Gardening in Waitaki September 1st 2022

SEPTEMBER, the beginning of our new growing season and this past week has convinced me that spring has arrived with bulbs, blossoms and flowering rhododendrons in abundance around North Otago. Everyday something new is happening in gardens, sweet peas, ranunculus, anemones and tulips are through and putting on good growth each day. If you have wide perennial borders couch grass, biddy- bid, and chick-weed will be growing as fast as spring plants. Try to get rid of weeds now while flowering plants are still low and the ground still soft. This is the perfect time to get garden plots ready for spring planting once the threat of frost is behind us, don't be in a hurry to plant because it is still early enough and soft seedling plants will hold in punnets and pots until the time is right. Liquid feeding can start now on all perennials and bedding plants making growth, and now is the time to start applying slow release fertilizer to trees, shrubs and plants you feel need a boost. Potted plants that have wintered over will be looking forward to a revamp with a root reduction ( if needed), new potting mix and a tidy up. Last year's potting medium will now not contain food for this new growing season. Cut the old growth from the cat-mint once the new growth is noticed, this applies to all perennials that have wintered over with last year's growth left on for protection. It's time to think about garden colour for late spring and summer. Early spring takes care of itself with what is left in the ground from year to year, colour where you want it and what colour is needed where. Concentrate on the sunny areas in the garden because these will be the warmest to get bedding pants and perennials moving. There is a great choice of roses on offer right now for summer colour, they do not need to all grow together in a rose bed, use them as gap fillers in sunny borders. If you're new to roses I have listed the different modern rose types below. Miniature Roses A dwarf growing bush rose with all parts scaled down. Their height will be listed on the label - I find these not as long lived as the larger bush rose. If you have one that is not performing now, and has been growing for a few years, dig it out, change the soil and plant another. PATIO ROSES About knee high for a front border planting, about 80 cm apart when grouping. These can be grown in containers as long as the roots are cool and they are fed right through the growing season. FLORIBUNDA Flowers grow in clusters - bushes grow to about waist high on average, space these about 1mtr apart when grouping. Cut off flower clusters when spentand they will reward you with masses of colour right through the growing season. HYBRID TEA This is the rose to give you the large exhibition one steam bloom. They grow about chest high. These are the picking roses and need feeding well right through the growing season to give the best results. CLIMBING ROSES Flower on branches trained horizontally along a wall or fence. PILLAR ROSES These are the roses to grow up a pillar or over an arch. The secret to keeping roses free from disease starts now with removing all last years' diseased wood and leaves from the ground after pruning and burning. Keep the food up to roses, starting now while they are beginning to leaf and continue right through until the end of summer. Manure enriched compost around them now will feed and protect the roots. When the ground warms up a little sprinkle the man-made balanced rose fertiliser around them and water in. These fertilisers have been designed to promote just the right amount of leaf and flower growth but need warmer soil to activate so don't waste fertiliser by using too soon. From my experience a rose-planted bare rooted in the winter or early spring will do better than a potted rose planted during the warmer months.. Here I am heading on into summer already with my advice!! enjoy spring and all its splendor happening around us right now. Vegatables and fruit All green crops need to be dug in now, before flowering and becoming stringy. Keep planting seeds and seedlings during this absence of white butterflies! but cover seedlings to keep hungry birds off. Gooseberry bushes are early to flower and leaf so if thinning is needed do it now, cutting up the bottom branches will get bushes higher off the ground for picking from underneath. Keep an eye on early peach and nectarine budding, just on bud burst is the time to give a spray of sulfur or copper-based fungicides for leaf curl. Note: The Garden corner at the Waitaki Recycling Centre in Chelmer St here in Oamaru is being set up for an openong this weekend, we were going to open in October but we find that Gardeners are wanting to start planting now. Lots of nice fresh stock priced and ready to go. No vegetable plants yet, those being grown are still not ready.

My veg seedlings ready growing fast.

