Gardening in North Otago 26th March 2014

More rain this week, this is not what I call autumn! the grass is staying green and weeds are growing like they do in spring but if the hoe is kept on the go while weeds are small in this soft ground they wont get away on us like they do in spring. ( wishful thinking?) I am still cutting back heaps because everything is really tired now. Once I start chopping back at this time of the year there is no stopping me leaving destruction in my wake. Cut back, lift and divide summer flowering perennials. Plants that got the chop in my garden: Acanthus mollis (bears britches), tall phlox, day lilies, hellebore leaves, buddleia, honey suckle, abutilon, evergreen viburnum, alstromeria, Hebe's, iris and all leggy, gone to seed herbs. While working my way around I dealt to all my bearded iris's by cutting leaves back by two thirds and making sure the top of rhizomes were above ground to bake in the autumn sun. I have shifted a lot out from shade into sunny well drained locations. Iris's are well worth the trouble of growing and look wonderful planted together in their own bed enabling them to put on a grand display on their own. 6-8 weeks after blooming rhizomes can be divided leaving a chunk of rhizome and roots to every new division. I have also divided and re potted clumps of water iris. To re pot water iris line a plastic pot ( that will stand the top heaviness of the iris when tall) with sacking, or loose woven material place a generous amount of gravel on that then some soil, a little stable manure, or slow release fertiliser granules, plant iris then add another layer of gravel. The gravel on the bottom and top helps to prevent manure or fertiliser leaching from the pot while at the same time weighting the pot down when the iris becomes top heavy. Remove seed heads from ornamental grass if you have not already done so, they just pull away with a rake, grass clumps will look a lot tidier. Clumps can now be trimmed back if getting too big or divided by putting a spade through the middle and removing half. Sometimes I have to dig the whole grass out to do this, then put the spade through and pull apart while standing on one half of the clump. If thinking of adding Rose's, or more roses to your garden I suggest you look at rose variety books or go on line to make your choices before getting your order into Garden centers. New seasons roses will begin arriving in June and by ordering now you will be sure not to miss out. When putting in a new rose bed be sure to take note of heights & widths because they will be all growing together and you would not want some out growing and shading others. It takes 6 weeks from a rose dead heading to grow a new bloom, here on the coast we should have one more flush of blooms then bushes need to stay untouched to allow wood to harden before the big winter prune in mid July / early August. Vegetables. March is an important month for planting winter veg, prepare prior to planting with compost, general garden fertiliser and lime (only if needed to bring the Ph up), I add lime to my compost then know the garden is getting it when compost is added at this time of the year. Beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, and silverbeet seedlings and broad beans can be planted now but will need to be protected from the white butterfly. A framework or stakes to hold strawberry net stretched over plants would do the trick. In colder areas seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts are best sown in trays for planting out for planting out later. A green manure cover crop will germinate quickly right now to be dug in later for enriching the soil. Blue lupin, mustard or oats are good options. Parsley can be grown from seed sown now and perennial herbs such as, chives, mint, thyme, sage, and marjoram can be divided and replanted. Basil, a summer annual should be harvested before the cold weather. It can be dried or frozen. Prepare garlic beds, sow heartease (small wild pansy) for companion to garlic and onions. Fruit: Manure, mulch and compost around fruit trees while ground is warm. Late peaches should be ready to pick now. Feed citrus bushes with citrus fert, they just keep on producing flowers & fruit. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago March 19th

