Gardening in North Otago June 23rd June 2013

I am at the packing stage of my UK Nana visit now, I leave tomorrow Tuesday 19th to make my way back to lovely Oamaru with no traffic jams, queuing or mountains rubbish laying about the streets due to the rubbish collectors strike here in Brighton. I had a short break in Bromley with a day in busy London and a day spent at Kew Palace Gardens. What a treat this was, so much history with a day not long enough to see all. The Palace, the Royal kitchens, the famous Kew glass houses full of exotic plants from all around the World and many other attractions. One I was excited about viewing was a collection of Henry Moore sculptures which were placed perfectly around the vast gardens. Some trees dating back 300 years are expertly maintained, these and many ,many more wonderful attractions connected with the garden are being viewed by hordes of Garden lovers daily. But Oamaru, home and routine again are where my thoughts drift now. I heard about all the rain in North Otago and the prediction of snow by the time I am home, so I am expecting a chilly return but if I am able to get onto things there will be a lot of work to be done in our garden I am sure. As I have written not so long ago It is a good time of the year to really look at the garden, with deciduous trees and shrubs bare inspection of trees and shrubs sprouting new growth beneath their graft area can be taken off. 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 spoils a tree that should have grown beautifully into its shape.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 Malus (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 to avoid spreading silver leaf which is killer of prunus trees. Digging up and shifting things around like rhododendrons, azalea's and magnolias can be done now, anything that I think has been struggling in the spot it has been planted in. This is also the time to remove trees and shrubs that have long out grown their youthful beauty, replace with a younger version of the original or something different. you can change the whole look of a tired garden by doing this. I find lots of rogue trees and shrubs that the birds have introduced to our garden 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 plants. On the coast there are so many things that have self seeded 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 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. Vegetables: 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. The hellebore's (Winter roses) are starting to send up flowers, I removed all the old leaves from mine which really shows the pretty flowers off. There are a lot of hellebore seedlings growing around the main plants, I leave the very small first year ones but dig out and transplant seedlings from year before. These second year seedlings will take another few years to flower and look best in mass plantings. Hellebore's like to be planted in damp soil and semi shade, they do wonderfully well planted around rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas. Fruit People have been asking me about the pruning of fruit trees, it is confusing to explain unless showing someone so I thought I would give an explanation which I hope will be easy to follow starting with the most planted fruit tree. How To Prune Apple Trees First, fruit is produced from shoots which are in their second (or later) year. One of the aims of pruning is to produce a balance (roughly half and half) between side shoots produced this year and side shoots produced last year. This will provide a crop of apples in the current year and sufficient shoots for next year's crop. Second, when you prune during winter (while the tree is dormant), this will invigorate the tree, causing it to grow more during the following season. If you prune during summer this will cause the tree to grow less during that growing season. Spring pruning has an effect somewhere between winter and summer pruning. The first pruning should occur immediately after planting (normally June / July) - make sure you know if you have a one or two year old tree. The examples below show pruning starting at a one year old tree. PRUNE A ONE YEAR OLD TREE A one year old tree should be pruned immediately after planting - cut off the top half of the trunk with a sharp pair of secateurs. Before cutting, make sure that the bottom half contains at least four buds or formed branches. If not, make the cut higher, above the fourth bud. PRUNE A TWO YEAR OLD TREE Prune from June / August. The light grey coloured parts of the tree show growth in the previous year, this should not be pruned. The black coloured side shoots should all be pruned by a third - see the thick black lines. When pruning, cut just above an outward facing bud - this bud will then produce a side shoot in the spring which will grow away from the centre of the tree. PRUNE A THREE YEAR OLD TREE Prune from June / August. Pruning is similar to the two-year old tree - the light grey coloured parts of the tree show growth in the previous year, this should not be pruned. The black coloured side shoots should all be pruned by a third. Always prune to just above an outward facing bud. PRUNE A FOUR YEAR OLD TREE Prune from June until August Pruning is the similar to the three-year old tree - the light grey coloured parts of the tree show growth in the previous year, this should not be pruned unless it is diseased. The black coloured side shoots should all be pruned by a third. Always prune to just above an outward facing bud. A FIVE YEAR OLD TREE can be considered mature and the basic shape will have been established. Pruning should consist of keeping the centre of the tree relatively clear of growth, removing all weak or diseased growth and keeping the tree within the space available. Remember that apples will grow on wood produced the previous year, so always leave a good proportion (say 50%) of the previous year's growth. I hope this is straight forward and helpful. I will write about stone fruit pruning next week. Cheers, Linda

