Gardening in North Otago April 2014

Leaves, leaves, leaves so many on the ground and yet to fall, "groan" but to compensate we do have a beautiful gold, red and orange wonder land out here right now but not the sun to go with them! Most of the leaves turn into good compost but I do not compost oak or walnut leaves, they take too long to break down in my heaps, I burn them and then add the ash. My leaf raking has become a very noisy job because Scruff the pup thinks the leaf rake is out to get him, so feels the need to bark continually at it....I fear it will be a long noisy autumn for me in the garden! The ground is pretty wet with the constant showers we are experiencing, hydrangea's are loving it as are rhododendrons, Camellia's & azaleas, they usually suffer from the dry in autumn. Give them all a dressing of compost because they are busy budding up in readiness for spring. Hydrangea wood is hardening with some flower heads transforming into dark rich reds which means they are at the stage, if picked, hung upside down or left in a vase until all water is gone they will remain that colour for many months. Other plants that will stay nice through winter if picked now are leucodendron, protea, and nandina. As I walk around my garden looking at all the plants collapsing after their summer display I was heartened this week to see the nerine buds popping open to take their turn on center stage. Nerines are very pretty in pink, white and red shades sending flowers up on long stalks from strappy green leaves, they last well in water when picked. Nerine bulbs are easy to grow in a good draining position, they need very little water when dormant but appreciate water in their flowering stage, they will do well in gardens this autumn. Prune back perennial wall flowers, mignonette and dentata lavender now to encourage new growth for a good winter flowering.( On the coast only), do the same to Marguerite daisies. Further inland take hard wood cuttings from these daisy's, pot up and protect over winter, a lot of Marguerite daisy bushes are lost due to continuous inland frosts. This week I broke up more clumps of violas like Maggie mott and clumping primulas to plant sections with root attached into pots or trays, they will grow and clump up from now on ready to be planted out in spring. Both of these make lovely edging plants, one clump will give you many. Ranunculus are still on offer, they so worth while and a good investment because they multiply well and give vibrant or soft mid height colour to an early spring garden. Ranunculus corms look very dried up and brittle in the packet when bought, soak them over night in water with a little liquid fertiliser and they will become nice and plump. Plant at least five together in groups to get the best effect. With lilies becoming available in shops this month established clumps may be lifted if necessary, but do not disturb them unless they are very crowded or unsuitably sited. Instead top dress them with a mixture of compost and blood and bone. (A cup full of blood and bone to each bucket of compost. be sure to keep lily bulbs moist while they are out of the ground, roots must never dry out. Almost all lilies need to be planted as deep as three times the height of the bulb.The only exception to this deep planting is the Madonna lily which is planted just below the surface and prefers to be shifted in mid summer straight after flowering. This is also one of the few lilies which also prefers limy soil. Keep planting well grown evergreen shrubs, still time to get them settled in before winter. Give evergreen hedges a last light trim during this month. Vegetable garden I have mentioned growing a green crop in vacant areas of the vegetable garden, oats is probably the best one to plant in the autumn, it will grow in no time, dig in while still soft and green. First timers might like to follow the green manure suggestion of using blue lupin as a nitrogen additive . other wise, use mustard as a good soil conditioner in spring and summer, changing back to oats in the autumn.< Green vegetable seedlings will be targeted by birds right now so best to cover them with strawberry net raised above the plants while small, birds will not be so interested when plants plump out a bit. Broad beans can be planted now, try a little potash in the soil just below the bean when planted, it is said to help prevent rust. Walnuts are falling along with the leaves, most of the nuts on our tree fall in their green casing and if I don't pick them up they attract rats who nibble through the casing and the soft shell to get to the nut. Because of the fleshy casing they need to be spread out separated from each other in a dry place like a glass house to allow the green casing to dry and shrivel away from the nut. If all lumped together in a box they will soon go mouldy. Feed citrus well now, manure, seaweed, rock phosphate, dolomite or citris fertiliser and mulch. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 8th April 2014