More rain this week to make this a very green Autumn, looking back over my notes for this time it was about the same in 2011. The ground is so easy to weed and seeds are germinating fast with the warmth and moisture. The silver birches are always the first to drop a carpet of leaves on our drive so the leaf blower and rake are on the go again to fill the first of many wool packs. Still cutting back and tiding plants up before the compost and pea straw is applied, the rain spoiled most of my rose blooms but there are still buds to come to make a last showing before winter. Don't feed roses now, new soft growth needs to harden off from now on to take them through to the big winter prune. March is defiantly the best planting month, I have divided and potted up viola Maggie mott and small edging primulas, took cuttings of purple sage, geraniums, buxus (box hedge) and lavenders. Sowed the seeds of lupin, mignonette, sweet peas, pansy and winter marigolds. The seeds sown last week are already through and putting on fast growth! Prepare ground for as many spring bulbs as you have room for because this is bulb shifting and planting time! Break up really large clumps of daffodils, blue bells, snow drops and freesias and plant in pots or along fence lines and parts of the garden that need brightening up in spring....or pass them on to someone who is establishing a garden, bulbs are not often be turned down! Rake mulch off bearded iris rhizomes they need to be exposed to the sun for a baking now. Layer carnation stems (ie) pin the center of the stem down under the soil while still attached to the mother plant with the flower end still exposed ) roots should form along the buried stem. Once rooted cut from the mother plant and pot up to grow on before planting out. Carnations like a sweeter soil, sprinkle a little lime around clumps. Lawns. This is such a good year to sow autumn lawns and fill in gaps in lawns, the gaps in our BBQ area lawn have been created by new pup Scruff!! I fill them, he digs them.... I have been spraying the flat weeds in lawns and applying grass grub granules to be washed in by the rain. This month is the very best time to patch up lawns and sow new lawns. Vegetable Gardens will be producing in abundance now, so much will be ready to use in North Otago gardens, parsnips, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, and a new crop of peas filling out along with corn and pumpkins scrambling everywhere. I have the ground ready now for planting broad beans, onions, carrots and parsnip. With the white butterfly still about I will plant out a few leaf veg and cover with wind break to keep them off. Contact for this years pea straw in small bales off the paddock, phone 4326844 Cheers Linda

Gardening in North Otago March 11th 2014

What a strange beginning to Autumn!! drizzle and overcast sky's but leaves are beginning to turn, and the drizzle has given plants and grass a reprieve from the usual autumn baking sun. With nights cooling off and days shortening it will not be long before the major leaf drop and days filled with raking them up, so I can't really start getting the gardens ready for winter with compost then pea straw until all that is over. However, I can lift branches on large tree's and trim back climbers like wisteria, jasmine and honey suckle and keep trimming hedges / shrubs, then tidy up the mushy rose blooms left after all the drizzle. This rose dead heading will be my last for this growing season, roses will soon need to stop putting out new soft growth. Rose wood needs time to harden off before the big winter prune, which means leaving spent flower blooms on to allow seeds to grow. Keep dead heading dahlia's and geraniums to keep them flowering through until the first frost and continue to remove spent summer annuals so ground can be worked ready for winter flowering annuals like primulas, wall flowers, pollyantha;s, pansies & viola's. Fork in some compost and wet well before replanting beds. Be on the look out for useful self sown seedlings like fox glove, lupin, cineraria, hollyhock and primula melacoides, I am finding quite a few of them, they can be transplanted now to settle in before winter. Peony roses are on offer now, they are really 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. Plant with the eyes facing upwards and the roots spread out. Soil: Peonies are very adaptable, but they do prefer a sunny, well-drained, slightly acidic soil and benefit from compost added when planting. Peonies can remain in the same spot for upwards of 70 years, taking the time to prepare the soil before planting is time well spent, they also like a good winter chill in order to set their flower buds. 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 this chilling to attain dormancy and set bud. Be sure you don’t accidentally bury your peonies deeper when you add mulch, keep mulch away from the base of peony plants. Lift gladioli now and store in a dry place, if left in the ground they may be attacked by pests. I have to empty my compost area in readiness for all the in coming leaves so have started using the compost which includes some of last autumns leaves, spring soft hedge cuttings and summer lawn clippings, a sprinkle of lime through the layers and a good amount of animal manure. With the heat and rains we have had it is fantastic, rich black and full of worms, what a treat my gardens are in for. Trees, shrubs,plants and bulbs take so much from the soil during each growing season, sooner than later gardens need more than Man the made fertilisers which work by feeding the plants and promoting growth and in doing so deplete the soil of humus. Compost / humus is a soil enhancer which the worms take down to where it's needed to get the best results from both ornamental and vegetable gardens. 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. Cheers, Linda http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz/

