Gardening with Linda in Waitaki

Monday, July 27, 2020

Gardening in North Otago 1st August 2020

Staking a tall bare rooted tree.

Here we are into another month and closer to Spring, with camellias blooming, magnolia buds beginning to burst and spring bulbs thinking it is mild enough to bloom. Going by my past notes we still have proper winter weather ahead this month before we can leap fully into spring. Soil along with plant's need continual cold temperatures to be at peek performance during the growing seasons.  Here in our garden the hard graft is almost over, whew!, soon it will be time to get creative and dress the garden by planting out, shifting and feeding.

Liquid feed annuals and perennials that have been nursed through winter, roots are starting to take in nutrients to plump up buds.

Roses and hydrangeas are still getting the winter prune here, only flower carpet roses to go, this variety bush up with small non hard wood branching, if they are large, trim with a hedge trimmer, if newly planted prune back the flowered ends to hard wood.
Hydrangeas: I have taken cuttings from Annabelle hydrangeas hardened stems that flowered last season.Thick rather than thin cuttings are best about 12" long, dip cuttings in rooting hormone (this is optional) and insert cut end down into damp river sand, around the edge of the pot rather than the middle, water well and allow to drain. Annabelle hydrangea is lovely with white lacy flowers and is quick and easily grown from cuttings as well as root sections, they give a great show growing in a group.

Staking Trees: I have been noticing newly planted tall grafted tree's planted in gardens with out stakes, while the ground is firm and winds are few during winter they are settled but come spring with unpredictable weather these trees will be whipped about with wind with roots moving when they should be firm in the ground making the needed feeding roots. Tree's left un staked take much longer to make the roots needed to anchor them and grow slower, sometimes not at all.

Seeds can be sown of cottage annuals like cosmos, cornflowers, love in the mist, snapdragon and alyssum, all can be sown under glass in trays up off the cold ground in a warm area. More tender annuals need to wait until it is warmer unless you have a heated glass house. Perennials and annuals already putting out growth need to be protected from any sudden freezing.

Vegetable  gardens are enjoying the sunny days with frosts helping to break down soil. Birds will hungry and starting to nest so cover leaf veg with netting or frost cloth to keep them off. This month is time for sowing veg seeds to germinate in a warm well lit place to be ready for pricking out into punnets then planted into a warm spring garden.

Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres, if you would like an apple tree but feel your garden is too small why not look at apple ballerina, a very slim non branching variety of apple with Medium, red skin, Crisp, juicy, nice eating and cooking apples, Ballerina grows to 3-4m tall by 30cm wide perfect for adding height, blossom and fruit to a small garden.

Grape pruning needs to finish soon before sap rises, to prune a fruiting leader remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be around a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branch, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit.

Keep an eye on peach bud burst, in milder gardens it will happen early. A copper spray right at bud burst will help with leaf curl.

Cheers, Linda

Magnolia blooms snug in fury buds.

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Gardening in North Otago July 22nd 2020

Sasanqua camellias

We are getting closer to spring, with another winter month almost over our gardens are beginning to stir beneath and above the ground even with the heavy frosts we have been experiencing. I remember when winter meant frozen ground right through mid winter and my pond with a cover of thick ice, but not so over the last few years when we experience hard frosts then warm days like last Tuesday, a warm spring like day.

Pruning and composting and pea strawing is still going on here around this large, never ending garden! rain would be a bonus now because it is showing severer dryness in some parts of this garden. It may look as if growth has stopped but here on the coast with the warmer ground there is plenty of plant feeding going on now. Bulbs, hellebores (winter roses), pollyanthas, violas, which hazel, camellias and rhododendrons will all enjoy a dressing of compost or even a dressing of blood and bone would be beneficial when we get a shower of rain.

Garden retailers are offering colourful sesanqua camellias in flower, different varieties of flowering hellebore's and cyclamen to brighten up indoors and porches. Any flowering plants on sale will have been grown under protection to get them looking so good so don't be too quick to plant out in the garden, let them harden off gradually first.

