnuts would work, if you can find a source or grind your own.
Rosemary: Sprigs of rosemary scattered around are said to repel slugs.
Pine Needles: Try a mulch of pine needles which works well around strawberry plants

Fruit & Vegatables
This is also the time to give fruiting shrubs & trees a dressing of pot ash to helps with fruiting. 
If you plan to grow vegetables this year get the garden ready now, dig in some weed free compost and let the soil settle again.
In area's you will not be planting out for a while why not sow a green crop to add humus to tired soils, mustard, lupine, barley or wheat.These will sprout in no time here on the coast but only when the ground is warm enough up further inland but If weeds are growing you should get a strike. If you do fill vacant areas with green crop dig in when lush, soft and green. Don't let it get to the flowering stalky stage, it takes too long to break down and is not worth the effort of digging in.
Deciduous fruit trees should be planted in August at the latest and everything in the way of small fruit. 
Now is a good time to shift citrus trees.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago August 7th 2018

North Otago is becoming more spring like every week with camellias blooming everywhere, magnolia buds are beginning to burst and spring bulbs thinking it is mild enough to bloom. I feel we still have some cold days and nights to come before we can leap fully into spring which is what is needed for gardens to perform well coming into a new growing season.

Spring is the one time that gardens bursts forth with an abundance of hidden splendor without us having to do a lot of pre planning, nature pretty much takes care of things once they are in place. But I am thinking about early summer right now and what I would like happening in our garden which means seeds need to be sown for the cottage annuals like cosmos, cornflowers, love in the mist, snapdragon and alyssum. all can be sown under glass in a warm area but more tender annuals can wait until it is a little warmer unless you have a heated glass house.  

A few more hydrangeas have been pruned here as nice fat buds are swelling on the stems, cuttings can be taken and bedded in from the hardened stems that  flowered lat season.  A shaded moist area is best for bedding these down and hopefully roots will grow to feed the buds. Some times I get good results by covering the cuttings with a box keeping the light out to hold buds back to encourage roots.

Almost finished pruning roses here, only the flower carpet and fairy roses to go, both these varieties bush up with small non hard wood branching and if large, bushes can be trimmed with a hedge trimmer. If newly planted and small prune back to hard wood at an outward facing bud. Feeding and spraying roses is next, copper oxychloride and winter oil, they can be mixed and applied together as the oil helps the copper to stick and copper helps protect new growth from frosts that occur in late spring. Best not to be applied to fresh new growth when burning may occur,

Vegetable  gardens continue to enjoy the mild weather with the odd frost helping to break down soil. Birds are nesting so cover leaf veg with shade or frost cloth to keep them off. Time for sowing seeds to germinate in a warm well lit place to be ready for pricking out into punnets to be planted out in a warm spring garden. 

Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres, if you would like an apple tree but feel your garden is too small why not look at apple ballerina, a very slim non branching variety of apple with Medium, red skin, Crisp and juicy, nice eating and cooking apples, similar in flavour to ‘Jonathan. Ballerina  grows to 3-4m tall by 30cm wide perfect for adding height, blossom and fruit to a small garden.
Grape pruning needs to finish soon before sap rises, to prune a fruiting leader remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be around a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branch, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit.

Keep an eye on peach bud burst which will most likely be early this year, a copper spray right at bud burst will help with leaf curl.
 
Cheers, Linda.