Gardening in North Otago 5th March 2014

March, Autumn begins: "Ahhh the warm ripening season I love, long shadows, low sun in Cornflower blue sky's above". ( At this mellow time of the year the poet in me emerges!!) Although the begging of this week was as cold as mid winter, wind rain & winter woollies before they should be! and because most of this week was so cold I had to keep on the move, the hedge trimmer was out again because some shrubs in our garden have out grown their space. I thought this might be a good time to mention the pruning and shaping of shrubs. Shrubs that have flowered on previous years growth like rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, ceonothus, forsythia, coleonema (breath of heaven) only if they need to be trimmed and shaped to reduce their height and width. they should always have this done while there is still enough growing season left for them to make new growth and harden off before the frosts begin. In colder areas like Kurow the trimming of all flowering shrubs should be done as soon as flowering has ended, with the exception of hydrangeas the old growth can be left on these through the winter to protect the new shoots, pruning can be done in mid to late Spring. I have also thinned out crowded camellia bushes, there should be enough open spaces for a bird to fly through which will let enough light in to encourage the best buds for next spring. Shrubs that flower on current years growth like daisy bushes, rosemary, fuchsia are best left with top growth on them now until spring they will then make rapid new growth, you will only risk loosing them if you cut them back hard now. I am still cutting back plants that looked stunning last season but are now just tied and straggly like bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops, geraniums and every acanthus mollis plant in my garden (oyster plant) needs to be cut right back to the ground now so they will all leaf up again and look good through winter. Seed collecting is still on the go here, there are so many ripe and ready now, I plant a few now but save most to sow in spring. I consider this month your last chance to cut back natives like pittosporums and hebe's as they need to have new growth harden off before winter to avoid frosting. If you intend to shape some be quick or leave them until after winter. If hebe's are covered in flower heads gone to seed they need the spent flower heads trimmed off, if this is not done they will get lanky, woody and look untidy. Once they have been trimmed plant a few tip cuttings by removing the bottom leaves and cutting the top leaves back by half before planting into the ground or trays of crusher dust. I came across a good idea for getting cuttings started using large clear plastic tubs, I bought a couple of these tubs for camping last year which I will put to use this way as mini tunnel houses. Line the bottom with lengths of stick to alleviate cuttings / seed trays for draining when watered, cuttings should not dry out, a mist spray is what I use. Place the tub lids on top of spacers to let air in and weight down with something smallish but heavy like a brick to stop the lid blowing off. Semi shade would be a good place for these tubs to sit at this time of the year. When the cold weather begins shift them into a sunny warm position. When cuttings have rooted pot into individual pots and pinch cuttings back at least twice to get nice bushy plants. The rule of thumb is hedging plants such as photinia, viburnum and tecreium can be cut any time during the growing season, but again be careful not to leave it too late in colder areas. Autumn is said to be the best time to plant conifers, there are such a lot of different types on offer now and I consider these shrubs & trees contribute to the bones of a garden. Tall narrow conifers planted in groups give larger gardens a vertical push and formality. Read labels carefully they will give you the height and width for the first ten years, after that they do keep growing and can be removed if they start to look untidy, but most ornamental conifers look wonderful for many years. Lawns. Once we are well into Autumn it will be the best time to sow a new lawn,because perennial weeds will have slowed down, the ground still holds warmth and the nights are still not cold so grass seed should be up in no time. I have been spot spraying the flat weeds in my lawns and applied grass grub granules during the rain we had before the last cold snap. Vegetables: What a great year for produce this is, I have so much ready to use, parsnips, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, corn and pumpkins scrambling all over the place. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg have been, the warm soil will keep germinating and producing until the first frost. When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green. I take what I need from a dig and leave the rest in the ground until needed. When the time comes for you to store them there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will share a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with dried sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots. Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches all ready at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be feasting on the walnuts and sun flower seeds, such abundance! Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 28th February 2014