Roses:

About now I would advise mulch, mulch and more mulch around roses if we had rain, I am mulching but soaking the dry ground first then mulch applied will hold moisture. This also protects the root zone and enables the plant to concentrate on root movement and getting ready for the up coming growing season. Un-sprayed Pea or barley straw plus well cooked compost are all ideal for mulching.

In early spring an application of Rose Fertiliser will enhance the establishment and growth of healthy roses as it has an excellent level of potassium, which is the nutrient responsible for promoting large, vibrant, healthy blooms. For established roses apply 200 g (1 cup) per square metre and water in well. An application just before the end of winter is a good idea, if buds are swelling they are using food. Apply again in mid December for an autumn flush of blooms. Have some on hand to apply next month.

Vegetable garden:

To have Christmas new potatoes you need to start thinking about them from now on, all varieties are available in shops now. There are early and late varieties so ask about the variety you choose, a potato is not just a potato any more! Lay your seed potatoes out on a tray in a dark dry place and get them sprouting or chitting by leaving them in a well lit, cool, protected place where they will form protrusions of leaf buds ready for early planting.

Keep sowing vegetable seeds in trays for planting out later, if your veg garden is in a warm spot plant Cauliflowers and Cabbage seedlings (cover from birds) and sow early Peas.

Asparagus crowns are now available and can be planted out in a well composted and fertilised bed. (no animal manure )

Fruit: There will never be a better time to choose and plant ornamental and fruiting trees than right now! Each tree will have an informative label to tell you exactly what you will be buying with instructions on how and where to plant. Plus all tall grafted trees need to be tied to a stake, any wind root movement will hold a tree back. All fruit trees need to grow in an open sunny position.

Cheers, Linda.

Mulching for spring growth

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Gardening in North Otago June 15th 2020

Frosty morniing at Rockvale Gardens

Some hard frosts this week which is just the thing for winter gardens. I have been busy with Grandchildren over these School holidays but managed to escape from time to time into the garden to spread leaf mulch and pig manure around before the top layer of pea straw. Any store bought powdered fertilisers would be wasted if used while the garden is resting but compost and well rotted manure will work as a mulch for plant roots which will be taken down by worms to be there when needed in early spring. Mulch works well on all bare ground and tucked around winter flowering blooms helping to keep ground warmer and smothering annual weed seeds wanting to germinate. The clean much on offer by our local Pukeuri ( Alliance Group) meat works is ideal for this, dry ground will need a wetting if rain hasn't done this before applying.Contact for this mulch is Gregg 0272293215

How special each new bloom is in a bare winter garden, winter sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) fragile, papery sweet fragrant flowers are a treat along with hellebore's, (winter rose), early camellias, snowdrops and violets. I also have Virginia stock and polyanthus flowering and while the ground is damp and workable have been using a small sharp edged hoe on weeds that frost has been hard on. Where the ground is clear of weeds I have filled gaps with perennial sections taken from clumps that needed broken up and iris rhizomes in groups. Primulas and violas should be well clumped up now after an autumn cut back and because they multiply well these plants make good borders. First dig out a clump and pull apart, each section with roots will become a new plant to clump up. Trim ragged perennials like cat mint back to the new growth you should be able to see coming through then dig around or mulch to encourage the new roots.

Sowing seeds: It is too early for seeds to germinate in the soil however I have sown cottage flower seeds like poppies, cornflower and cosmos in seed trays which are sitting in a sheltered tunnel house, I protect the trays with frost cloth during the cold nights and fingers crossed I hope for a strike.

Vegetables:The earlier mild winter weather was kind to producing vegetable gardens here on the coast, soups will be brimming with the addition of silver beet, broccoli, cauliflower flower, carrots, kale, leeks and all those lovely pumpkins stored before the frosts arrived. When areas of the veg garden become vacant spread some compost on and let frost and worms work on soil in readiness for an early spring plant out. In cold areas where ground is frozen start garlic off in containers and plant out later when the ground begins to thaw.