Gardner abroad from North Otago May 27th 2013

The uk warmed up for a couple of days and being Bank holiday the streets of Brighton were swarming with people off the trains and making for the beach. There are many festivals in May and our Son in law Sam being a Chief is working every given moment feeding the crowds with is famous "Posh lamb burgers" on the water front and hoping his restaurant Sam's of Brighton is filling up at the same time. The gardener Nana from Oamaru NZ is going camping for a night out in the English country side, goodbye concrete, shops and people mass for a couple of days....Ya! Hello blue bells, lilac, japonica, fresh green tree's and new perennial growth and ohhh the spring fragrance waiting for me. At home this is a good time to give thought to improving the look of your garden while trees are bare and gardens are clear of full growth. Don't cling to plants, shrubs or trees that are past their best. If they look like they are past it they are. As I say often, remove them and replace the spot with something fresh and worth looking at. If it's shrubbery you need to remove and are worried about leaving a gap and lack of privacy you can always fill the gap with manuka screening until the replacement grows to the required size. I think manuka screen looks very non intrusive and creates a wind break and shelter for new plantings. It is also time to look at the shape of trees now that the leaves are gone, remove lower branches if you think the tree would look better with more trunk showing and check young trees are not sporting double trunks. Cross over branches should be removed and if there are two branches doing the same job remove the lower branch of the two and any weak spindly growth. Some trees like silver pear and crab apples can get a mass of branches in the center going in every direction, they look so good once they have been thinned out. If you need to remove large branches it is important to cut at the right place and leave the basal collar in tact, ( a slanted cut leaving a short portion of the branch at the base of the trunk) as this contains cells which will seal the wound from disease. Slim straight branches are perfect to feed through a wood mulcher , once turned into wood chip mulch they can be put back onto the garden. you are finding small native trees popping up around your garden which you know were not planted by you, you can be sure the birds have planted the seeds. I have them every where, now is a good time to shift these if you have room for them, or pot them up and give them to someone planting a native area. I am sure the mulch is still going on gardens there at home this helps to keep the ground warmer and moisture in as well as adding food and humus to the garden. Leucodendrons are taking center stage now, they are wonderful for picking once fully hardened and will last for months picked and put in a vase, just the thing when there is not lot else to pick. Leucodendrons are easy to grow in the conditions they prefer, being full sun, good draining acid soil and staked and protected from strong winds until established. They will grow on dry banks and rough area's as long as they do not have to compete with grass and weeds. Leucodendrons resent any type of fertiliser and once planted and growing will die if shifted. There are leucodendrons which grow very large, low spreaders which look great spilling over walls, low bushy types and they all add wonderful colour to a dull winter garden. Vegetables & Fruit Keep planting out seedling veg plants, board beans. Winter is also the time for planting rhubarb and asparagus crowns so prepare the ground with rich composted now, get them planted and established and in no time you can make rhubarb crumble and asparagus rolls. Black current bushes should have as much of the old dark shoot removed leaving only the light coloured smooth vigorous young growth .Red currents will not fruit on new wood so older wood should be kept for 3 years just cut out the odd old branch yearly to encourage a few new replacements Give all current bushes a good two hand fulls of bonemeal or blood and bone in spring to ensure a good crop of fruit. Cheers, Linda

Gardner abroad May 20th 2013

