These summer days are still unpredictable here in North Otago but still warm with rain at the right times for Gardens to cut down on watering which is usually a summer must. I have lawn fertiliser ready for the next decent down pour .
Cutting back: With all the growth I do tend to repeat myself with the cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they make seed but it really is important if you want plants to continue flowering on new growth.
Hedges: You can be especially hard now on hedges if height and width need reducing, grow back rate is fast to cover any unsightly scalping. Height can be taken out of shelter shrubs like pittosporum, laurels and conifers should they be getting taller than required. Remove the center leader to a point where lower branches will cover the cut, this will stop these shrubs from becoming the trees they were created to be. Growth removed from top's and sides will regenerate but bottom branches removed from trunks will not regrow.
The rain so far this summer has been very beneficial to shallow rooted rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas which are no doubt covered in spent flower heads making seed, removing as many of these that can be reached will benefit growth especially on new plantings. Some here have out grown the space allotted so width and height has been reduced now before budding becomes too advanced.
Roses in our garden are needing continuous sunny days to pick up after such a wet first flowering, dead heading and sunny days are required for a full on second flowering.
Seed collecting is well under way now, a few warm days in a row ripen pods that have been slow to mature. I like to store mature pods into small paper bags or envelopes where they can pop in their own time. I have learned that storing named bags in a container which will keep out mice is another must.
Continue to mulch with light scatterings of un-sprayed grass clippings to keep moisture in the soil, they break down into humus quickly with summer rain. To be ready for hot drying winds tree foliage benefits from mulching out to the drip line where possible.
Lawns are getting a break from scorching so far this summer giving lots of lush green mulch from each weekly mow. Weeds can be sprayed out during dry days, there are a few different lawn weed sprays on offer, even one that weeds and feeds at the same time. Use a product at the suggested strength and consider spot spraying for the sake of worms.
Fruit & Veg: It's proving to be a bumper year for both fruit and veg, corn and pumpkins have really taken off after a slowish start, pollination has better than I thought with all the dull days with tomatoes and cucumbers ripening well. Plums are plentiful for plum sauce and we still have a few black currents ripening for the last pie.
Keep rotating root and leaf vegetables to get the best results. French, butter and runner beans should be flowering and producing well now and new potatoes will be loving the warmth. I leave them in the ground until ready to use even when the tops have died back. I have dug a wonderful crop of garlic planted from local Kakanui stock around the shortest day now ready to tie and hang, I still find it surprising when I lift such large bulbs produced from single cloves and keep the biggest and best for the next planting on the shortest day.
Cheers, Linda.
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