Fruit: If your strawberry patch is cleared and manured, pot up the runners you plan to keep to establish strong roots before being planted. Remember 3 or 4 years is long enough for a mature fruiting plant and always choose the runner replacement closest to the Mother plant.

Any major pruning on older out of control fruit trees should be done now while sap is down, but as I have mentioned in previous notes new upward growing growths on apples and espaliered fruit trees should be done in summer when cuts will heal over and not send more growth up around that pruned area. However early to Late Spring is best for Peach trees if they need size reduced or centers opened. Prune off damaged wood in the early spring, this will allow the wounds to close faster as growth begins and in early spring you should also be able to see how many flower buds have survived the cold weather. Leave young fruit trees to blossom and fruit only removing any damaged wood or crossing branches, mulch all fruit trees now as they have a lot of work ahead of them.

Cheers, Linda

New strawberry plants bedded for winter.

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Gardening in North Otago 8th June 2020

Rose pruning

Well into July now winter has kicked in but spring bulbs are being encouraged to burst through the ground on milder days wanting to retreat. I am sure when they find out it is still winter. A big job here in our garden on those milder days last week cutting back deciduous shrubs, and dealing with convolvulus roots now that they have died off on top. In one smallish patch of garden where convolvulus was growing up and smothering shrubs last summer I dug out a wheelbarrow full of roots, I kid you not!!, long white roots that criss crossed this patch of ground had spread through plant roots along the fence line seeming to know where they needed to be to climb. It is so satisfying to start at one end of a root and remove it without breaking right to the other end. Because I never use weed spray on the garden, digging and pulling it out is the only way to beat it. Pruning: Understanding how something grows is helpful before pruning, does it flower on new or old wood, how mature does a fruit tree need to be to produce fruiting spurs, will a wound heal well or will it bleed like cherries and plums and if so when does it produce less sap?.There is a right time to prune any plant for it to respond beneficially for your purposes by producing new flowers, fruit, foliage or training to shape, ect. But sometimes it is best just to do it, the worst that can happen is that you will lose a season's flowering and learn a useful lesson at the same time. Hydrangeas and lavender are best left now until you see new growth. Rose pruning: I was going to leave pruning our roses until the end of this month but I got a bit carried away cutting back and made a start on a few of the larger varieties. In cold areas rose wood will still be too soft, the time by which rose pruning should be completed varies by several weeks from the warmest to coldest gardens, pruning should be done and dusted by the time buds break. Bush roses: concentrate on clearing the center of the bush, remove all inward facing branches at an outward facing bud, prune height back by two thirds always at an outward facing bud and remove any old and damaged branches. Brush old gnarly rose centers with a wire brush to stimulate and encourage new budding. Floribunda bush roses: like iceberg with a number of blooms on one stem need a few older branches taken right back each year to encourage new strong branching and newer branches taken back by two thirds. Hybrid tea roses:These are the roses that can grow a single exhibition bloom on a stem, these rose bushes can be pruned back quite hard to an outward facing bud. Standard bush roses:Same as bush roses. Climbing roses:These roses flower at their best when the branches are trained horizontally along a fence or wall, they will then develop small branches along the length to carry flowers. After a number of years a main horizontal branch will become