Gardening in North Otago February 2nd 2021

Sun day after day, this real kiwi summer is such a treat and watering is once more a daily happening and with evaporation so great I spend time deep watering around plant roots rather than using sprinklers. Cutting back is full on now,  it all has to go if it has died back to encourage new fresh growth.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. 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. The trick when growing plants from cuttings lies in keeping the cut pieces alive while they develop their own new roots. Professional nurserymen do this by growing cuttings in glasshouses where they’re regularly misted with fine sprays of water. But there are lots of techniques that can help a home gardener to achieve success. Try the following: Take cuttings early in the morning, while it’s still 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, out of direct sunlight, 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, look to see if buds are swelling and gently gently move the stems to feel if they’re firm and roots have started. When roots are established the rooted cuttings can be moved into individual pots filled with good quality potting mix and fed with a weak liquid fertiliser. Plant these cuttings out in spring or pot on when roots fill the pot. Bulbs: I will mention planting bulbs again because they are coming into plant shops now wanting to be in the ground. A bulb comes ready-equipped with the promise of a flower and in its previous growing season bulbs do all the work of flowering then creating an embryo flower safely stored within the bulbs waiting for the right moisture and temperature to trigger growing. In all but the wettest areas, bulbs can be left in the ground from one year to the next but If soil stays wet for long periods (especially during cold weather) your bulbs will rot, feeding once they make an appearance is the secret to ongoing success. Lawns are showing heat stress now, keeping lawn mower blades higher will help with shade and moisture retention for lawn roots. Fruit: Such a busy fruit picking time now, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines all ripening. It is recommended to prune stone fruit trees in late summer after fruiting has finished, however it can be done in early-mid autumn if time is against you. if you do wait and prune in autumn protect cut wounds with a water based paint or pruning paint to seal the wound and prevent disease entering. Feed citrus trees with citrus food and spray any scale you notice with winter oil.  If your lemon bush has become crowded with branches and leaves, remove a few branches to let light and bees in. Vegetables: Keep sowing veg seeds, carrot, beetroot, parsnip, spring onion, and lettuce because there is plenty of growing time left for seeds to germinate and grow.  I planted another couple of rows of peas, in a different place to where I pulled the last crop out. Veg  seedlings being planted now will need bird protection while small.