Gardening in North Otago June 28th 2022

Brrrrrr July, we are getting through winter here in North Otago, but mid winter does not mean the garden shuts down. Despite the cold some of the most fragrant shrubs take center stage later this month. Viburnum, winter sweet, witch hazel, daphne bholua and  sarcocca (sweet box)  introduce sweet fragrance to gardens unlike any other season. Hellebores are also budding up, these wonderful plants bring years of pleasure and there are many new hellebore cultivators on offer now. Another worthwhile winter interest plant is bergenia, this wonderfully bold foliage, edging plant is enhanced by the cold, especially bergenia bressingham ruby turning a deep plum the colder it is then, as a bonus pushes up pinnacles of deep pink flowers in spring. Nandina also intensifies in colour during winter displaying bright red / orange foliage to brighten a garden. Roses: Rain will have dealt to roses still in bud,  remove damaged buds and petals from bushes and the ground, the fungus Botrytis cinerea requires cool wet weather to thrive and can wreak havoc among susceptible plants like roses, azaleas and bedding plants. We need hard frosts to take care of fungus and bugs.  If you feel spray is needed, spray Lime Sulphur first which defoliates bushes then wait several weeks before spraying Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil. leave this second spray until after roses have had the winter prune.  New seasons, bare rooted roses have arrived in Garden centers, prepare ground by digging in old stable manure or bagged rose mix. If planting a rose in the same place a rose has been growing, you will need to remove most of the soil and replace it with soil from another part of the garden, disease is transferred very quickly from one rose to another. Roses planted at this time of the year are less likely to suffer from planting stress.   Birds will be looking for food this month, our native birds are not fond of grains and bread will attract introduced birds like sparrows and blackbirds. These birds can become dominant and crowd-out our natives, especially the small ones, meaning you might have birds in your garden, but they won’t be natives. Sugar water is the perfect food for nectar-eating native birds. You can make it by mixing 1/3 of a cup of sugar (preferably brown or raw) with 1L of water placed somewhere safe where cats can’t easily reach. It's well worth making a bird feeder and placing it where it can be seen from the house, or hang in a tree. Buy wild bird seed or perhaps just use fat to attract the wax-eyes. Birds will be hungry and, once attracted to the station, become very friendly.   Time to clean out glass & tunnel houses: A good job for a winter's day, remove all old plantings and spray to eradicate problems carried over from summer. I use a mix of one part bleach to nine parts water. Remove a generous amount of the past planting medium ( soil / potting mix) then spread manure enriched compost containing worms to work the compost in. A fresh mix can be added on top when planting begins. Veg: On the coast if your veg garden is not too wet and muddy build up soil by trenching in manure enriched compost then plant leafy greens, onion sets, garlic and brassicas. Further inland glass and tunnel houses will be needed.   Start chitting seed potatoes, early varieties are Jersey benne, Cliffs kidney, Rocket, Ilam hardy, Maris Anchor. Lay seed potatoes out on newspaper or straw in a dry, airy place out of direct sunlight. Seed potatoes have eyes to shoot from, these shoots will give potatoes a good start when planted out as the ground becomes warmer. On the coast some Gardeners plant this month in a glass or tunnel house to get very early new potatoes.  Fruit: Tamarillos, if lucky enough to have these in your garden they will be hanging like jewels from almost bare branches, such a treat at this time of the year. Because the plants do not make hard wood so are frost tender but here on the coast in a sunny location they ripen and are ready to pick now. Tamarillos will grow from tip cuttings, a bush will last for a decade if protected during winter and prefer to be outside in a frost free position, not in a glass house.Lemon “Meyer” are cold hardy and will fruit all year, if planting a new plant remove all flowers and small fruit for the first 3 years to get branch work established then it will produce for years. Plant where they get afternoon sun but shade roots and feed with citrus food in early spring.NZ Cranberry(Myrtus ugni) A small evergreen bush, very fragrant when fruiting and can be hedged. Myrtus ugni has a taste combination of strawberry, pineapple and apple. My Grandchildren make a beeline to them.  Cheers, Linda.