Gardening in Waitaki 21st May 2024

Peony ready to be cut back.

What a Lovely soft rain on days that look so much like winter now,  Peony roses: If you are planning to move a peony, the best time is now in the autumn when the plant is nearing dormancy. Peonies start to go dormant when the foliage is rapidly losing colour.  Cool soil temperatures allow peonies to start growing a new root system quickly before the ground freezes. The site should be sunny and well-drained, deep fertile soil is best but they can still do ok in quite poor soils as long as they never become waterlogged (especially over winter). Planting depth is important, too deep means they will spend time pushing up to the right depth, finding the uppermost bud on the crown and planting so that the base of the bud is 5 cm (2") from the soil surface. Don't expect much growth in the first year, if you do get flowers in late spring leave on the plant because stems don't regrow during the season. The leaf dieback adds strength to the tuba, so foliage must be left on and then cut down to ground level in autumn and disposed of, which may help prevent the carry-over of fungal infections like botrytis. Tree peonies don't need to be cut down, stems above the ground remain alive, remove diseased leaves, and leave pruning out dead wood until spring. Hellebores will benefit from fortnightly feeding now to encourage better blooms. I have been removing the old foliage from mine because aphids seem to winter over on the underside but it is best to leave some top growth on in colder areas to protect the new growth, flowers will soon shoot up past the old leaves.  Only feed bulbs and plants that are due to flower now, all other plants will be slowing their growth right down to sleep through winter.  Move all spring flowering plants in pots into a sunny spot now, plants like camellia, azaleas, and rhododendrons that have been tucked away in a shady spot over the hot months. Shrubs in pots get root-bound and hungry, If you fed them when they finish flowering, they should be fine, if not then give them a little fertiliser and water well to give them a boost.   Seedlings and rooted cuttings need as much sun as they can get over the colder months, they may not look as though they are growing as they will not put out any new growth on top but with the warmth of the sun on pots they will be making lots of feeder roots.  There is still time on the coast to divide border plants, perennials, and rock plants, they will make new roots before growth stops.  In very cold districts leave the dead top growth on, safer to remove in spring but If you are strawing your gardens this will do the same job.  This is the best time to shift small evergreen shrubs and conifers, as long as the root ball is not to well spread they should transplant well. Rhododendrons, camellias, and azaleas can be shifted now as well.  Lawns have picked up during the cooler nights, our lawn was spot sprayed last week, there was quite a lot of clover and flat weeds spreading, I only spot spray where needed because I would hate to kill hard-working worms. The grass-grub-damaged areas raked out and resown here have new grass now, thankfully germination of grass seed is very fast during autumn while the ground is still warm. The drizzle now falling is an opportunity to spread gypsum on compacted clay areas and fine compost around lawns to add humus.  Vegetables:   Leeks should be available now for planting, they can be planted lying down in a trench that will hold water to get them going, and they will soon sit up and grow fast.Remove shading from glass houses now and reduce watering, more light, less watering for pot plants inside as well. Fruit If you have apple trees laden, let as many apples as you intend to eat on the tree ripening naturally, birds will be pleased if you share or pick most unripe and store them in a cool dry place for later. Late peaches will still be on trees, the flavor is delicious in a late peach.  Grape picking will be well underway, I miss my small vineyard with always enough grapes to make into a few bottles of wine that would sometimes be more like vinegar that could be turned into Homemade Weed Killer, so however bad the wine turned out there was no waste. My recipe is 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, dish detergent (any brand), Empty spray bottle. Put salt in the empty spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way up with white vinegar. Add a squirt of dish detergent. This solution should only be used on drives and pathways, it works best on a warm day.   Cheers, Linda

Planting leeks in a trench.