Gardening in Waitaki February 24th 2022

Collect nature given seedlings.

We should be heading into our driest season but nature has other ideas this year as temperatures fluctuate, however I have been noticing some trees are starting to get an autumn look about them. Leaf colouring occurs because of changes in the length of daylight and temperature, leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down and green colors disappear leaving yellow, orange and colors to become visible. Gardens will be getting tired and rather faded now so cutting back is the only way to smarten things up and get plants and shrubs to push new growth and colour out before the first frosts. Roses, petunias and begonias get knocked back after rain but if you have the time to deadhead and cut back to new growth they will recover in the warm autumn sun. I find many new seedlings to plant out once gardens are trimmed back and cleared of annual weeds. Cut back what is there flowering and add the annuals that will take over once those flowering now are pulled out. Stock, statice, snapdragon, wall flower, and Iceland poppies are good fillers. I am still collecting and storing seed on dry days, have managed to collect a good stock of lavatera and delphinium seed to dry, the lavatera I will save until spring but the delphinium can be been sown and once up will sit making strong roots until planted out in spring. Roses: If you needed to deadhead roses after the last heavy rain up it should be the time, it is 6 weeks from a prune to another bud which will take us into April, after that flowering don't deadhead, pruning and feeding will encourage new soft growth so no feeding from now on either. leave blooms to make seed which will help to harden wood for the winter ahead. Compost: I have been adding ready compost to potting mix for all the potting up I am doing. Compost bins and heaps should be ready to use on cleared gardens leaving them empty to make room for all the leaves to come. New summer heaps should be breaking down well with the heat and rain. March is definitely a great planting month with the soil warm and the nights and mornings cooler, newly planted trees and shrubs settle in well. There are a lot of well grown trees, shrubs and plants on offer right now in Garden centers ready and waiting to be planted. Gardner's further inland will need to read the labels to establish frost ratings before buying, if in doubt, wait until spring. Spring bulbs can be planted now. If you have not already done so, break up really large clumps as they tend to double in size without you noticing and in no time a garden bed can become choked, looking attractive only in spring and dull for the rest of the year. I have often been asked the reason for spring bulbs not flowering after being planted for a few years, the problem can be overcrowding, lack of adequate light as trees become larger and throw more shade during summer, but the most common problem is bulbs may not have not been planted deep enough. Spring bulbs need to be planted 4 to 6 inches deep, that's 4 to 6 inches on top of the bulb, if not planted deeply eventually when they do come into leaf and experience a dry patch during this time they won't take up enough moisture to come into bud. Rake mulch from bearded iris rhizomes they need to be exposed to the sun for baking now. Layer carnation stems by pinning the center of the stem down under the soil while still attached to the mother plant with the flower end still exposed, roots should form along the buried stem. Once rooted, cut from the mother plant and pot up to grow on before planting out in lime sweetened soil. This layering method can be applied to many herbs, plants and shrubs. Lawns. Rainfall has helped lawns to stay green this summer and catchers will be filling up for a while yet. Autumn is the best time to sow a new lawn as growth slows, grass seed will not have to compete with annual weeds like in a spring sowing. Fruit: Late peaches, plums, quince and new seasons apples coming on. There are so many ways to use fresh apples, if they start dropping from your tree soon and you are unable to use them all give them away to those who can. I picked plums & elderberries last week before the birds got them all and made elderberry cordial, apparently they are good for boosting the immune system and working on flu viruses, worth a try ! Vegetable Gardens will be ready to grow new crops for the cooler seasons, leaf veg should not bolt so readily now and will not mind the days getting shorter and cooling and root veg seeds will germinate well while the ground is still warm. A second sowing of peas can be planted, corn will be ready to pick and pumpkins will have out grown their space by now. Pumpkins should be picked before the first frost. Onions can be lifted once leaves have bent over, don't bend or damage leaves before they are ready to bend naturally if you want them to store and keep well. Once dug lay them out in a warm place to fully ripen then store in a cool place. Root veg seed should germinate quickly in warm/moist autumn soil. Cheers Linda