Gardening in North Otago 17th July 2010

Another good weather week for Oamaru and a good productive week again in the garden for me. We are getting the good hard frosts we need now so I covered plants like bougainvillea, hibiscus, pelargonium and young daisy bushes. The first hard frost took the front of my large bougainvillea but hopefully it is still protected further in by the damaged outer growth and I don't loose it all together.
Established Margarette daisy bushes will take a knock from the frosts but just leave them, if they do as that frosting on the outside will protect the new growth beneath. In land towards Kurow way gardeners will need to take cuttings of daisy bushes, geranium and paligoniums and protect them until spring because the frosts are too harsh for that soft growth.
I have been pruning back hydrangea's growing in sheltered places around the garden and leaving those which are growing out in the open, the spent flowers left on these will protect them from the frosts.
Prune just before spring by cutting each flower stem off at the second bud from the bottom, leave the stalks which have leaves at the top because these are your flowering stems for this year.
Give pink hydrangeas a dressing of lime now to keep them pink and blue hydrangeas a dressing of sulphate of allium or the specially prepared blue hydrangea mix that can be bought from the garden centres.
This week I attacked a group of large leggy rhododendrons that had leaves, buds and blooms only on the top of long woody branches taller than myself. I was only going to cut the woody non productive wood off because the bushes were beginning to flower, however once I started I ended up cutting them all right back to a healthy bulging nodule and then they got compost and straw, fingers crossed they will push out new bushy growth in the spring.

More rose pruning this week as well, I had to invest in some new secateurs as the pair I have been using did not cut clean and rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal well which will result in die back and this can sometimes claim the whole branch.

Winter is the time you will find the best selection of fruit trees in garden centres. It may be cold and miserable outside but it's the best time to buy your trees for planting through the cold months. They are usually grafted and tall growing so plant up to where they were planted in the bag and stake well to protect against the wind.
A tip I read the other day that could work to eradicate codling moth attacking apple trees. quarter fill a tin or plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree it is said to attract male grubs because the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone which will attract the male grub into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds.

vegetable garden:
Time to start preparing the soil for spring planting. Cultivate vacant spaces, digging in green crops sown earlier. Add compost, and lime if you feel the ground is sour. Dig compost into wet, boggy soils.
Sow seeds of broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, cauliflower, peas, lettuce, onions, radish, spinach, silverbeet, swede and turnips.
In warmer districts sow carrots, parsnips and beetroot.

Gardening in North Otago July 10 2010

Still settled sunny days here in North Otago, how lucky we are, I have been busy as most gardeners will be getting ready for spring. Still cleaning up after the removal of so many established climbers cut out, tying back shrubs that had been growing away from where the climbers were growing and watering shrubs that had been shearing the soil and living the shade of the removed climbers.
Roll on spring I am excited about the new look areas that are now getting a chance to grow and add new interest to our garden.
I am still rose pruning and cleaning up around the base of bushes before composting and mulching with pea straw.
Roses are very susceptible to disease especially scale infections on the trunks and branches. A safeguard at this time of the year for the eradication of all rose diseases is lime sulphur, this spray will completely defoliate rose bushes, this is why now is the time to use it, before new growth begins. Also use on deciduous fruit trees,(not apricots) and tolerant ornamental's for Scale insects, moss and lichen Use 100ml in 1.5 litres of water. For pear leaf blister mite control apply just before buds open. Lime sulphur can not be mixed with other sprays. Spray with winter oil a few weeks later to seal pruned roses.
July is the month of the year for pruning. Deciduous fruit trees, if they were not pruned after fruiting they can be cut back now. Thin out crowded growth and shorten long shoots. They are budding up to blossom soon so a little potash to encourage fruiting and a dressing of compost would be beneficial.
Clumps of day Lillie's can be broken up and replanted into composted soil, I cut back all remaining leaves then put a sharp spade through and half and quarter clumps.
Rhododendrons and camellias are well budded now and will start blooming from now on, keep an eye on the ground around these bushes, water at the start of a day if you think they may be dry. Rhododendrons, camellia's and azalea's are all very shallow rooted and benefit from being mulched with compost or peat before spring.
Vegetable seeds planted into seed trays under glass now will get a good start to becoming strong young plants for planting out in spring. Sow spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce. On the coast Plant broad beans and peas directly into the garden. Strawberries in pots wintered over in a glass house will fruit several weeks earlier than strawberry plants grown outside. In colder areas where the ground is frozen there is nothing to do in the vegetable garden for a while yet.
Cheers, Linda

