Gardening in Waitaki March 12th 2024

With nights cooling and days shortening it will not be long before the major leaf drop but going from my past notes trees are holding leaves green longer this year, probably due to the rain showers North Otago has been lucky to have received during summer. Low branches on large trees will probably need to be lifted to let more light onto lawns and plants below. Wisteria, jasmine, and honeysuckle climbers can be trimmed along with hedges and shrubs if needed. Rose deadheading will be the last for this growing season, roses will soon need to stop putting out new soft growth as rosewood needs time to harden from now on before the big winter prune, which means allowing spent blooms to make seed. Keep deadheading dahlias, petunias, and geraniums to keep them flowering through until the first frost, and continue to remove spent summer annuals so the soil can be worked ready for winter flowering annuals such as primulas, wall flowers, polyanthas, pansies, and violas. Fork in some compost and soak well before replanting. Be on the lookout for useful self-sown seedlings such as foxglove, lupin, cineraria, hollyhock, and primula malacoides, they can be transplanted now to settle in before winter. Peony roses are on offer now, they are worth planting with their big showy blooms taking over from the spring rhododendron displays, be careful when planting not to disturb the new shoots (eyes) forming. A peony root to be planted should contain at least 3 eyes that will eventually become stems. A root with only 1 or 2 eyes will still grow, but it will take longer to flower. Peonies are very adaptable, but they do prefer sunny, well-drained, slightly acidic soil and benefit from compost added when planting, they can remain in the same spot for upwards of 70 years. Peony roots should be planted relatively close to the soil surface; only about 2-3 inches deep. It may seem odd to leave roots so exposed, but they need chilling to attain dormancy and set buds. Lift gladioli bulbs now and store them in a dry place, if left in the ground they may be attacked by pests. Lawns: Get new lawns sown now, the cooler nights and mornings are allowing the moisture to remain longer after watering and a strike will happen pretty fast as the ground is still nice and warm. Vegetables: Good growth is still happening as long as the water is kept up, pumpkins and corn should be ready to harvest, dry off pumpkin and squash skins before storing them in a cool dry place. This is a good time for planting above-ground annual crops that produce their seeds outside like lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and grain green crops for digging in to add humus to tired soil. Cheers, Linda.

Autumn lawn sowing gets best results.