Oamaru, Christchurch, Sydney, Abu Dhabi then London, that's was my long, long, long familiar journey to continue study of our Kiwi / Uk seedlings. The first of these named and registered seven years ago Matilda eve Christina. Showing promise this seedling was soon followed by another very stand out seedling from the same stock named and registered Barnes Robert. Then four years later on the 13th May 2012 seedling Eliza Belle was also named and registered thus completing and ensuring future development from this Kiwi / UK connection. My journey started on the afternoon of Sunday May 18th and ended 30+ hours later landing me here in Brighton, UK to take full, first hand advantage of the fresh spring growth....very surreal it is coming from a late Kiwi South island Autumn. On my way from the airport to begin studying the fore mentioned seedlings I passed English tree woods sporting new lush green growth, some still in blossom rising up from carpets of blue bells, clematis scrambling here and there, hanging baskets and window boxes bursting with colour from pansies, ivy and primula plus mass planted tulips in all their spring splendor made this all seem very premature for me after just having planted out so many tulip bulbs a day or two before I left Oamaru. My Daughter Lara, husband Sam and my three, year older Grandies gave me the biggest welcome with the promise of fun filled School holidays starting next week, Nana is well and truly now on board! If at home I would be continuing to cut all old leaves off the hellebore's and dahlias then giving each a dressing of manure enriched compost before adding a warming layer of pea straw to bed them down for winter. Summer & autumn flowering Plants and trees are shutting down to rest over the colder months and will be looking tired and messy, plants such as dahlia, perennial phlox, alstroemeria, Japanese anemone and salvia, along with annuals that flowered over summer and autumn. Don't wait around to see how much more flowering they will do, chop perennials back and remove annuals before they exhaust themselves making unwanted seed. I always leave one or two for seed collection but once that is done they are gone and the annuals replaced with plants for the new season colour after compost has been added. Rain is is a bonus in North Otago at this time of the year as plants, trees & lawns go into winter hibernation but we do not need too much rain as roots will soon stop taking in excess moisture leaving it to sit and make soil cold and sour. If much rain is experienced it will then allow a chance to see where water is pooling and better drainage can be put in place. If drainage is a problem in planting areas before replanting, soil can be dug out to well below the root level and a thick layer of sharp gravel or river stone can be placed there to act as a sump, then replace the soil on top and plant out. This is really effective when planting new trees in a suspected wet spot. Young trees do not have a enough root mass to deal with excess moisture but will cope once the tap root is well down and more large roots have develop. However there are trees, shrubs and plants that will never cope well with excess moisture so it pays to read labels carefully. Plants that can be planted in wet areas are hosta, astilbes, arum lilly, willow and many New Zealand native plants & trees can tolerate wet conditions. An internet search or tapping into Garden center staff knowledge will save wrong choices. keep an on any delicate plants leading up to frosty nights and have frost cloth at the ready. Frost cloth needs to be draped over a frame or raised sticks pushed firmly into the ground, the cloth should not be touching not touching plants to make it effective. Lawns Those who have had a good autumn lawn strike will probably have given the first cut, don't be too hard on new grass it is still very soft and roots will not be far down. An autumn sow needs to winter over to harden off, don't worry about the annual weeds that came up with the grass the first mowing and frosts will take care of most of them. Leave spraying until spring because you will not gain anything by doing it now and very new grass could be effected by harsh sprays Vegetables We have had a bumper vegetable growing season and some gardens will still be producing summer veg I am sure with freezers playing a big part in storing the excess crops. If tomatoes are still producing it will not be for much longer now, but vines can be taken out of the ground and hung in a frost protected place for tomatoes to ripen naturally on the vine. Hoe or work up soil in vegetable beds if they have become compacted to aerate before heavy winter rains arrive. This will encourage worms to the surface to condition the soil for spring and green crops, such as lupin or mustard could be sown and raked into vacant aerated ground to be dug in as humus once sprouted. If seedlings, such as turnips or carrots, have taken hold it's important to thin them out to give them room to develop under ground, if you don't it is likely you will end up with a good crop of green tops only. I put some butter crunch lettuce seed in a couple of weeks ago which I noticed had just germinated before I left, i am sure they will be ready for me to prick out and grow on when I am back. I find butter crunch copes with cold conditions very well especially in raised beds which stay slightly warmer than ground level gardens. I have also planted out a lot of NZ raised garlic cloves, I grew enough by planting in May last year to keep me going for months. Fruit Pick apples, pears, quince and other pip and stone fruits as they ripen, they should store well from now on, I notice the birds have had a good go at what is remaining on my fruit trees, white plastic shopping bags fluttering in the wind can be enough to make birds think twice before landing. May is the month to plant citrus trees, blueberry bushes I will take a break from moon planting info now until the new planting season in spring, which is what I am enjoying already. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 15th May 2013