Gardening in Waitaki August 23rd 2022

Almost the end of August which means we should be leaving winter behind, BUT we could have a few more frosts which would upset my new seedlings, so my frost protection will stay on for a while yet. Plants have been putting on slow growth in the last couple of weeks, weeds included, chickweed and bidibid will romp away now that days are longer but at this stage are very easy to pull out before they run seed.  Magnificent magnolias have been taking center stage, they are very worthwhile trees to grace any medium sized garden. Beautiful bare branching through winter, stunning blooms and then large attractive leaves take them through to winter. They grow well with azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias because they all prefer an acid soil. There are many different choices in tree size and blooms, for the smaller garden, Magnolia billowing cloud is White / Pink Upright habit- Hgt / width 3m x 2,5m, for a larger garden Magnolia Charles Raffill soft Pink upright habit, Ht/width 7m x 5m, and Star Wars one of the first out, lovely large pink fragrant blooms   Ht/width5m x 4m, so many different beauties to choose from in Garden centers now. Roses: roots are moving fast now looking for food to swell buds into leaf. Well fed roses stay healthy roses, well worth the effort to minimize any spaying needed later on  Sow seeds under cover, seed packs that recommend spring sowing should germinate now. I sow seeds in trays of potting mix / soil mixed and layer of seed raising mix on the top. Once planted, cover trays with plastic or glass, using spacers to let air circulate. Lawns will be greening up after the rain but will need some attention after Winter dormancy. Moss can be eradicated with sulphate of iron (watering can), once moss has turned black rake out. The presence of moss in lawns indicates poor growing conditions for grass, growing where grass cannot survive, such as nutrient poor soil, soil with high acidity, soil that is compacted or drains poorly or where there is excessive shade or thatch accumulation. Give the older lawns a good rake to lift any thick thatch, cut and then aerate to improve drainage. Once all this has been completed, over the next 2 to 3 weeks apply lawn fertiliser during rain to boost and give lawns a good start. Vegetables: If you are planting out a veg garden, seedlings are best planted in a sunny position, kept moist and covered from birds and butterflys. Birds love small new plantings and butterflies, like to lay eggs on veg at any stage.  In area's you do not plan to plant for a while sow a green crop to add humus to the soil, Mustard, lupine, barley or wheat they will germinate in no time then dig in when lush, soft and green.Plenty of seed potatoes on offer now for you to get sprouting, early varieties can go in if soil is not too wet, and should show leaf in about a month when frosts are over.  protected from frost if they show leaves early. Fruit: As mentioned last week give fruiting shrubs and trees a dressing of potash enriched fertiliser to help with fruiting. Fruit trees and everything in the way of small fruit should be planted in August / early September at the latest. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki August 16th 2022

