Gardening in Waitaki April 23rd 2025

Autumn in our Public Gardens:

The dampness continues in Waitaki as leaves fall, gardens and lawns are still holding green and should continue to do so a little longer if moisture is kept up. Summer potted annuals will be looking tired now, but deadheading and foliar feeding will keep them flowering through autumn. Here on the coast, we can still enjoy colour during winter if bedding plants are prepared now. The idea is to utilize the warmth from now on to encourage individually potted plants to bud, and harden for planting before frosts get heavy. Bedding plants that respond well to this method are pansy, viola, polyanthus, wallflower, stock, calendula, and primula malacoides. It is so worth taking the time to pot individual young seedlings into single pots for root development and to become acclimatized to early winter conditions rather than buying plants that have been forced into flower. I place these pots on trays and store them in a well-lit, shady place until frosts begin, then the trays are put in a sunny spot to bud up. Keep dahlia deadheading up to encourage a last vibrant show, but leave roses to make seed heads now. Rust is always a problem on roses in autumn because all resistance will be going into seed heads and hardening wood. Strip affected leaves from bushes as well as those on the ground and burn them. Carnations can be layered now, pin the center of a stem down under the soil while still attached to the mother plant, with the flower end exposed, and 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. There should be a lot of new lawns being sown, don't worry about annual weeds appearing as the grass germinates, most will disappear after the first mow. All lawn weed sprays are too strong for new grass. Birds are after grass grub in lawns now, while grubs are feeding on grass roots close to the surface, you have until the end of May to deal with grass grub, after that they tunnel down too deep to be affected by the granules. Fruit: This is proving a good season for apples, quince, pears, and walnuts. The more I read about the health benefits of eating walnuts, I feel we should all have access to a tree, or maybe more walnut crops being planted for future generations. The East Coast is said to be the preferred place for growing walnuts, they need a dry climate, with a high summer temperature and winter chilling (down to -10ºC). Walnuts are self-pollinating, but the more trees you have, the better the pollination rate. Young walnut trees won’t be producing at economic levels until about Year 8. Vegetable Gardens will be ready to plant out new crops for the cooler seasons, root veg seeds will only germinate well while the ground is still warm. Corn and pumpkins should be coming to an end now and tomato crops almost exhausted. Water tomatoes early in the day to ensure plants are dry going into the night. Cheers, Linda.