Gardening in North Otago March 1st 2020

Conifers add to the bones of a garden

Autumn officially begins on the 20th of March, The warm ripening season,shadows lengthen with  low sun in cornflower blue sky's. ( At this mellow time of the year the poet in me emerges!!)

Still cutting back here in our garden,  plants that looked stunning through summer but are now just tied and straggly like bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops, geraniums, they will all leaf up again to go through winter.  The hedge trimmer is on the go as well and seed collecting has ramped up here as I cannot walk past a ripe seed heads without  calculating how many new plants I could raise. I plant a few now but save most to sow in spring. However this is a perfect planting time for trees, shrubs, spring bulbs, perennials and annuals. As I have mentioned before it is so worth while buying  punnets of annual and perennial seedling now and potting them on into individual pots to grow on and harden off over winter. Some will bud up and flower others will grow strong roots through winter and flower when the ground warms up in spring. Try this with pollyantha, Iceland poppy, lupin, primula, wall flower, stock, snapdragon and if sweet peas are planted in late Autumn they will pop up and sit through winter to flower in August. Bedding plants bought in spring will be soft after being protected by growing in under cover conditions.

This month is said to be the best time to plant conifers, there are not a lot planted or on offer these days, but those that are grown for retail are very ornamental and controllable.  I consider conifers contribute to the bones of a garden.  Narrow conifers planted in groups give gardens a vertical push and formality. Labels need to be read carefully they give the height and width for the first ten years, after that some do keep growing and should be removed if they start to look untidy, most ornamental conifers look wonderful for years and years. A web site with a comprehensive selection is ttp://www.conifers.co.nz , a good contact for those who like to bonsai.


Bulbs: It's difficult to think about Spring when Autumn about to begin but now is when Spring bulbs are on offer,  all that beauty sleeping in bags waiting to be planted.  Daffodil species along a roadside fence line, grouped in a vacant paddock, under deciduous trees with bluebells and best thing is they can be forgotten about and happily multiply year after year. If you need to break clumps up do it now because they are beginning to put out roots.

Compost:This is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap and get it heating up before winter. The heating process stops during the coldest months so get one started now with soft trimmings, garden waste and lawn clippings then later on all those leaves that will be falling. Hen manure becomes too hot for heaps during other months but ok to add now. 

Lawns. This is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn,because perennial weed growth is slowing.The ground and nights are warm and dew helps with moisture so grass seed will be up in no time. If needed water a new lawn early in the morning instead of during the day, between 6am and 10am, this will ensure that the moisture actually gets down into the soil and to the roots of your grass before the sun evaporates it away. For mature lawns aeration with a fork or a push along spikier is one of the easiest and most effective ways to keep your lawn healthy and happy and best done now, in autumn after your lawn has suffered heavy foot traffic and drought throughout the summer. If a lawn is chocked with thatch then the hiring of a detaching machine would be beneficial.

Vegetables: That last rain was just what veg gardens needed and with the now heavy dew's moisture is perfect for all new plantings. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg has been and it is a good time to sow root plants like Asparagus , Beetroot , Carrots , Chives , Leeks ,Onions , Parsnips , Shallots , Spring Onions.  When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green. I take what I need from a dig and leave the rest in the ground until needed. When the time comes for storing them there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will once again mention a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots. 

Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches so much at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be munching sunflower seeds and waiting patiently for the walnuts to ripen, I am sure they are pleased with the work we have put in to feed them!

Cheers, Linda

Best time to sow a new lawn is Autumn

Gardening in North Otago February 19th 2020

Rockvale Gardens blooming

Whew! those hot muggy day's last week were a test to this gardener, things are certainly dry even though we have had some rain, however it is how it should be going into the ripening season.

We are still cutting back and tiding plants here to keep the summer flowering going. Get last years leaf mulch on to dry gardens after a good watering.We will be adding last years leaf mulch to gardens once they are cleared as much needed humus for the soil. Most gardeners remove thick piles of leaves during Autumn, I like to replace them in mulch form then start again storing the next leaf fall to the compost heaps.

Spring bulbs are in Garden Centers now for sale, seems strange I know to think Spring at this time of the year but to get that spring garden delight it starts now. bulbs need to be planted as deep as indicated on packets, at least 4 to 6 inches deep and that's 4 to 6 inches on top of the bulb to get them through very dry patches of weather when dormant. 

Keep dead heading roses and dahlias to keep them flowering well.

Rake mulch off bearded iris rhizomes they need to be exposed to the sun for a baking.

Lawns can do with a good feed now, have some fertiliser ready for when it rains next, if you are finding dead patches it will probably be grass grub, there is still time to treat from now until May when they are at grass roots munching. For a number of years treatment granules were taken off the market but there is a new solution available.Native organic Neem granules deal to grass grub as well as so many other pests about the garden, worth reading up on.

Vegetable and fruit, Still lots of growing happening so keep the water up on days that it will not evaporate quickly. Birds are zooming in on outside growing tomatoes and ripening apples, cover so they cannot be seen with old net curtains or even frost cloth. Apricot trees can be pruned as soon as all fruit is picked. 

Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago February 11th 2020

Taking cuttings

February is a good month for taking cuttings and propagating your own plants. Why? Because by late summer the soft new spring growth has hardened and the cutting is less likely to lose moisture  from leaves. Semi-succulent plants like geraniums (Pelargoniums) or impatiens are easiest for beginners, but many common shrubs such as abelia, buxus, lavenders,camellias, azaleas, fuchsias and hebe's have a relatively high success rate. Keeping the cut pieces alive while they develop their own new roots is the trick. Professional nursery people  do this by growing cuttings in glasshouses on heated beds where they’re regularly misted, but there are techniques that help a home gardener to achieve success. Try the following:
Take cuttings early in the morning, while  cool, choose tip pieces that are about 100- 150 mm long then drop into a bucket with enough water for cuttings to stand up in, cuttings can remain there for a couple of days if you are short of time. Work in the shade. Fill a deepish container with river sand or crusher dust  and water well and allow to drain. Trim the base of the cuttings below a leaf node (which is where the leaf is, or has been, attached to the stem). Remove bottom leaves, leaving a few at the top. Large leaves can be cut in half (with scissors or sharp secateurs) to further reduce water loss. Dip the base of the cuttings into hormone Gel or powder. Use a pencil to poke holes in the top of the mix a 150 mm pot can hold about six cuttings. Insert the bottom of each cutting into a hole and gently move the mix back to hold it in place. When the pot is full of cuttings, water carefully and place the pot in a lightly shaded spot, no plastic cover is required at this time of the year but check regularly to make sure the mix stays moist. After a couple of months, gently move the stems to feel if they’re firm. This will mean roots have started. When roots are established the rooted cuttings can be moved into individual pots filled with potting mix and fed with a gentle liquid fertiliser,  raise pot from cold ground over winter then plant into larger pots or into the garden in spring.

Seed collecting is full on now with  so many  seed pods ripening , I am filling many small  paper bags  with sweet peas, cosmos, lavatera, delphiniums, nasturtiums  to name a few.

Monarch Butterflies During bright sunny days Monarchs butterflies are prolific egg layers on swan plants then producing an abundance of caterpillars to strip these plants very quickly.  If you know  your swan plants will not sustain the amount of caterpillars all eggs laid will produce it is best to squash the eggs.  If your swan plants containing caterpillars are in pots  they could be kept in a light area indoors to keep butterflies from them. Swan plants do not make hard wood so are not frost hardy in very cold areas  however there are some mature swan plants trees around North Otago. I can get young plants through winter by covering them with a double layer of frost cloth. 

Lawns are showing heat stress now, keeping lawn mower blades higher will help with shading roots and moisture retention.

Fruit: Feed citrus trees with citrus food and spray any scale you notice with winter oil.  If your lemon bush has become crowded remove a few branches to let light and bees in.

Vegetables:
Keep sowing veg seeds like carrot, beetroot, parsnip, spring onion, and lettuce because there is plenty of growing time left for seeds to germinate and grow. Seedlings being planted now will need bird protection while small.

Cheers, Linda  

Monarch butterfly laying eggs on swan plants.

Gardening in North Otago February 5th 2020

Buddleia Royal purple 

What a wonderful rain, I was getting fed up with dragging hoses to wilting gardens.  

This rain was really needed to help gardens recover from those hot nor wester days we have been experiencing. The hedge trimmer has been on the go again here and yes the plants and shrubs did shudder to their roots when it came their way! If it needs it, it gets it! Trimming with secateurs is not practical for us with such a large garden and at this time of the year you can not do too much damage so if hedges need height and width taken well back the regrowth time is pretty quick. 

 Buddleia's have been flowering for a while now for the  butterflies, but now they need all that growth cut well back to encourage new fresh growth to take them through autumn and winter. Buddleia's are a great fill in bush and look attractive with their blue green foliage even without the blue, pink or white flowers, plant at the back of a border and you will not be sorry. 

Begonias, petunias and Lilly's are taking center stage this month, begonias are tropical perennials and like partial shade, strong sunlight will burn leaves and blooms. If growing in dense shade they will grow more leaves than flowers and wind protection is needed because stems are damaged by strong wind. They prefer high humidity not wet soil, let the top inch of soil dry out before watering.

Petunias: dead head often, cutting back and feeding petunias will keep them flowering for ages. 

Lillies: should be in good draining soil but never be allowed to dry out, mulching helps with this. Lilies do not re bloom, remove faded flowers so plants don't waste energy making seeds. Leave foliage until it turns brown, energy is stored for next years flowers, cut dead stalks in late autumn. large lily clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering

Dividing bulbs: The rain this week will have triggered autumn and winter flowering bulbs to break dormancy so time is limited for lifting and dividing congested clumps. Anemones and ranunculus: should be in Garden centers now I pop them in the fridge for a month in paper bags (not plastic) then soak them overnight in tepid water before planting (stratification), this simulates the winter chill then they are stimulated into growth with the water warmth before planting. Staggering the planting over several weeks will extend the flowering. 

Lawns: will green up again after the rain which means no slowing down in growth. I will spot sprayed lawn weeds again on a sunny day, clover really takes off if left and daisies like rain watering, then there is that creeping tiny leafed weed with yellow flowers that forms a mat in lawns. Every little plant off this needs to be zapped because it flowers and seeds very quickly then spreads from lawn to lawn when mowing. 

Fruit: It is time to shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, growth is needed for the grapes forming. If a leader has produced too many bunches remove some with shortening back. 

Veg Garden: Get seeds in now for autumn veg, lettuce, carrots, beetroot, dwarf beans, parsley, parsnip, silver beet. Keep mounding up potato rows to encourage bigger shores, corn can be mounded also when it gets high, they have a shallow rooting system and the mounding helps to keep them upright in strong winds. Corn also demands a very high level of nitrogen. The more available nitrogen, the closer plants can be spaced to support each other.

Cheers, Linda.  

Optimal grape vine length.