unproductive and need to be removed, replaced with a new branch to be trained gently to take its place. The new branch will bud up quickly sending out small outward growing branches to harden off in a couple of years. To prune established horizontal branches, take the outward growing branches back to the second out facing bud closest to the main horizontal branch. Pillar roses:These are the best type to climb up and be trained over an arch or pergola. I cut the old growth back from these with a hedge trimmer Fairy rose and flower carpet roses: I also cut back with a hedge trimmer but opened them up by removing branches from the middle with secateurs. Bare rooted trees:The bulk of new season's bare rooted deciduous trees are arriving into retail shops now, plant when the soil is soft and moist, but avoid times when the ground is frozen or excessively wet. Evergreen trees and shrubs are on offer as well, choose now but don't be in a hurry to plant them at this coldest time of the year because you will not gain any new growth until spring. Keep in their bags or pots outside in a sheltered place to harden off, they can sit like this through winter. Make sure to read the labels and know how high and wide a shrub / tree will grow, some grow fast and when mature will throw considerable shade, if planting along the side of a house ask advice. Compost heaps; are working slowly now compared to summer and autumn but worms will still be working as long as there is adequate moisture. Heaps can be kept warmer by being covered, even straw can be used and will let in rain. Veg: Rain will have made veg gardens a bit soggy to work in, young veg will sit now without growing because they dislike cold wet ground. Once they dry out I plan to dig the raised gardens over and work in some manure enriched compost in readiness for spring planting. In cold areas, if the ground is frozen start garlic off in containers and plant out later when the ground warms up.Early seed potatoes can be left in the dark to sprout long translucent sprouts but put them in a frost free brightly lit place and they slowly develop knobbly green purple shoots which are ready to grow quickly when placed in the soil, this is called chitting. While chittlng is not necessary for main crop varieties, the first or second earliest benefit by maturing earlier.Fruit: Plant deciduous fruit trees and bushes in a sunny site, avoid frosty hollows for early starters such as plums and pears. Prune.early to Late Spring Peach and nectarine trees to maintain an open center (only if needed) in early spring this will allow the wounds to close faster as growth begins, early spring also allows you to see how many flower buds have survived the cold weather. Cherries need summer pruning as well for the first 5 years and only on a sunny day to avoid silver leaf. I have found If I prune an apple tree hard each winter it will make a mass of new growth but no blossom, hence no fruit. So now any tree or shrub that is growing too vigorously I wait until summer to prune hard, when leaves are fully grown, before roots start to store food for winter, cuts heal over pushing out no new growth. This is a good rule of thumb for cordons (espaliered trees) only cut back any weak growth in winter to encourage vigorous new shoots in spring. If removing large thick branches in summer while sap is up wounds may need sealed if they bleed. Strawberries: are a crop that needs to be shifted about to a new spot each growing season for best results. or replace what you grow them in, soil / compost otherwise they build up and harbour viruses. Plenty of time before this needs to be done but now is a good time to prepare a new bed. If starting new plants from runners always take the runner closest to the parent plant, snip off all runners outside of this then push the runner to be a new plant into the soil to make strong roots while still attached to the parent plant. Snip off in early spring and plant out into a new bed. After 3 years of fruiting plants should be composted and new ones ready to take their place. Cheers, Linda.