Another nice crisp winter week, there was heaps more done in my garden this week, I bit the bullet and had numerous climbers cut off at ground level! They were the wonga wonga vines which have created wonderful cover on the tall wire shelter fencing we have around our circular garden, butater 20 years the trees and shrubs have grown up and the climbers are not needed now. They were really mature thick trunk like vines which have wanted to grow over anything in their path. Now it will take a while to pull them off but with cutting them off at ground level they are dieing and shrinking which will make it easier to pull them down.

With all the leaves cut from the hellebore's and new flowers popping up right now they are so pretty. I notice the Daphne's and which-hazel are about to flower and a lot of buds and flowers appearing on primroses and polyanthus so winter is not so dull here on the coast.

The garden centres are busy this month with lots of new stock coming in, like roses, deciduous trees and shrubs, bulbs, dahlias, gladioli and peonies so lots of planting to do once you have your garden cleared of all the old autumn leaves.
If you are thinking of new tree planting, don't hesitate choose while the selection is good and get them in right now to get the most new root growth going before the dry summer days to come.
I am finding the ground perfect for planting, lots of moisture and not frozen like some years in the past at this time of the year, there is still heat in the sun which makes perfect planting conditions.
Because there is warmth through the days I have kept sowing seeds which I am keeping under glass and I expect good germination.

While composting around established rhododendrons I have found at least six runner plants which had layered themselves down and made nice roots into the ground. I cut the runner from the mother plant and dug around the new root ball, removed the new small bush's and planted them around the garden. This layered rooting only happens if the ground is moist enough. Have a look around the ground area of your established shrubs and see what you can find they will transplant well right now.

This is the only time to transplant peonie roses but be very careful not to damage the new shoots forming now, peat added in the planting hole is beneficial to assist new root growth.

keep the rose pruning going, the wood is hard enough now and new buds are swelling so rose fertiliser or old stable manure will be great for roses right now.

Prune grape vines now while the nights are at their coldest. Prune back side laterals and all surplus growth, (leaders and laterals not required on established vines.

Turn your compost now and add moisture if the pile is dry, when it is saturated cover with straw, old carpet or plastic to maintain heat.

The vegetable garden is still growing, plant broad beans and if you have a very warm spot with all day sun put in some early potatoes, cover them at night if they pop through quickly.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago June 25th 2010