Days are really drawing out now as spring is slowly pushing winter out a little more each day, but as I write this I hear there is wet weather coming our way once again. After the last lot of wet we are still drying out from our ground will not take long to become saturated once again. On our new build back lawn we soon found out where moisture was not getting away and new grass died from rot. My garden plan for that area has had to change and introduce more gravel to allow for drainage to be included. We are dealing with a compacted clay pan not far below soil returned to our site after the build. Raised garden beds work to give plant feeder roots a depth of soil to establish as taproots force down through the clay. Raised gardens along a fence line in a new build are becoming the norm. Firstly a length, be it wood or stone will be used to create a raised bed, either in a straight line or curved to suit your proposed design, the height of this is a personal choice. Wood will be used for ours, 200 mills in height, pegged in place then filled with a mix of soil and the compost from Alliance Pukeuri plant, contact (Gregg Mcone ph:0272293215). Perennial weeds and couch grass are best removed before beginning to create a clean planting space. Planting trees where a depth is required, digging down into clay will need to be done, so digging deeper than needed is required then gravel or stones  added to the bottom of the hole to create a sump for drainage and trees or shrubs staked well against wind. Sowing seeds can be done now under cover and placed in a warm sunny place to germinate, air spaces are needed when trays are covered with glass or plastic to eliminate mold and rot. Hardwood cuttings can be taken at this time when sap is slowly rising, cuttings of deciduous plants, hydrangeas, roses, grapes and wisteria are best taken in winter. The last of winter pruning and the start of a winter clean up around gardens will be happening now. I have cut back woody munstead lavenders, some will survive but as lavenders give up after a few years I don't expect all of them to come away again. Lavenders seem to like a hungry ground but will benefit with a dressing of lime to boost them. Any plants that are starting to push out spring growth will benefit from feeding now. Peony roses are pushing up through the pea straw so watch where feet are put because at this stage shoots will break off if bumped.  Vegetables: If you plan to grow vegetables this summer, get the garden ready now by digging in weed free compost, then let the soil settle before planting. Plant veg seedlings then keep moist until they take hold and start growing, watering is best done at the start of the day. Cover with frost cloth or old shade curtains to keep birds and butterflies off.  In area's you do not plan to plant out for a while why not do tired soil a favor and sow a green crop to add humus. Mustard, lupine, barley or wheat, they will germinate in no time to be dug in while still lush. Plenty of seed potatoes on offer now for you to get sprouting, early varieties can go in if soil is dry enough, they should show leaf in about a month when frosts are over.  Fruit This is also the time to give fruiting shrubs and trees a dressing of potash to help with fruiting. I have been thinning and arranging  raspberry canes this week, taking out old canes that have fruited and removing  all spindly canes and excess runners.Now is a good time to trim, feed and shift citrus trees. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki August 10th 2022

Each day I am noticing hints of the coming spring everywhere, buds of magnolias, rhododendrons, and camellias are bursting open while blue bells,iris, crocus and tulips are up to join the already flowering snowdrops, daffodils and jonquils and of cause the early plum blossom, what a treat to witness the new growing seasons early beginnings.   Keep an eye out for flowering camellias and rhododendrons now in the garden centers, most are showing buds and flowers, this is the time to choose the right shades for your garden, they thrive in semi shade or afternoon shaded areas of the garden.Now is the perfect time to sow seeds undercover, the seeds I planted three weeks ago and have had under plastic are up. Any seeds that say spring sowing on the back of the packet will pop up as days get longer. I use a tray of compost / soil with a layer of seed raising mix on the top.This way your seed raising mix goes further. Once planted cover the trays with plastic or glass, but use spacers to let air circulate between the plastic / glass  and tray.Lavenders can have a cut back now, I see them starting to put out new growth, really old woody bushes can have wood cut back by half to encourage new lower growth. If a lavender bush has not done well for a couple of  years it is probably time to replace it. Newly planted lavenders just need a light clip during spring, sprinkle now with a little lime because lavenders like sweet soil. Shrubs encroaching on drive and walkways can be trimmed back , they will soon recover with new spring growth. Also reduce the height on some of taller shrubs if needed like phebalium, pittosporums and pseudopanax. You can do this without spoiling the shape by cutting out the center leader down to where the other branches bush out, this removes the natural point at the top of the shrub and will sometimes reduce the height by 2 or more meters.  New leaders will be sent up over time  but more growth will be put into the side branching which can be trimmed into shape if becoming a problem. Further inland leave this until spring. A lot of climbers are in bud now ready to do their thing in Spring so if trimming watch you are not cutting off new buds. Hardenbergia ( happy wanderer) flowers in early winter so that is one that can be cut back. Jasmines may have been knocked by the cold, leave them a bit longer until you are sure the frosts are over before trimming them.  If you have still not fed your roses do it as soon as possible, rose roots are moving fast now to push out buds. If you have no time to do anything else in the garden now feeding plants is a must for health and vigour to take them right through to the next autumn, It is well worth the effort and will minimize the spaying needed for unhealthy plants. Slow release fertilisers are a safe bet for continual feeding over a long period, they are very clean and easy to apply and nowadays formulated to feed specific plants.Now would be a good time to mention plants that resent being fed. Many South African plants and Australian natives such as proteas, leucadendrons, banksias, and all grevillia's do not need feeding. I have lost some of these because they had absorbed fertilizer from neighbouring plants. There is still time to divide hostas, these dramatic shade loving perennials can really highlight a shaded spot with their fresh greens and variegated light shades. Simply lift established clumps at least 4 to 5 years old, use a sharp spade to slice them into a few good sized pieces, then replant. They also look great in pots but, slugs love them so pop some prickly shrub clippings around them as soon as they start showing leaf.  Fruit and Vegatables This is the time to give fruiting shrubs and trees a dressing of potash to help with fruiting.  If you plan to grow vegetables this year, get the garden ready now, fork in some weed free compost and let the soil settle again. In area's you will not be planting out for a while, why not sow a green crop to add humus to tired soils, mustard, lupine, barley, oats or wheat.These will sprout in no time here on the coast when the ground is warm enough. Further inland when you notice weeds growing you should get a strike. If you do fill vacant areas with green crops, dig in when lush, soft and green. Don't let a crop get to the flowering stalky stage, it takes too long to break down. Deciduous fruit trees should be planted in August at the latest and everything in the way of small fruit, all require a sunny situation to fruit well and ripen. Now is a good time to shift citrus trees. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki August 3rd 2022