I spent this week getting things in order for my departure to the UK on Sunday, I will be away being hands on Nana for 5 weeks but will continue to send brief gardening notes for you to read out if that works for you. The ground is nice and soft for weeding and planting right now, and yes even though we have had some good frosts the weeds are unfortunately still growing well, there are heaps of new small weeds popping up everywhere which can be dealt to with a hoe. I have cut back all the dahlias and dug out and divided some for planting in late spring where I need summer colour. I put labels with each clump so I will know what colours I will be working with. They have been put in cardboard boxes and placed in a dry shed then I filled the gaps with winter flowering annual wall flowers and poppy's. A couple of years ago I planted small clumps of the variegated iris, this iris is not grown for its insignificant blue flower but for it's interesting green and white striped leaves. I have mine mass planted under standard iceberg roses and they make a wonderful show. The clumps became large quickly but were struggling with Japaneses anemone growing through them, the only way I could remove the anemone's was to dig the iris clumps out, break them up and replant them minus the Japanese anemones. I am so pleased I went to the trouble of doing this because they are now taking center stage under the now finished roses and I now have heaps to plant out to add interest in other parts of the now uninteresting pre winter garden. Erica's are budding well, ready to burst into winter colour, the ground cover variety a wonderful ground covers for low maintenance gardens. Trim the spent flowers off erica's that flowered through the summer months to keep them compact. They will put out fresh new green growth through the winter and keep fertiliser away from erica's they do not like lime, dry soil, full sun is what the require. I shifted the last of the trays of plant cuttings I have growing into a light warm spot for them to continue growing well over winter. They will need dryer soil from now on so I will water them less often and always at the start of the day, then re-pot them in the Spring. Pot plants will need less watering from now on as well and moved away from cold glass as night temperatures drop. As sap drops in tree's any tree needing shifted can be wrenched from now on...wrench by digging around half the root mass out from the trunk with a sharp spade. Cut down through the roots on one side only, The root ball size will depend on the size of the tree to be shifted, As a rule of thumb, it should be about 7 times as big in diameter as the trunk of your tree or shrub at the base. The root-ball should be as deep as it is wide, however that can change slightly with your plant being a surface-rooter (e.g. Rhododendron), where the depth only needs to be about 2/3 of the diameter. Dig a narrow trench around the outside of one half of the root area then refill the trench with peat /compost or sifted soil to enable new feeder roots to grow while the undisturbed roots on the other side of the root area keep growing and feeding the tree. All wrenched plants need to be watered regularly to ensure good root growth before shifting time in three or four months. If you want to shift a very big plant and it has only big roots and not many fine roots at the edge of its root-ball, it would be better to wait a full year while it makes new feeder roots before attempting to shift it. Lawns: It's time to keep the mower blades just high enough to pick up the leaves and even up the odd uneven lawn areas, because the ground is getting colder the grass growth slows right down until eventually the lawn mower can be put away. Vegetables: Clear out finished summer veg or dig it in if not too woody any leafy veg ( not root veg ). Work in manure enriched compost with a little lime if soil has been extensively cropped over summer. Work up heavy / clay content soil add some gypsum and leave open for the winter frost to work on to be ready for planting out again in spring. Gardening by the moon First quarter 18th / 24th May WAXING MOON PHASE Strongest gravitational pull at this time coupled with increasing moonlight creates balanced root and leaf growth. Sow lawns & above ground plants and seeds. Plant annual crops such as lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower & grain crops. Fertilise, graft fruit trees. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago

School holidays and rain! we wanted it and we sure got it ! Rain was needed here in North Otago but hard on the Mum's during that week with Bord Children and soggy washing. The autumn colours are amazing, becoming more intense as this month moves on. I am still busy bedding the garden down for winter, and still cutting back summer flowering perennials and annuals which have become long and lanky to clear the ground for the compost each plant will receive before the pea straw is placed around. The piles of soft plant matter go onto the compost but the stringy hard wood piles are discarded. The more we can put back on the garden the more the garden benefits. . .After the rain and the ground still warm we should take advantage and sow spring flowering seeds now, this will give plants a head start and the seedlings carried through winter are much stronger and will do better than the new punnets of seedlings on offer come spring. The top growth will stop but roots still keep on growing strong Seeds to sow outside now: are Alyssum, aquilegia, calendula, cornflower, perennial lupins, statice, stock, sweet peas. Seeds to sow under cover: Antirrhinum (snap dragon) dianthus, pansy, viola, poppy, scabious, sweet William, pollyanthas, primrose and primulas. If you still have not lifted gladioli corms do it soon