More lovely summer days this week along with dark dramatic sky's, there are parts in our garden that are really tired now particularly the long boarders which I plan to attack this weekend. Cut back border and rockery perennials as they finish flowering then top dress with compost and some blood & bone to give all a boost. To get superior blooms on gerberas, dahlias, delphiniums and chrysanthemums dead head and give fortnightly feeds of liquid fertiliser, remove excess buds from large flowering chrysanthemums they will be putting on a show soon. I would dearly love to shift shrubs but I know they would suffer by being shifted at this time of the year even if the water was kept up to them. Best to wait until the end of Autumn when the sap has gone down. However if you have no option and have to shift trees and shrubs it would not be as traumatic if they were first wrenched to cushion them from the shock. Wrenching is when one half of the roots are dug around and lifted, then compost is added under them for new feeder roots to grow into. It is important to keep the water up once roots have been cut or disturbed. A tree or shrub will survive with being fed from the remaining untouched roots while at the same time the other half is making new roots into the compost in readiness for a shift later. Wrenched trees and shrubs have a much higher transplant success rate than trees and shrubs that are lifted in one go and transplanted. Wrench now and transplant in winter when plants are dormant. I am still gathering seeds with the help of two little Grand Daughters, the hot days we have been experiencing are ripening seeds on foxgloves, Poppy's, dianthus, lupin, marigold, sweet pea, lavender, snapdragon & hollyhock. We planted poppy, hollyhock, lupin & marigold into trays and stored the rest in brown paper bags in a dry place( where mice cannot get at them) to sow into seed raising mix at the end of winter. Watering plants is a priority now but it is best not to water in the heat of the day, wait until it cools down and your plants will absorb and retain the moisture. Mulching is also beneficial right now, but always apply mulch to ground that has been well soaked then forget about watering for a while because the mulch will do the job of keeping that moisture in the ground. I am sure many people will be on the look out for bales of new seasons pea straw soon, I look forward to passing on contacts should I be given any. Because I pile a lot of my garden waste in a sheep paddock along side the garden I am mindful of what I am leaving for the sheep to eat. There are a number of common plants that can poison animals and Children : Arum lillies, Calico bush, Daphne, English yew, foxglove, Hemlock, Holly berries, Iris, Ivy, Kowhai (especially seeds) Laburnum, Lily of the valley, Ngaio, Night shade,Privit, Rhododendron, Rhubarb (leaves) Spindle berry, Potato ( green berries & green tubers) Lawns: The lawn weeds I sprayed last week are wilting away, even the Hydrocotyle which I thought was not going to succumb to the spray. I am ready with grass grub granules next significant rain fall we get, I can see where the grubs are eating away at the roots of grass, mostly in the ground at the foot of trees the night beetles (Grass grub turn into these beetles) strip leaves from. Veg & Fruit Keep the water up to corn and pumpkins to ensure a juicy crop, they both need a long ripening season. Dig out old spent strawberry plants that have finished cropping and discard. Plants that are being kept for another season should have runners cut off now to preserve the strength of the main clumps. Transplant strong runners and keep the water up to them until they make roots. Grapes are filling out now, I will be putting the net over mine soon and keeping the moisture up to them. Cheers, Linda Blog: http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz/