A full perennial garden

The first week of  August and I am in Christchurch enjoying a Nana stint, it was very wet when I arrived last week but today Tuesday is as mild as any spring or summer day. I can almost sense plants and bulbs wondering, What next, grow or continue with dormancy?? Sunny days with a warm breeze will soon help to dry waterlogged soil after all that rain last week. It is probably a good time to notice where gardens and lawns are retaining water when other areas are recovering well. If plant roots sit in water too long, they will drown. Have a dig around shrubs you are worried about to drain water away by creating low lying channels away from the root area. Where a plant can be lifted gravel / stones at the bottom of the planting hole will help with drainage in the future. During those long wet days I caught up with garden designing for Clients wanting ideas in place for spring. It's time to think about spring and what you would like happening in your garden. In my past big garden I would be dividing, shifting and planting delphiniums, dahlias, daylilies and clumping perennials into sunnier positions away from trees casting summer shade. My long and very wide herbaceous borders had trees becoming taller and wider with each year growing up the length of each border casting shade over plants that once grew in the sun. Shade loving plants needed to be considered as shade became denser and in wide borders I like perennials planted in numbers of the same plant for impact. Here are a few suggestions. Back border Tall, Ligularia, Astilbe, Soloman seal, Bleeding Heart (Dicentra), Foxglove, smilacina racemosa, Monkshood (Aconitum) Aruncus dioicus (Goat's Beard) Medium height: Spigelia marilandica, astrantia, hosters, euphorbia, Heuchera. Low height:  Pulmonaria, Trillium, Alchemilla mollis (Ladies mantle) hellebores (winter rose) If something works well in a garden bed why not fill with drifts of the same plant to make a colourful impact, this way of planting fills space allowing no room for weeds. Old wood can be cut out of weigela and spirea bushes, you can tell which branches they are because the wood looks old and spent compared to the new fresh wood, prickly berberis can be trimmed top and sides, buddleias should be cut well down to encourage soft silver branching and catmint can now have all old growth clipped off. Roses should have been pruned by the end of this month, they look for food long before they start budding. Remove all prunnings and old rose leaves from around the root area then mulch with a manure enriched compost or feed with rose food or blood and bone. I see a good selection of new roses on offer in retail outlets. Vegetables and fruit Vegetable gardens will be drying after the warmth and wind this week, it is time to prepare for sowing growing again. Seeds should germinate once sown into seed trays and placed in a warm well lit place,  once up and pricked out into punnets they can be given cooler conditions to start hardening off ready to be planted out closer to spring. Seed potatoes will be sprouting in a dark dry place to be ready for an early planting. Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres, I have mentioned dwarf peach and nectarine trees for the small garden and will now mention Ballerina apples. A very slim non branching variety of apple tree with Medium to large crisp, nice eating fruit. Hight 3-4m by 30cm wide, perfect for adding height in a small garden. A dressing of potash now around fruit trees and fruiting bushes will assist with fruiting. There is still time to get grapes pruned before sap rises, to prune remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new side growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branches, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit. Birds are hungry now and will be beginning to nest, with the help of (Grandies) we melted dripping and stirred in wild bird seed, while it was firming it was pressed into three balls. The Children climbed trees and pushed them into v branches for the birds to tuck into and Scruff the dog to sniff from below in the hope of some falling his way after he ate his share of the chook scraps and cat's food, very sneaky our now chubby Scruff! Cheers, Linda.