Gosh the weeks are going fast with the days so short it's Friday before I know it!! This week the cleaning up continues, the leaves seem never ending and everyday I decide there is something needing to be taken out or shifted to another place, if it needs done this is the time of the year to do it. I make a big gap then walk around the garden looking for something well grown to fill it. I have started my rose pruning and cleaning up around them at the same time, it will take me a few weeks to finish them all, then I will spray them with copper and winter oil mixed to seal up the cuts. For those new to rose pruning get yourself a nice sharp pair of secateurs and start by removing all branches growing into the middle of the bush. The idea is to keep the inside of the bush open. Cut on a slant at an outward facing bud at the bottom of the branch. Next look look for cross over branches and cut back to an outward facing bud to encourage the branch to grow in another direction. Really old wood should be cut right out, again at a bottom out ward facing bud, don't bother with any spindly branches they will never produce flowers so just remove them. Make sure the crown of the rose is not covered with soil or compost this area needs to be clear and needs a good spray along with the rest of the bush. If you have bought new roses they will need pruned because they will have only had the tops cut to make them easier to handle. If you are going to plant a new rose in the same place where another had been growing you will need to take out the soil and replace it with soil that has not been growing roses. There is a product called Tricapal which is coated on sterile wheat, this is a good fungus which will overtake the bad fungus in the soil left by the rose before. It's time to remove moss and lichen from paths and walk-ways to prevent the areas becoming slippery in the winter months. There are moss kill products on sale but diluted household bleach poured on with a watering can will do the trick. Moss in the lawns after all the rain is happening everywhere, sulphate of ammonia dissolved in water and applied with watering can to moss will deal to it pretty fast. When the moss has turned black it can be racked out. Now is a great time to deal to fish ponds, shift fish to a bucket filled with the original pond water, empty the pond and remove all the leaves that may have fallen in. If you have water lilies in containers they can be re-potted at this time of the year. They are good feeders and need a lot of food like manure and slow release fertiliser to get them to flower well. The problem is that this food should noletch into the water because it will encourage slime growth in the water in warm weather. Cut old leaves from the Lilly and remove the plant and contence of the container. Line the bottom of the container with thick newspaper, then add a layer of clean gravel, next manure and slow release fertiliser, some soil then replace the Lilly, some more soil and lastly a thick layer of clean gravel. It’s the gravel that keeps the fertiliser from leaching. Lillies always make a huge amount of roots these can be cut back a lot to fit it back into the container. Refill the pond but do not put fish back in for a couple of weeks. This is the perfect time to plant seeds of the flowers you will be wanting to plant out spring and summer, I have planted delphiniums, snapdragon, all sorts of poppy, lupins and stock seeds. Without a controlled glass house they will take a while to germinate but put in a nice warm sunny place and covered at night they will pop up and as soon as the soil warms up again will grow strongly. I feel that seedlings planted now and carried through the winter do better as plants than spring and summer plantings. Veg: With the winter being mild so far here on the coast the vegetable gardens are still producing well so keep planting in rotation, root veg where leafy veg has grown and vis versa. I plan to plant peas and some butter crunch lettuce this weekend because my new raised veg gardens are in a nice all day sun location, Butter crunch lettuce likes it cooler and it is such a nice sweet lettuce. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago June18th 2010

A nice week of lovely winter day's except for the dull cold day today.
There was so much work done in our garden this week, I had a helper with the compost and pea straw spreading and a man on the end of a chain saw and hedge trimmer, Fantastic!! Because it is too late in the year to trim soft trees and shrubs it was a huge ivy that was taken back to the start again, nothing will kill ivy and it can be trimmed at this time of the year.
If you have ivy growing it really needs to be trimmed at least twice a year, it is like wisteria if you are too kind to it each soft leader it puts out will grow into a thick woody tree trunk if left.

What a great time of the year to really look at the garden, with some trees and shrubs bare inspection of trees and shrubs sprouting new growth beneath their graft area can be taken. All large deciduous trees such as flowering cherries, magnolia, silver birch, ashes, oaks any large well grown specimen tree bought today will have been grafted onto strong growing root stock different to the top graft. From time to time the root stock will push growth out and up and because it is strong growing it will always overtake the grafted wanted specimen. This must be cut out. I have seen a few mature trees left to grow this way and the result is not good, a prunus displaying beautiful pink blossom on one side and insipid root stock white blossom on the other side looks some what bazaar.
Thinning out of branches can be done now, if branches are crossing over each other or there are far too many in the centre of a tree don't just shorten a branch back because it will regrow from that point, take it right out and let some light in. Prunus and crab apple trees are bad for producing over crowding branches which tend to rub together and encourage disease if not removed. Always make sure your pruning equipment is cleaned from one tree to the next, methylated spirits is good for doing this.


I have been digging up and shifting things around like rhododendrons, azalea's and magnolias. Anything that I think has been struggling in the spot I planted it. I stress again as last week this is the time to remove trees and shrubs that have long out grown their youthful beauty and replace with a younger version of the original or something different. you can change the whole look of a tired garden by doing this.
If a huge gap is going to be left with the removal of a tree or shrub, fill the gap with a section of manuka screening placed behind the smaller replacement plant, it will give the plant protection and once the plant has reached the desired height and width the screening can be removed.

I found lots of rogue trees and shrubs that the birds have introduced popping up everywhere while weeding, some which have grown in amongst shrubs like rhododendrons and camellias have become quite established before I noticed them and stubborn to remove. It is best to remove them completely if you can because they just keep growing stronger each year and undermine the roots of the needed plant.

On the coast there are so many things that have self seeded and can be planted to grow on at this time of the year like hellebore, lupins, poppies, pansy, viola, forget- me- not and primula.
If you have pollyantha's that you left in the ground from last year they will have multiplied, and will be easy to break apart and plant out separately. Polly's love dried blood it l greens them up after transplanting. If you do get some dried blood sprinkle a little around camellia's and Daphne's if they do not look like they are thriving.

