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| Pillar rose Phyllis Bide |
December approaches and now counting down to the end of another year.
It's dead heading roses time again, rose petals are lovely laid out to dry for
potpourri, the fragrance as they dry is wonderful but always pick them perfectly dry to get good results. It is 6 weeks from cutting off a past bloom at an out facing bud low down on the strong part of a branch to new rose forming bud at this time of the year.
I have found old hellebore leaves that had not been removed absolutely loaded in green fly!! I will cut every last one out and dispose of so green fly do not fly off onto my waiting roses. It is so important right now to keep the water up to roses, constant feeding and deep soaking at the roots will keep them healthy and not in need of spraying. A rose that is struggling will be susceptible to everything bad.
Night beetles will be on the wing again, newly planted young trees are the worst targeted as they can strip leaves right off. If this happens don't be alarmed because another lot of leaves will soon grow. The way I dealt to them when our trees were young was to wait until just on dusk when they were thick on the trees tucking in, I then sprayed them with a kill on contact spray, this way you get rid of heaps of beetles and keep the future grass grub numbers down. Night beetles usually sleep through the day under a tree they are feeding on.
Summer weeds, get rid of weeds like biddy bid, while seeds are still green, where ever you see it pull it out, don't let seeds ripen and drop. Convolvulus is a battle here for me popping up through plants everywhere, next winter I will again make an effort to get to the roots while the garden is resting. Some gardeners have had success with soaking long convolvulus runners in weed spray solution which should kill well down through that net work of roots. Fat-hen and chick weed are more weeds that spread quickly by seed drop so get them gone before seed ripens.
Flag iris that have flowered can be broken up and transplanted in a sunny spot. Prepare the bed by digging in fresh compost and some lime then plant, leaving half the rhizome (root) exposed to bake in the sun over summer. Long leaves can be cut half way back to reduce transpiration while reestablishing.
While you can still see where spring bulbs have been cover them with mulch to stop them drying out over summer, Compost is fine then you can plant annuals on top to fill gaps. If large clumps of bulbs flowered poorly during spring this is a good time to break them up and plant out into smaller groups using compost to give them a good start.
Montana clematis will have have finished flowering but wait a little longer before trimming back because they have not finished their new growth spurt, if you trim now you will have to do it all over again in a couple of weeks. However wisterias can be dealt to now, if you wisteria has nice strong flowering hard wood branches that flower well then no more will be required, remove all the new long trailers. A wisteria is like a climbing tree and will take over and out grow it's place in no time and become very heavy if you let too many leaders grow.
Night beetles will be on the wing again, newly planted young trees are the worst targeted as they can strip leaves right off. If this happens don't be alarmed because another lot of leaves will soon grow. The way I dealt to them when our trees were young was to wait until just on dusk when they were thick on the trees tucking in, I then sprayed them with a kill on contact spray, this way you get rid of heaps of beetles and keep the future grass grub numbers down. Night beetles usually sleep through the day under a tree they are feeding on.
Summer weeds, get rid of weeds like biddy bid, while seeds are still green, where ever you see it pull it out, don't let seeds ripen and drop. Convolvulus is a battle here for me popping up through plants everywhere, next winter I will again make an effort to get to the roots while the garden is resting. Some gardeners have had success with soaking long convolvulus runners in weed spray solution which should kill well down through that net work of roots. Fat-hen and chick weed are more weeds that spread quickly by seed drop so get them gone before seed ripens.
Flag iris that have flowered can be broken up and transplanted in a sunny spot. Prepare the bed by digging in fresh compost and some lime then plant, leaving half the rhizome (root) exposed to bake in the sun over summer. Long leaves can be cut half way back to reduce transpiration while reestablishing.
While you can still see where spring bulbs have been cover them with mulch to stop them drying out over summer, Compost is fine then you can plant annuals on top to fill gaps. If large clumps of bulbs flowered poorly during spring this is a good time to break them up and plant out into smaller groups using compost to give them a good start.
Montana clematis will have have finished flowering but wait a little longer before trimming back because they have not finished their new growth spurt, if you trim now you will have to do it all over again in a couple of weeks. However wisterias can be dealt to now, if you wisteria has nice strong flowering hard wood branches that flower well then no more will be required, remove all the new long trailers. A wisteria is like a climbing tree and will take over and out grow it's place in no time and become very heavy if you let too many leaders grow.
Lawns: Keep the mower blades up a little higher and mow in the cooler part of the day to help with recovery from heat exposure, mow without the catcher sometimes and give deep watering's rather than a light sprinkle. New lawns will need feeding and water kept up to help them to strengthen enough to cope with summer heat. If spraying lawn weeds add liquid fertiliser and feed the grass at the same time, don't use sprayed grass clippings around the garden or in compost, spray containers have printed information on how long the with holding time is.
Herbs: Culinary herbs are the original cut-and-come-again crop, if you grow them get picking because plants really will benefit from it, and you'll have wonderful flavours to add to dishes. Most herbs and leafy plants naturally want to create seeds but once they get to that stage it means the end of a herb like parsley, chives or basil. So pick leaves early and often to encourage the plant to put out more foliage and prevent it from running to seed. It may be cheating Nature but it extends the life of your plants and gives you handfuls of herbs to enjoy. Picking, bunching, drying and rubbing to store in glass jars will keep you in dried mixed herbs all winter.
Herbs: Culinary herbs are the original cut-and-come-again crop, if you grow them get picking because plants really will benefit from it, and you'll have wonderful flavours to add to dishes. Most herbs and leafy plants naturally want to create seeds but once they get to that stage it means the end of a herb like parsley, chives or basil. So pick leaves early and often to encourage the plant to put out more foliage and prevent it from running to seed. It may be cheating Nature but it extends the life of your plants and gives you handfuls of herbs to enjoy. Picking, bunching, drying and rubbing to store in glass jars will keep you in dried mixed herbs all winter.
Vegetables: Don't feed leaf veg now as they will put out too much soft growth and bolt, all that is needed is moisture when dry. I am experimenting with some plant concoctions to keep the white butterfly and aphids away.
Organic bug spray
1/2 cup hot peppers, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups water
Blast in a food processor,
strain, add 2 teaspoons liquid soap (without bleach)
Fill a plastic spray bottle and mist spray affected plants.
Cheers, Linda.
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| Drying herbs |
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