Pruning a grape.

Gardening in Waitaki August 2nd 2020

The odd heavy frost last week, even floored winter roses but they soon bounced back with a mild day following. Frozen ground makes it impossible to work in soil until later in the day so morning garden design is what I concentrate on for clients wanting ideas in place for spring planting. It's time to think about spring and what you would like happening in your garden, I have been dividing, shifting and planting delphiniums, dahlias, day Lillie's and clumping perennials into sunnier positions away from trees casting summer shade. My long and very wide herbaceous boarders have had the round headed laurel trees which were growing up the length of each boarder cut out, allowing me now to fill each boarder with spring and summer colour. Dahlias, peony roses and cosmos fill gaps well and lupins, delphiniums, fox gloves, hollyhocks and mignonette give wonderful vertical interest when grouped in wide borders. If something works well in a garden bed why not fill with drifts of the same plant to make a colourful impact, this way of planting fills space allowing no room for weeds. Use same shade roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, daisies, geraniums and poppy's, spring bulbs planted this way always give the best show rather than different varieties planted together. A few more hydrangeas have been pruned here and cuttings taken from the hardened stems that had flowered. A shaded moist area is best for bedding these down and hopefully roots will grow to feed the buds. Old wood can be cut out of wigelia and spirea bushes, you can tell which branches they are because the wood looks old and spent compared to the new fresh wood, prickly berberis can be trimmed top and sides, budleias should be cut well down to encourage soft silver branching and catmint can now have all old growth clipped off. Almost finished pruning roses here, only the flower carpet and fairy roses to go, both these varieties bush up with small non hard wood branching, large bushes can be trimmed with a hedge trimmer. If newly planted, prune back with secateurs to hard wood at an outward facing bud. Feeding and spraying roses is next, copper oxychloride and winter oil, they can be mixed and applied together, the oil helps the copper to stick, copper helps protect new growth from frosts that occur in spring. Feed with rose food, blood and bone or old stable manure. Vegetables and fruit Vegetable gardens are enjoying frosts breaking down the soil, time for sowing seeds to germinate in a warm place to be ready for planting out in a warm spring garden and seed potatoes can be sprouting in a dark dry place. Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres, I mentioned dwarf peach and nectarine trees for the small garden last week and will mention Ballerina apples this week. A very slim non branching variety of apple tree with Medium to large Crisp, juicy nice eating fruit. Hight 3-4m by 30cm wide perfect for adding height in a small garden. A dressing of potash now around fruit trees and fruiting bushes will assist with fruiting Still time to get grapes pruned before sap rises, to prune a fruiting leader remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new side growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branch, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit. Birds are hungry now and beginning to nest, with the help of Poppy and Maggie (Grandies) we melted dripping and stirred in wild bird seed, while it was firming it was pressed into three balls. The Girls climbed trees and pushed them into v branches for the birds to tuck into and Scruff the dog to sniff from below in the hope of some falling his way after he his share of the chook scraps and cat's food, very sneaky our now slightly chubby Scruff! Cheers, Linda.