Gardening in North Otago March 26th 2019

We will soon be rolling into the cooling down month of April but thank goodness days stay warm a little longer even if the nights and mornings are cooler. Autumn here in NorthOtago is usually more predictable than spring or summer, a time to reap and sow lest all be lost to the frost. Leaves are very dry after that hot spell last week and are now carpeting the ground in our garden ready to be used to make good humus for the spring garden. 

I have been viewing the light situation around our garden before all the leaves fall, because trees and shrubs get taller and wider every year blocking out light. I am noting what trees and shrubs to reduce in height and width and which trees and shrubs to remove altogether. Sometimes one tree or shrub will do the job of the two or three in one spot. Sacrifice trees that give little interest for trees close by that offer more, and shrubs that have grown too big in the front of a garden hiding what is behind need to be cut back, maybe wrenched for shifting later or cut out. I have at times changed the whole look of gardens by removing a few front shrubs / trees, letting more sun in then planting out sun loving plants. 

Here on the coast keep cutting back large daisy and lavatera bushes to encourage new buds that will flower over the next two months. Also get all hedges cut back now before frosts start, this will be the last cut until the new growth in spring.

It is just the time to clean up garden areas that have been flowering all summer and to visit the garden centres to choose plants for planting now to bud up and bloom through winter, if they are planted while the ground is still warm to get the roots going they will continue to get enough winter sun to carry on and bloom. 

Suggestions are, Viola, snapdragon, pansy, polyantha's, stock, calendula, wall flowers, sweet William and good old primula malacoidies.  Other than plants, seeds of all mentioned can be sown and they will pop up very quickly to be pricked out and potted on into punnets to plant out if we have a mild start to winter or held over and protcted until spring.

Planting shrubs: If you want to plant evergreen shrubs other than conifers now is the time or wait until the frosts are over, once frosts start it is only deciduous trees / shrubs and conifers that will cope with the really cold nights ahead. 

Keep planting spring bulbs in the warm ground and Hybrid clematis are still on offer,  the lovely huge blooms, deciduous type which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. This type are not as invasive as the Montana variety. They love being planted into warm autumn ground and are so pretty growing in with other climbers and scrambling through climbing roses that flower at a different time to them. All clematis like manure and lime. 

Roses cut back will be budding up for a last flowering then are best left to make rose hips and harden wood before the big winter prune back in July / August.

Gardening professionals suggest gardeners should apply potash to their plants as winter starts, Potassium hardens up plant growth and helps prevent damage from winter chills.  

Lawns: Spray lawn weeds and apply sifted compost and gypsum to lawns if they are compacted ( a bucket to the square metre). the compost will improve the humus content and the gypsum will soften clay soils. If you have had a good strike with a newly sown lawn delay cutting until grass is 7-8 centimetres high, set the blades high and avoid cutting when the ground is wet and soft. 

Veg: I have dug the last of my potatoes and stored them with a covering of herbs, I have not harvested any pumpkins yet, will leave growing until the threat of frosts. Time to dig up and divide Rhubarb crowns, mixing in heaps of compost before replanting. 

Sow: Spinach,Snap Peas, brussel sprouts, board beans and spring onions, fill the top of a shallow pot with spring Onions to have handy by the back door, start thinning when plants are still quite small, pull them as they’re needed.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago March 19th 2019

Overcast mornings and the threat of rain during the week but seeming more and more like Autumn with days drawing in and leaves changing and dropping.

Cut back everything that has finished flowering,  I need no encouragement in this area so the wheel barrow has been getting good use. Once I start chopping back at this time of the year there is no stopping me leaving destruction in my wake. Plants that got the chop in our garden: Acanthus mollis (bears britches), agapanthas, tall phlox, day lillies, damaged hellebore and hosta leaves, buddleia, honey suckle, jasmine, abutilon, evergreen viburnum, alstromeria, hebe's, iris and all leggy, gone to seed herbs. While working my way around I dealt to all the bearded iris's by cutting leaves back by two thirds and making sure the top of rhizomes were above ground to bake in the autumn sun. Shift any in shade to a sunny position. Iris's are well worth the trouble of growing and look wonderful planted together enabling them to put on a grand display on their own. Propagation is usually 6-8 weeks after blooming rhizomes can be divided, leaving a chunk of rhizome and roots to every new division. 

Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs: To create a spring explosion in your garden plant them now, bluebells and snow drops can cope with dappled shade, the daffodil family need  sun, the wonderfully fragrant Hyacinth's look great in either pots or garden, ranunculus and anemones are vibrant after a long dull winter and freesia's love a sunny warm spot as do all the other spring bulbs on offer, Tulips are planted in May. Over years of multiplying bulbs can take over garden beds so If your bulb clumps are getting too big offer some to other gardeners who I am sure would gladly dig them up and find the perfect spot in their garden for them or take them to our resource recovery park and from there they will find a good home.

It's time to cut back ornamental grass, seed heads just pull away with a rake leaving grass clumps a lot tidier. Clumps can be trimmed back if getting too big or divided by putting a spade through the middle and removing half. Sometimes I have to dig the whole grass out to do this, then put the spade through and pull apart while standing on half.

If thinking of adding Rose's or more roses to your garden I suggest looking at rose variety books or going on line to make your choices then getting your order into Garden centers. New seasons roses will begin arriving in June and by ordering now you will be sure not to miss out.

Vegetables.
March is an important month for planting winter veg, prepare prior to planting with compost, general garden fertiliser and lime if needed, (I add lime to my compost)
beetroot, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, and silverbeet seedlings can be planted but will need to be protected from the white butterfly. A frame work or stakes to hold strawberry net stretched over plants would do the trick.
Any areas of the veg garden not being used for vegetables this winter can be planted with a green manure cover crop to be dug in before it flowers to enrich the soil for spring and summer crops.  Oats, blue lupin, mustard or are good options.

Herbs: Parsley can be grown from seed sown now. Perennial herbs, chives, mint, thyme, sage, and marjoram can be divided and replanted. Basil, a summer annual should be harvested before cold weather, it can be dried or frozen.

Fruit: Late peaches should be ready to pick now and nectarine trees can have a summer prune. Citrus trees should be putting out new growth after heavy cropping, feed with citrus fertiliser before winter. All fruit trees benefit from a dressing of pot ash around the drip line in autumn.

                                                                                        

                                                                                   

Gardening in North Otago March 12th 2019

A small early autumn corner at Rockvale gardens

With nights cooling and days shortening it will not be long before the major leaf drop and days filled with raking them up, so I guess we need to play the waiting game for trees surrounding gardens to drop all before getting gardens ready for winter with spreading compost then pea straw. However, branches can be lifted on large tree's and climbers like wisteria, jasmine and honey suckle can be trimmed along with hedges and shrubs.

Rose dead heading now will be my last for this growing season as roses will soon need to stop putting out new soft growth. Rose wood needs time to harden before the big winter prune which means leaving spent flower blooms on to allow seed heads to grow. 

Keep dead heading dahlia's and geraniums to keep them flowering through until the first frost and continue to remove spent summer annuals so ground can be worked ready for winter flowering annuals like primulas, wall flowers, pollyantha;s, pansies and viola's. Fork in some compost and dampen well before replanting beds. 

Be on the look out for useful self sown seedlings, I am finding quite a few and transplanting now to settle in before winter. 

Spring bulbs need to planted during autumn and I see wonderful varieties on offer, plant in groups, at the right depth to bring your garden to life after winter.

Peony roses will be on offer now, they are really worth planting with their big showy blooms taking over from the spring rhododendron displays, be careful when planting not to disturb the new shoots (eyes) forming. A peony root to be planted should contain at least 3 eyes that will eventually become stems. A root with only 1 or 2 eyes will still grow, but it will take longer to flower. Taking the time to prepare the soil before planting is time well spent, plant with the eyes facing upwards and the roots spread out. Peonies are very adaptable, but they do prefer a sunny, well-drained, slightly acidic soil and benefit from compost added when planted and can remain in the same spot for upwards of 70 years. Peony roots should be planted relatively close to the soil surface; only about 2-3 inches deep. It may seem odd to leave roots so exposed, but they need a winter chilling to attain dormancy and set bud. Keep mulch away from the base of peony plants. 

Lift gladioli now : you do not need wait for leaves to die back, dry in a warm place then dust with insecticide to prevent infestation before storing in a cool place for next growing season. They can be left where they are growing if there is not a pest problem. If you want to grow a great number of gladiolus plants and don’t mind spending a few years doing it, seed germination is the way to go. Leave the flowers on the stem for about six weeks after they die off and produce hard casings filled with seeds. Sprout seeds into miniature plants and you’ll have full-sized gladiolus in about three years. For quicker results with fewer plants, try propagating small gladiolus corms. Each corm will have a number of baby corms, known as cormels or cormlets, attached to the bottom. When you remove these cormlets and plant them separately they’ll grow to flowering size in a couple of years.