More rain this week and cold, It's that waiting time of year again, waiting for the deciduous trees and shrubs to put on their spectacular autumn show then drop their leaves, waiting for plants to finish flowering so I can cut them back, waiting for the roses to make seed and not be tempted to cut them back until pruning time in July. It is important not to dead head roses now even though they look untidy just left, especially after all the drizzle. I have been pulling off the soggy petals which make the bushes look a little better. When a spent bloom sets seed the sap continues to be drawn up to feed these seeds and keep them developing, when this is happening the bud shoots on the steam are not activated because the sap is bypassing them to get to the seed. If we cut the seed head off the sap will go into making new growth which will be too soft to go through the winter and will most probably die back encouraging disease and stunted growth. Hard wood is needed for pruning so all I am doing with roses right now is removing and disposing of all the diseased leaves from bushes and the ground around them. I will spray soon to prevent the over wintering of rust, black spot and mildew. Guild or super shield is ok for this and will hold the bushes until a lime sulphur spray next month which should defoliate them. This is a good time to shift camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and small conifers. Larger conifers and shrubs can to be trenched now and shifted in the winter. If roots have been removed in the shifting a third of the top growth should be removed, if you don't do this nature will do it for you. I sprayed weeds around our garden, drive way and paved areas during a dry spell this week. I usually spray at the end of a warm dry day when weeds were thirsty but have not had that option so far this autumn, however it did work because already I notice wilting. Frosts will take care of the next lot of weed that germinate so the weed spray can go away soon until spring. Lawns: Good opportunities lately with all the dampness to get the grass grub granules on, the grubs are actively eating grass roots until May and then they become dormant, re-emerging as the brown night beetles around November. Our lawns are too wet to do what is usual for me at this time of the year, de- thatching and resowing thin patches. March / April are the best months to sow a new lawn, it must be very frustrating for those wanting to prepare ground to do this with soil being so wet. Nights start cooling after the clocks go back but the ground should stay warm for another six weeks to get some seed sown when it is drier. As I mentioned last week, in autumn I give lawns that have not done well a dressing of sifted compost, about 1/2 a bucket to the sqm working it down to the roots with the back of a rake. It will improve both very light and very compact soils. Begin to give plants more light In glass houses, remove any shading and give plants less water. Vegetable & fruit Clean up sprays can be applied to all fruit trees and fruiting shrubs that have shown leaf spots. Super copper or Natures way fungus spray can be used. Any citrus bushes that have shown signs of leaf or fruit spot spray with super copper as well. Still time to sow a green crop when space becomes available in the vegetable garden, dig in veg gone to seed and annual weeds before they go to seed, it's all good humus. Keep planting winter veg, Cover pumpkins still growing if there is frost predicted. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 2nd April 2014

April, the cooling down month but thank goodness days stay warm a little longer even if the nights and mornings are cooler. With this change in the weather it’s important to be vigilant in the garden this month. Autumn here in North Otago is usually more predictable than spring or summer, but I must say not so this year. Autumn is a time to reap and sow lest all be lost to the frost! Thus gardening commentators always suggest gardeners should apply potash to their plants as winter starts to approach and avoid too much nitrogen. Potassium hardens up plant growth and helps prevent damage from winter chills. Because we have had so much moisture so far this autumn trees and shrubs are slower to colour up and leaves hang on longer, but when they do fall gather and make good humus for the garden, compost down with manure, grass and soft hedge clippings. I have been viewing the light situation around our garden before all the leaves fall, because trees and shrubs get taller and wider every year blocking out light. I am noting what trees & shrubs to reduce in height and width and which trees and shrubs to remove altogether. Sometimes one tree or shrub will do the job of the two or three in one spot. Sacrifice trees that give little interest for trees close by that offer more, and shrubs that have grown too big in the front of a garden hiding what is behind need to be cut back, wrenched for shifting later or cut out. I have at times changed the whole look of gardens by removing a few shrubs / trees, letting more sun in then planting out sun loving plants. Here on the coast keep cutting back large daisy and lavatera bushes to encourage new buds that will flower over the next two months. Also get all hedges cut back now before frosts start, this will be the last cut until the new growth in spring, especially photinia bushes / hedges, a trim now will encourage nice bright red leaves to brighten dull winter days. It is a great time to clean up garden areas that have been flowering all summer and to visit the garden centres (here on the coast only) to choose more plants for planting now to bud up and bloom through winter, if they are planted while the ground is still warm to get the roots going they will continue to get enough winter sun to carry on and bloom. Plant: Viola, snapdragon, pansy, polyantha's, stock, calendula, wall flowers, sweet William and good old primula malacoidies. If you want to plant evergreen shrubs other than conifers now is the time or wait until the frosts are over, once frosts start it is only deciduous trees / shrubs and conifers that will cope with the really cold nights that can be planted without the need protection. Keep getting spring bulbs in the warm ground. Hybrid clematis are still on offer, they are the lovely huge bloom, deciduous type which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. This type are not as invasive as the Montana variety. They love being planted into warm autumn ground and are so pretty growing in with other climbers and climbing roses that flower at a different time to them. All clematis like manure and lime. Lawns: Spray lawn weeds and apply sifted compost to lawns if they are compacted ( a bucket to the square metre) with some gypsum added, the compost will improve the humus content and the gypsum will soften clay soils. If you have had a good strike with a newly sown lawn delay cutting until grass is 7-8 centimetres high, set the blades high and avoid cutting when the ground is wet and soft. Veg: I have dug the last of my potatoes and stored them with a covering of herbs like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The peas I put in are up and making growth. I have not harvested any pumpkins yet, will leave growing until the threat of frosts. Time to dig up and divide Rhubarb crowns, mixing in heaps of compost before replanting. Sow: Spinach,Snap Peas, board beans and Spring Onions. Fill the top of a shallow pot with Spring Onions and have handy by the back door, start thinning when plants are still quite small, pull them as they’re needed, Cheers, Linda http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz/

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