and after cleaning and drying dust with flowers of sulpher before storing in old pantie hose or paper bags, never plastic. Tall asters have been flowering for a while and are now at the stage of falling all over the place without support. Make a note on your calendar to cut back their new growth by half at the end of next September. This will make them grow bushier rather than very tall. Asters exhaust the soil as the clumps get bigger so divide often when finished flowering. Because I am leaving the hydrangeas to finish the wonderful autumn show they are offering, I have been taking some hard wood cuttings as I cannot get enough of these wonderful plants and it takes a few seasons for cuttings to grow into a good sized bush. Hydrangea Cuttings: Select cuttings from the base of the back or side of a mature hydrangea bush, look for a non flowering shoot with 2 to 3 pairs of leaves. It is important to look for a cutting near the base of the plant, woodier cuttings will produce more roots. Make sure you select your cuttings in the morning with sharp clippers and cut at least 2 inches (5.1 cm) below a leaf node. Cuttings should be at least 5 to 6 inches (12.7 to 15.2 cm ) in length, cut off leaves below the top leaf pair, being careful to cut above the leaf nodes. By removing these leaves the plant will produce more roots, then trim top leaves by half. Dip the bottom of hydrangea cuttings in rooting hormone. You can use either a liquid or powder form of rooting hormone. Hydrangea cuttings will propagate without rooting hormone, but roots will grow more quickly if you use it. Prepare pots for your hydrangea cuttings, Use a soil mix that is 1 part potting mix or peat moss to 1 part river sand and dampen, check to make sure there are no dry areas in the soil. Stick the cuttings into the prepared pot, push down gently until the cutting is 2 inches (5.1 cm) into the soil. Allow the hydrangea cuttings to root. It will usually take 2 to 3 weeks for cuttings to root, but it may happen more quickly depending on temperature and humidity. Place potted cuttings outdoors if your outside in a sheltered area protected from wind with partial shade. Move potted cuttings indoors if you are experiencing very cold temperatures. Make sure the rooting hydrangea cuttings receive partial or filtered sunlight. Do not over water, soil shouldn't become soggy, over watering can lead to rot. Roses Because roses and a number of other plants are coming into their end of the season, diseases such as black spot, mildew and rusts will appear. This is natural and it is often a waste of time and money trying to combat them now. On the other hand, young plants such as celery, pansies can be protected with sprays of baking soda. Lawns: The lawns are slowing down now, I have given mine a dressing of lime to keep them sweet over winter, if put on now the benefits will be had in spring. Keep off wet lawns as much as possible too much traffic will compact the soil which encourages grass to die off leaving bare patches where grass will not rejuvenate. This month is the very last chance you will have to deal to grass grub with grass grub granules, they start their winter hibernation in May. The granules need to be rained or watered in. Vegetables: I started on my first new seasons pumpkin through the week, it had been ripened to perfection, most of my crop are lined up against a warm wall out of the rain to dry out and keep ripening more away from the danger of an early frost. If pumpkins are are big and sound hollow when you knock them they are ready to pick. Now the ground is wet again snails & slugs will be about to feast on newly planted seedlings, protection can be obtained by removing the caps from clear, plastic bottles, cutting off the bases and placing over each of the plants until they get bigger, this will create a green house effect on chilly nights as well. Easter or Anzac day are traditionally the times to plant broad beans,if you missed those times any time now is good. Fruit: Remove dead wood from stone fruit trees including plums, nectarines and peaches. Be ready for the coming of winter by planting fruit trees on offer in bags, If they’re in the ground this month, they will have all winter to establish healthy root systems while dormant. If you miss doing this now a large number of bare rooted fruit trees will soon be dug and for sale in garden centers in June/July. Here on the coast take advantage of the still warm ground to benefit from quick-growing plants; your larder will thank you for it! Sow or plant: leeks, turnips, broad beans, silver beet, spinach, cabbages, cauliflower, peas, beetroot & broccoli. The Valley rugby club are taking orders for small bales of pea straw delivered Ph: John McKenzie 034343133 Gardening by the moon April 21st / 28th new moon During the time from the new moon to about half- full, plant annuals with above-ground yields, particularly leafy plants which produce their seed outside the fruit. Some examples of first quarter plants are asparagus, cabbage, celery, endive, and spinach. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago May 1st 2013