It is time to empty compost bins in readiness for all in coming leaves, I have started using my compost which includes some of last autumns leaves, spring soft hedge cuttings and summer lawn clippings, a sprinkle of lime through the layers and a good amount of animal manure. With the heat and rains we have had it is rich black and full of worms. Trees, shrubs, plants and bulbs take so much from the soil during each growing season until soil reaches a stage of needing more than Man the made fertilisers which work by feeding plants and promoting growth and in doing so depletes soil of humus. Compost / humus is a soil enhancer taken down to where needed by worms to get the best results from both ornamental and vegetable gardens. 

Lawns: Get new lawns sown now, the cooler nights and mornings are allowing the moisture to remain longer after watering and a strike will happen pretty fast as the ground is still nice and warm. 

Vegetables: Good growth is still happening as long as water is kept up, pumpkins and corn should be ready to harvest. Dry off pumpkin and squash skins before storing them in a cool dry place. This is a good time for planting above ground annual crops that produce their seeds outside like lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and grain green crops for digging in. 

Cheers, Linda.

Mixed gladioli

Gardening in North Otago 5th March 2019

At this time of the year I like spending time hand watering around plant roots and in doing so this gives me a chance to enjoy a mellow day while moving slowly about the garden rather than the rip and bust to get things done. 

Autumn crocus has burst into flower, chrysanthemums are budding and I notice some spring bulbs are pushing through which means it is bulb planting time, iris, crocus, hyacinth and daffodils along with any daffodil bulbs you need to shift.  Bulbs require deep planting in a sunny well drained spot, tulips and lilies can be planted in may or June.

Sow Seeds

As I mention often March is the month to collect and sow seeds, hardy annuals can be sown directly where they will flower with a little fertiliser forked into the soil before sowing. A majority of seed I collect are stored for a spring sowing as protecting germinated seedlings through the winter can be tricky.

Hard wood cuttings: This is the time to take hard wood cuttings, place cuttings in a water filled container as they are taken. Prepare cuttings by removing bottom leaves and cutting top leaves back by half. Push cuttings into river sand, keep moist and hopefully over a few weeks they will develop roots in the warm sand. Then rooted cuttings can be potted on into potting mix fill pots to sit over winter making more roots. Once pots are filled with roots cuttings can then be potted on into bigger pots. At this stage pinching tip growth back on the cuttings will encourage nice bushy plants. 

Planting: With days shortening and nights cooling warm ground begins to retain moisture again making Autumn one of the best times for planting trees and shrubs to settle in before the coldest part of winter. Always plant trees and shrubs to the depth they were in the pot or bag and stake well if tall.

Hedges: will have finished pushing out this years growth so get them trimmed well before frost's arrive to damage new growth, especially the lovely photina red robin, if trimmed now beautiful new, bright red growth will be enjoyed during winter.

Ponds will be heating up, especially small shallow ponds, warm water has low capacity for holding oxygen, so you may see your fish gasping for air close to the water surface. A minimum depth of two feet is suggested for for the bottom of a shallow pond to remain cooler. If your pond has no waterfall or fountain algae is sure to grow as water heats up. A natural way to stop this happening is to add barley straw to the pond, basically as the barley straw decomposes it releases something similar to hydrogen peroxide (H202) which will eventually kill the algae. Fill a string bag with barley straw and weigh down with a rock, if there is a waterfall or fountain place the straw where water will flow through. Top up pond water gradually so the temperature does not change dramatically for fish.

Lawns. Grass grub damage is really showing up now in our lawns with black birds letting me know just where they are, I have decided to leave the black birds to deal to them then rake out all damaged patches and re-sow.

Vegetables: All seeds sown now will germinate but watch the heat, I have covered my seed boxes with shade cloth to keep them from the harsh sun. If planting out seedlings plants I would cover them as well with shade cloth to help keep moisture in and white butterfly's and birds off.

There is time from now to sow a green crop in vacant areas of gardens, blue lupin, mustard or alfalfa will add natural nitrogen to soil. Dig in before it flowers, or just cover with compost when bedding gardens down for winter.

Cheers Linda