Plant sweet-pea's now to flower very early spring.

Winter lawns that have been performing poorly in spite of feeding and watering may be improved with a winter liming. Aim to achieve a PH of around 6 (mildly acid) which will encourage strong grass growth.

In the vegetable garden where green leafy vegetables and onions will be growing next summer give a dressing of 250 grams per square metre of dolomite lime. If you follow a regular rotation this will ensure that most of the garden receives lime once in three years, permanent crops like rhubarb should be limed every three years as well. in gardens fed with compost rather than chemical fertilisers the PH tends to rise gradually eventually making regular liming unnecessary.

Gardening in North Otago June 4th 2010

Nice week after all the rain especially today (Friday)such a lovely mild day.
This week the pea straw went on with some energetic help, so good to get it on to keep the moisture in for Spring growth.
After the rain we have had gives a chance to see areas in the garden not draining well, if you have plants that are water logged dig them up and improve where they are growing by digging the hole deep down to the clay which is probably forming a pan and holding the water. Break up the clay as much as you can then put a layer of gypsum on top of the broken clay then add at least three shovels of gravel to create a sump for water to drain into. By doing this the plant of your choice can stay in that spot without drowning.
I have cut the leaves from all my hellebore's because they were very infested with greenfly wintering over and wanting to pounce onto my roses come Spring. They will soon produce new fresh leaves after the beautiful flowers have popped up and flowered on their own which looks wonderful in the middle of Winter.
Tidy up perennials and divide overgrown plants. Plant rooted cuttings from the outer edges of the clumps. Dispose of the old centre.
Keep planting lilium bulbs. These are best placed in raised beds. Don’t let the roots dry out at all.
Make early plantings of gladioli for November flowering.
Roses will have finished flowering. As soon as the leaves fall spray Lime Sulphur or Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil spray to eliminate powdery mildew, lichen and moss.
Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread of pest and disease.
Re-pot container grown buxus every second year or if they look pot bound.Trim the outer roots and replace any loose soil with new potting mix. They make a huge amount of roots every year and not all are needed.
Plant polyanthus for a bright patch of colour a few poly's in a pot is all that's needed to brighten up any doorway.
Once wisterias has lost all their leaves prune off all long and unruly canes because if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.
On the coast Sow broard beans, garlic, shallots and rubarb.
Colder areas nothing much can be planted.

Gardening in North Otago June 2010

Nice week after all the rain especially today (Friday)such a lovely mild day.
This week the pea straw went on with some energetic help, so good to get it on to keep the moisture in for Spring growth.

After the rain we have had gives a chance to see areas in the garden not draining well, if you have plants that are water logged dig them up and improve where they are growing by digging the hole deep down to the clay which is probably forming a pan and holding the water. Break up the clay as much as you can then put a layer of gypsum on top of the broken clay then add at least three shovels of gravel to create a sump for water to drain into. By doing this the plant of your choice can stay in that spot without drowning.

I have cut the leaves from all my hellebore's because they were very infested with greenfly wintering over and wanting to pounce onto my roses come Spring. They will soon produce new fresh leaves after the beautiful flowers have popped up and flowered on their own which looks wonderful in the middle of Winter.

Tidy up perennials and divide overgrown plants. Plant rooted cuttings from the outer edges of the clumps. Dispose of the old centre.

Keep planting lilium bulbs. These are best placed in raised beds. Don’t let the roots dry out at all.

Make early plantings of gladioli for November flowering.

Roses will have finished flowering. As soon as the leaves fall spray Lime Sulphur or Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil spray to eliminate powdery mildew, lichen and moss.
Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread of pest and disease.

Re-pot container grown buxus every second year or if they look pot bound.Trim the outer roots and replace any loose soil with new potting mix. They make a huge amount of roots every year and not all are needed.

Plant polyanthus for a bright patch of colour a few poly's in a pot is all that's needed to brighten up any doorway.

Once wisterias has lost all their leaves prune off all long and unruly canes because if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.

On the coast Sow broard beans, garlic, shallots and rubarb.
Colder areas nothing much can be planted.