A mixed bag of weather this week with a nor wester and rain always near. Raking and then more raking of leaves and hedge trimmings this week but each full wool pack is getting to the end of them and the compost heaps are filling well. Once deciduous trees have lost their leaves we can see over crowded trees or branches needing to be removed to let more light onto gardens allowing spring bulbs the sun needed for them to preform well. The overall look of an established garden can be changed by having a clean out, don't be sentimental about a tree out grown it's spot or in the wrong place If it was not planted by you or just arrived in your garden odds are that the birds planted it! Clear those rouge trees out or transplant them to a spot where they are able to grow full size with out becoming a nuisance. This week I have been re potting some pots that been full of summer colour but were now looking very tired, some I have filled with succulents because I noticed that a lot of my succulents have flowered and become stalky which means that it is time to forgo the Mother plant and plant out her Babies. Each rosette on the end of a stalk can be broken off with a little part of the stem and pushed into river sand or potting mix. Each one will develop roots and become a Mother plant. These Baby succulents look great in pots over the Winter months, You can fill all of the vacant space or push in around the edges and plant Hyacinths or any dwarf Spring bulbs in the center. The succulents give your pots some interest before the bulbs come up. There are so many different succulents, in shades of red, orange, silver, fresh green. If you have exhausted clumps in the garden break them up, toss out the dodgy ones and replant the fresher. May is the last Month to plant Tulips to have them doing their thing when they should, Tulips seem to take a long time to come into flower, unlike a lot of other Spring bulbs already starting to make an appearance. Two plants you can dig a trench for and fill with manure are sweetpeas and clematis, to reach the desired height they need a lot of rich food and a sweet soil so some lime for these as well. I have sweet peas well through after planting them six weeks, they should start flowering in late August. Time to take rose cuttings, Choose a straight stem and cut off about 12 inches from the top just below a leaf node. Pull off the leaves along the stem and leave just two at the top. I soak in willow water for a couple of weeks then Dig a spade into damp ground, make a slit in the soil and bury cuttings about six inches down into this wedge. Firm the soil around the cuttings, name them, water them and watch them grow. Within a few weeks leaves will appear, which is a sign that they taken. Leave them in this spot until spring, and then uproot them carefully into pots to grow them on. You can use this method for many shrubs, like ceonothus, geraniums, potentilla, euonymous, hebes, weigela and even abutilon. Just make sure you pick a healthy straight stem. Rooting hormone powders and gels to dip cuttings in before planting will help cuttings to take root. Erica's - Autumn is when they bud up to start flowering in Winter, if they were cut back after flowering they should have gone through the Summer looking fresh and green and should now be well in bud. Ericas and callunas are wonderful ground covers and look good growing down retaining walls. There are many different shades of pink, lavender and white, some are ground covers and some are upright growing. There are large growing varieties to miniatures, so much choice and they are being offered for sale right now in garden centers. Erica's need full sun and good drainage to look their best. They are frost hardy and their colour intensifies the colder it is and look great planted in drifts of 3 or 5 together to give maximum impact. Our garden would be very dull in the Winter months without Erica's. Lawns have slowed down at last, lime and gypsum as well as a dressing of fine compost can be spread on lawns now, lime to sweeten, compost to add humus and gypsum to soften hard compacted ground which has a lot of clay content. After two or three years in a row of applying gypsum at this time of the year there will be no more cracks appearing when lawns during dry spells. Vegetables Carrots, growing these without a problem or two is not always easy, the ground needs to still hold a little heat for them to germinate and continue to grow, if they stop and then start growing again the regrowth ends up as a hard core and the carrot stops growing down into the soil. Carrot fly is also a problem which also attacks celery,dill,fennel,parsley and parsnip. The pest overwinters as pupae in the soil or in old host plant roots which have been left in the ground. The adult flies are long and black with yellow legs and iridescent wings. Females find plants by smell, mostly in the evenings they lay eggs in soil cracks adjacent to plants. Avoid thinning in late afternoon and remove all thinning's as the female is attracted smell and damaged plants, plant carrots in a different spot each year and Companion panting can help side track the carrot fly. Gardeners have found early crops sown in September or October usually mature before the fly is on the wing, but it is always handy I feel to have a carrot or two in the garden when needed. Companion plants for carrots are lettuce, onions and tomatoes ( in summer). never plant dill or parsnips beside carrots. I have just started digging parsnips I planted in late December and they have done really well, even though they are not known to be successful grown in dry summer ground, now that the ground is getting cooler I think they will sit in the soil for as long as I need them without going to seed, which will be great for winter cooking. Gardening by the moon May 2nd / 9th Last quarter During the fourth quarter, from half-full to new moon, cultivate, pull weeds, destroy pests, and turn sod. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago April 16th 2013

