October is already here, and Gardens across Waitaki are in full spring bloom. Blossoms, magnolias, rhododendrons, and azaleas are making a stunning show, while lawns and borders are bursting into life. Every week, something new appears, hostas unfurling, lilies pushing through, peonies stretching up, and perennial treasures like lily of the valley and Solomon’s seal. With soil warming and daylight lengthening, growth is leaping ahead. Thankfully, we received much-needed rain last week, so while moisture is in the ground, we need to keep it there by mulching around plants, trees and shrubs with compost. Compost will also support new roots while they develop to carry growth into the new growing season.
Roses: If you haven’t already, feed roses, shrubs, and perennials do it now. Use a balanced fertiliser, blood & bone, or a homemade mix with sulphate of potash to encourage flowering and fruiting. Aged stable manure mixed with compost spread around the drip line of roses works wonders to carry them through their long flowering season. Always water powdered fertiliser in well. Roses appreciate being fed to encourage strong growth that resists pests and disease far better than weak, soft growth. Aphids (greenfly) can often be squashed by hand or blasted off with the hose. Birds will help too. If infestations are heavy, try a safe homemade deterrent, such as rhubarb leaf infusion mixed with a little detergent, effective on ornamentals but not for edible crops.
Early morning watering is best, allowing plants and soil time to dry before nightfall, which reduces the likelihood of fungal problems developing. For new plantings, liquid feeding helps them settle and make strong feeding roots.
Perennials & Ornamentals: Hostas, Take care not to damage emerging shoots. Keep them moist, feed with compost and blood & bone, and protect against slugs by spreading broken egg shells around them. Lilies & Peonies: Stake now before stems grow tall. Never let lilies dry out. Dahlias: Plant tubers now. Divide clumps if they’ve grown too large and replant or share with friends. Lavender – Growing strongly now, often free of spittle bugs early in the season. If they appear, dislodge with a strong jet of water. Camellias. Once flowering finishes, trim and thin branches to let in light and encourage next year’s buds. Sweet peas, plant in compost-rich trenches with climbing supports. Their scented blooms will reward you all summer.
Watch grafted flowering cherries — remove any shoots from below the graft, or they will quickly overtake the ornamental top.
Lawns:are growing fast now. Established lawns benefit from fertiliser applied just before rain. Avoid feeding newly germinated grass as fertiliser burns young seedlings. October is an excellent time to sow seed thickly to beat spring weeds, keep moist, and you’ll have a strong strike before weeds take hold.
Fruit & Berries: Blossoms on apples, pears, cherries, and plums will be drawing in bees and pollinators. Raspberries and gooseberries are flowering too. Strawberries should be planted or already budding; they thrive in raised beds with compost-enriched soil and a layer of pine needles to suppress weeds and keep fruit clean. Currants are leafing up well and should crop strongly with good pollination.
Herbs:are thriving in the spring warmth. If starting a new herb garden, choose a sunny spot, dig in lime and old manure, and plant away. Divide clumps as needed and harvest regularly to prevent plants from running to seed. Mixed herb pots make excellent Christmas gifts if planted now.
Vegetables: Garden centres are brimming with seedlings — tomatoes, herbs, potatoes, beans, corn, pumpkins, and leafy greens. If you don’t yet have a veggie patch, claim a corner now: dig or rotary hoe, edge it neatly, and keep surrounding weeds down. Peas & beans – Plant now; peas will climb quickly on netting. Corn & pumpkins, Sow this month to ensure a long growing season. Carrots, Sow now for a crop before carrot fly peaks. If carrot fly is a problem, cover rows with insect netting from germination through April, or try Resistafly F1 seeds, which are more resistant. Avoid strong thinning as it releases the scent that attracts flies. Potatoes, Plant seed potatoes in well-prepared beds. Successive sowing, Plant small amounts often for a steady harvest rather than a glut.
Cheers, Linda.
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