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Gardening in North Otago July 1st 2020

Bring birds into your garden.

Wet winter days beginning this week keeping most gardeners inside, I could not let rain fall on gardens that had not had a dressing of pig manure / sawdust that I have a stash of. Plants will not be taking the goodness in while not growing but the rain will take it down to where needed in readiness for the spring explosion of growth. As I work around the garden I see the plants that are making a move, most spring bulbs have pushed through some even flowering along local fence lines, pretty violets, pollyanthas and hellebore's are braving the cold here along with early camellias and Christmas cheer Rhododendron are flowering. After a few hard frosts in a row then a couple of milder frost free days plants get the urge to push buds open however it is the shortened hours of light that dictates the starting of a new growing season.

Gardeners need to be on interment terms with the weather we need to bend to it and learn how it affects our own gardens through all seasons, where wind chill comes in, the driest or bad draining areas and plant accordingly because weather makes no exceptions and plants can be lost if planted in the wrong conditions. We can create shelter and drainage where needed but Nature is still in charge if we do nothing at all nature will plant the right plant in the right place every time, one consolation is the more different weeds that come up in your garden means you have good growing conditions. Everything above the ground in your entire garden is determined by what happens below ground level.

Planting: Any deciduous tree or shrub whether bagged or bare rooted is best planted in winter when dormant and this is also when you get the best choices in Garden centers. Give the tree /shrub a good soak in a bucket over night before planting. Plant all trees,shrubs and hedging plants shallow as a shovel deep but make the radius of the hole at least twice as wide as deep. Loosen the soil with a fork below and to the sides of the hole and spread roots out over mounded soil at the bottom of the hole, the quicker roots leave the planting hole, spread and take hold the better. If a hole is dug too deep with a lot of organic matter added roots tend to stay put content to make feeder roots in one spot rather than search for what they need. A good stake put in while planting is essential especially with tall grafted trees, this helps to keep roots from moving while becoming established.

Mulch: The rain was welcome on my large leaf piles, moisture needs to get beyond the top of the pile which acts as a shield so I get the fork in and mix things up to let rain in and if not enough moisture after a few showers the hose will go on then a cover to keep wind out and get wet fungus working to turn leaves into mulch to add wonderful humus to soil.

Birds look for food and water during winter, if you supply both your garden will be visited but to be relaxed birds need food trays placed high close to a bush or a tree they can dart to if startled. I melt a pot of dripping and while still soft before hardening it is easy to mix bird seed into then fill a string bag like kiwi fruit and mandarins come in, birds will flock to it. Sugar water is always found by tui's but if you start it is only fair to birds that you continue.

Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies will be on offer this month, plant in good draining soil in a sunny spot, if you think there is a chance they would sit in cold, wet soil over winter they may rot, planting can continue until September. Dahlias can be covered and protected in damp sawdust until they start to shoot then planted out when all threat of frost is over.

Remember to continue protecting plants like Margarete daisies and pelargoniums from frosts with frost cloth as a cover above them, not touching. If they frost on the top just leave the frosted tops to protect the new growth beneath. This would not work further inland, it would be best to start nursing cuttings to be planted out when the frosts are over.

Moss on drive ways Two weeks ago I spread some inexpensive laundry powder on the thick moss growing along the shaded side of our drive and hey presto! it turned brown and died , I will leave it now in the hope it will discourage more moss growing during winter.

Manure: At this time of the year Lions clubs are filling stands with sawdust and sheep manure, volunteers clean out calving sheds and under shearing sheds to keep stands topped up for keen gardeners. I use the sawdust on wind free garden pathways and the sheep manure on the compost heaps. Sawdust can be used thickly on wet gardens as a weed suppressant as it helps to absorb excess moisture, but never on dry gardens.

Vegetables: On the coast start raising vegetable seeds for spring planting in a warm spot, under glass or plastic with ventilation spaces to circulate air and stop seeds going mouldy. Further inland where winters are harsher and longer germination will only happen on a heated seed raising pad so best to wait. If seeds are raised inside they will get leggy before it is time to plant out.

Cheers, Linda.

planting bare rooted trees.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Gardening in North Otago 23rd June 2020

Frost at Rockvale Gardens

Hard frosts but clear sun filled days make us able to spend productive time getting gardens ready for spring. Who ever said winter was a time for keeping warm inside while the garden rests?? With a small garden this can be achieved but a large garden needs attention through all the months of a year. I enjoy the work being carried out through winter here in our large garden because the rewards are many come spring.

Continuous frosts are great for breaking down clay soil and dealing to pest cycles but planting comes to a stand still apart from bare rooted trees and roses. Planted at the dormant stage they settled in before spring. Tall, grafted bare rooted trees need staked for at least three years to avoid root movement as they take hold in the ground.

Cutting back continues on here, now that deciduous trees are bare I get a good look at the shape, height and width of branching and also discover the rouge trees growing up through shrubs that need to be removed before they put on more growth. It is too late in the year to trim soft trees and shrubs but huge over grown ivy and out of control evergreen climbers can be tidied up. Ivy is like wisteria if you are too kind to it, some of those twining soft leaders will grow as thick as tree trunks if left.