Lovely autumn days over the last week, and the leaf colours get more stunning by the day. My garden was inflicted to more chain sawing and hedge trimming this week; it took only a couple of hours to create havoc and the whole of the next day to clean it all up. If shrubs and climbers need cut back it needs to be done now while there is still time for things to recover, harden off and bud up again before June. Do not disturb peony roses, just cut back the dead tops and lay compost on top of the clump to protect the new growth during winter. If a clump needs divided wait until spring. Hellebores will benefit from fortnightly feeding now to encourage better blooms. I have been removing the old foliage from mine, but in colder areas it is best to leave their top growth on to protect the new growth. The flowers will soon shoot up past the old leaves. Cut all old leaves off and destroy when you can because green fly seem to winter over on the underside of hellebore leaves. Only feed bulbs and plants that are due to flower now, all other plants will be slowing their growth right down to sleep through the winter. Don't waste good fertiliser on plants that won't use it, unless as I said last week it is blood and bone which will get down to roots in readiness for spring growth and not encourage out new growth. Move all spring flowering plants in pots into a sunny spot now, plants like camellia, azaleas & rhododendrons that have been tucked away in a shady spot over the hot months. If you fed them with acid fertiliser when they finished flowering, they should be fine. If not then give them a little and water in well to give them a boost. Shrubs in pots get root bound and hungry, I shifted all my potted seedlings from semi shade where they have been over the hot months to a sunny spot where they should fine through the winter months, seedlings and rooted cuttings need as much sun as they can get over the colder months, they may not look as though they are growing as they will not put out any new growth on top but with the warmth of the sun on the pots they will be making lots of feeder roots. Keep layering leaves on the compost along with animal manure, soft garden green & soft hedge trimmings and un-sprayed grass clippings along with left over compost from your last lot. Give the heaps a good watering from time to time to get things started. With the very warm days we have been having damp compost heaps should be building up heat now which will remain working through the cold months. It is still possible to divide border plants and perennials or rock plants. In very cold districts leave the dead top growth on, or it can be cut but spread over the clump and left. If you are strawing your gardens this will do the same job. If you have small evergreen shrubs and conifers that need shifted do it now, as long as the root ball is not to well spread they should transplant well. Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas can be shifted now as well. Lawns I spot sprayed the lawns this week, there was quite a lot of clover spreading, I usually only spot spray where needed because I would hate to kill wonderful hard working worms. I am still raking out and re-sowing where damage was done by grass grub, thankfully germination of the grass seed is very fast so the lawns will not look patchy for long. the next job will be to spread fine compost around the lawns to add humus Lawns have really picked up since the nights have cooled, Moss in a lawn is a good indication of sour ground a dressing of lime would sweeten it but not solve the problem which is usually due to poor drainage. Vegetables I planted broad beans and carrots this week and have had to have the hose out again to give the veg garden a good soak, let’s hope we get the rain that was promised Remove shading from glass houses now and reduce the watering,more light, less watering for pot plants inside as well. Leeks should be available now for planting, they are planted laying down in a trench that will hold water to get them going, then they sit up and grow fast. Fruit If you have apple trees laden, pick most of them unripe and store them a cool dry place for later. But leave as many as you intend to eat on the tree to ripen naturally, nothing nicer than ripe fruit straight from the tree. We are still picking those delicious late peaches It's grape picking time for me again while it is still dry, not such an abundant crop this year but enough to make into a few special bottles of wine....... or vinegar !!! which could be turned into Homemade Weed Killer, 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, dish detergent (any brand), Empty spray bottle. Put salt in the empty spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way up with white vinegar. Add a squirt of dish detergent. This solution works best if you use it on a hot day. Spray it on the weeds in the morning, and as it heats up it will do its work. So how ever bad the wine turns out there will be no waste. Gardening by the moon: April 19th until April 26th FIRST QUARTER PHASE – The best time to sow or transplant fruiting annuals (we eat the fruit or seed bearing part), and flowering annuals, grains. Also sow annual grasses, and green manures and apply liquid fertilisers. Prune flowering annuals to encourage growth. Carry out grafting and budding. Mow lawns to encourage growth. This is the second best phase to sow or transplant leafy annuals ( eatable leaf or stem) and flowering annuals. Cheers, Linda.