Gardening in North Otago February 18th 2014

What a wonderful rain we got last week, just what North Otago was wanting for and how quickly my gardens and lawns recovered. I must comment on how pretty our town is right now with beautiful blue agapantha's cooling warm sunny gardens and complementing the second flush roses and vibrant dahlia's, and a special mention to the colorful Council gardens and pretty hanging baskets. I am still cutting back and dead heading so much, it all has to go if it has died back to encourage new fresh growth. February: is a good month for taking cuttings and propagating your own plants. Why? because by late summer the soft new spring growth has hardened and the cutting is less likely to lose water from the leaves. Semi-succulent plants like geraniums (Pelargoniums) or impatiens are easiest for beginners, but many common shrubs such as abelia, buxus, lavenders,camellias, azaleas, fuchsias and hebe's have a relatively high success rate, it is all about keeping the cut pieces alive while they develop their own new roots. Professional nursery people grow cuttings in glasshouses where they’re regularly misted with fine sprays of water. But there are lots of techniques that can help a home gardener to achieve success. Take cuttings early in the morning, while it’s still cool. Choose tip pieces that are about 100- 150 mm long. Wrap immediately in damp newspaper and then in plastic. Work in the shade, fill pots with Seed Raising Mix / crusher dust and water well, allow to drain, trim the base of the cutting so that it ends just below a leaf node (which is where the leaf is, or has been, attached to the stem). Remove bottom leaves, leaving a few at the top, large leaves can be cut in half. Dip the base of the cutting into hormone Gel or powder then poke into the mix, a 150mm pot can hold about six cuttings.( Keep moist) Place pot in a lightly shaded spot and cover with plastic wrap held above the cuttings, (wire hoops made out of an old coat hangers) Check regularly to make sure the mix stays moist and after a couple of months gently move the stems to feel if they’re firm. This will mean roots have started, plant in individual pots when roots are established. Hedges here got a light tidy up last week, (not the buxus, too much heat in the sun to trim them just now.) but ok for all other hedges that have put on unwanted new growth. I keep on about planting bulbs, they are in the shops and they want to be in the ground now. A bulb comes ready-equipped with the promise of a flower and they look best planted in groups. The one thing we can hold off from at this time of the year is planting trees & shrubs, unless you are able to water new plantings daily, no reason to not choose and buy trees and shrubs when you see them on offer now, store in light shade while still in growing bag and keep the water up to them until planting time in mid to late autumn. Lawns: During that last rain I fertilised lawns and the lawn weeds responded well along with the grass,hydrocotyle is thriving here this year so I sprayed this week with hydrocotyle spray which also deals to a number of other lawn weeds including clover, sorry worms! Fruit: Feed citrus trees with citrus food and spray any scale you notice with winter oil. Vegetables: Keep sowing veg seeds like carrot, beetroot, parsnip, spring onion, and keeping onions and lettuce because there is plenty of growing time left. to germinate seeds before the frost start again. Dig and store potatoes if you feel they have been in the ground too long, I was doing this the other day with the unwanted help of scruff the pup...I am sure he thought I was digging up ball's that be carted off ready for throwing! Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago February 12th 2014

What glorious weather this week as we move through summer towards autumn the dry ripening season. It is so important now to cut plants back that have finished flowering if you want the plants to grow back with a new lot of fresh leaves to fill the gaps. If you let things run to seed as they want to now some perennials and annuals will give up because they have made seed for plants to take their place. However if it is seed collecting you want then leave some flower heads to make seed, I have started collecting always storeing seed in brown paper bags and leave in a dark dry place until required. Seeds collected now can be planted now as nature intended or sowing can be done in the spring. Spring sowing works better some times, hot summer sowing will usually result in fewer seedlings surviving. Seeds to collect now would be delphinium, aqualegia, dianthus, poppy, marigold, rhododendron,sweet pea, lilies, violas & Pansy's, all of these will do well planted into seed raising mix and planted out when strong enough. I am also finding an abundance of native seedlings growing all over the garden, this is the work of birds doing their bit to regenerate the forna. I dig out the small ones and pot them up at this time of the year but leave the larger ones until winter, they will have a better survival rate then when lifted. Lift summer flowering gladioli as leaves begin to dry off, and hang upside down inside to ripen before cleaning and storing. It's the right time from now on to plant large flowering (hybrid) clematis to get roots established before winter. A fungus spray at planting will help eliminate the wilt problem some clematis suffer from at planting time, when planting try not to disturb the root too much and sprinkle a little lime to sweeten their ground. There are some stunning hybrid clematis on offer with huge or delicate flowers in vibrant shades that to me have a tropical look climbing and spilling through gardens. Keep planting spring bulbs where you picture a show of them in spring, Clumps are much more effective than one planted here and there. Continue dead heading dahlias to keep them bushy and flowering longer, take stalky old growth right back to where the stem is plumper. Lawns: Begin preparations for new lawns to be sown in autumn, start by spraying out all perennial weeds,then the area should be dug or rotary hoed then raked to ensure there is a fine tilt and no underlying hard pan. Test the ph and if soil is too acid bring it up to about 6 with lime, leave as long as possible for the lime to be absorbed before applying fertiliser once grass is up. To ensure a level, firm planting surface, the soil should be gently compacted again after digging by raking and treading or rolling. Veg & fruit: This is a major harvest month for vegetable and fruits, the jam and preserving pans will be busy and the gardens abundant with food. Keeping the water up to everything especially the late ripening fruit trees is a must to get the best crops. I am sure it must be the favourite time of the year for birds with so much on offer to them, pick and store before they take all. Cheers, Linda