Trees make the most change to a garden, they can turn a light sun filled garden into a shade garden with in a few years if the Gardener allows. This is the best time of the year to bring a wayward garden back in line by cutting out trees and shrubs that have out grown spaces. Conifers displaying woody bare growth at the bottom usually become that way because they have grown too tall, they never regrow at the bottom. Very large removals can be achieved by an experienced arborist who will complete the job with the least disturbance to your garden in mind, then leave you with a good amount of tree mulch once all branches have been shredded. Once unwanted trees and shrubs have been removed you will have gained light in areas once shaded, the soil will need building up with compost and left to settle before replanting something that will enjoy being in a light sunny area. The whole look of a tired garden can be changed by doing this, if a huge gap is 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 you privacy, once the plant has reached the desired height and width the screening can be removed. If a shrub or tree is Spring flowering it will be well in bud now so leave cutting back until straight after flowering, it will recover very quickly with new spring growth.

Fruit: summer fruiting raspberry canes fruit on second year wood, cut those brown canes that fruited last season right down but leave the new green canes to fruit. Autumn fruiting raspberry canes fruit on new seasons growth so all canes need to be cut to the ground.

Vegetables:
In the vegetable garden where green leafy vegetables and onions will be growing next growing season 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.

-- Cheers, Linda

Conifers out grown their space being taken down at rockvale Gardens.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Gardening in North Otago June 17th 2020

Wow Monday was so cold, numb fingers and toes but then Tuesday was like a warm spring day, so hard to adjust to for not only people but plants as well, frozen one day and basking the next. How ever frosts are here to stay for a while now with the shortest day upon us, Plants can be acclimatised to the cold by gradual exposure to outside and overnight temperatures. Many plants may be frost tender when young but will be quite tolerant when mature. Meyer lemon bushes are a good example, keep frost cloth on when young but a couple of years on they are frost tolerant. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and if the overnight low is predicted to be 4 degrees Celsius or below with little wind, tender growth will need a cover. Cover plants with frost cloth, newspaper or any light material that will drape over, although woven fabrics are better insulators than plastics or paper. The covers can be laid right over plants, supported above them which is even better. Plants under evergreen trees are protected from frost so this might be an option for where to place potted tender plants. Water before the frost –it has been proved that a moist soil can hold four times more heat than a dry soil. It will also conduct heat to the soil surface faster than a dry soil, aiding in frost prevention. These days sprinklers are sometimes used on commercial plantings to keep the plants “warm” on a frosty night, the science being that as water freezes, it releases heat, go figure ? Most perennial plants will recover in the spring from frost damage even if they have gone black or mushy with frost, don't remove the effected growth, just leave to protect the new growth which will appear when the ground warms again. In favor of frost, it is very effective in reducing populations of over-wintering pests, it also helps break down clay soil if clods are left exposed over winter, come spring it will fork over easily prior to planting. Digging up and shifting young shrubs around like rhododendrons, azalea's and magnolias can be done now, anything you think has been struggling in the spot it has been planted. This is also the time to remove trees and shrubs that have long out grown their youthful beauty, you can change the whole look of a tired garden by replacing these plants with a younger version of the original or something different. Trees like ake ake, hebe's, olearia traversiorum (Chatham island ake ake) and Hoheria (lace bark) can be nice trees for a number of years but will then die back and eventually look half dead. Pittosporums will grow nicely for many years if trimmed but if left to grow into a tree will soon become unattractive. Many natives respond well to being taken off at ground level, most will regrow into a nice shrub again. Over grown hoherias (lace bark) need to be completely removed. Veg. The shortest day is here already which should mean we are over the hump of winter and heading to warmer days down the other side, BUT as we all know there is a lot of winter yet to come here in the south. The shortest day means garlic planting and plenty more veg here on the coast if you provide a warmer microclimate to aid germination. A cold frame can be used for starting seeds, and cloches or frost cloth for protecting newly planted seedlings in frosty areas. Or plant veg in pots or boxes and position them in a warm sheltered spot to make the most of our North Otago winter sun.