The Star: July 27, 2023

The Star Thursday July 27 2023
20
GARDENING
Brought to you by www.arvida.co.nz
Spring dreaming: Winter a time to plan
Winter’s a good time to
think ahead – peruse
catalogues, order new
seeds and plants, and
prepare the soil
Vegetables
Gardening at this time of the
year is limited, as winter’s worst
weather usually comes in July
and August. Cold, wet days are
an opportunity to look through
garden catalogues and order new
seeds or plants.
This is also a good time to plan
where next season’s vegetables
will be sown or planted, using
the practice of rotation outlined
earlier this month.
Although five-year garden diaries
are valuable, an alternative
is a sturdy indexed book. Record
planting and other information
under each alphabetically listed
vegetable, noting the date when
seeds were sown or plants put in.
Note varieties and after harvesting,
indicate how well each did.
This gives a year-by-year record
of the garden, one that is easier
to cross-check than a series of
diaries.
Green manures oats, lupins
and the like not yet dug in
should be cut and turned into
the ground. Soil cleared of
crops such as winter cabbage,
broccoli and parsnips benefits
if it is turned over, too. Rough
LOOK FORWARD: Take time over winter to consider what
you’d like to plant in spring, and prepare accordingly.
digging is the best treatment at
this time of the year, with weeds
placed under the surface and any
spare compost thrown over the
surface. Complete with a dressing
of garden lime. The rate will
vary depending on soil acidity
but plan on 50g to 100g a square
metre, the bigger amount for
heavier soils.
Hedges can be trimmed in
warmer areas but should be left
until later in the year in areas
that experience hard frosts or
snow.
Soil can be prepared,
conditions permitting, before
cloches and cold frames are put
in place for growing plants under
shelter. If soil clings to tools or
boots, the ground is too wet and
any work should be postponed.
When the soil has been dug,
composted and worked to a fairly
fine crumb-like consistency,
position the cloches and leave
them for three weeks before
sowing seeds. This warms the
soil under the cloches and the
more that are used, the better the
lift in soil temperature under the
individual shelter.
Cloche gardening is
suitable for small gardens and
strawberries give earlier crops
grown in this way.
Flowers
Pruning roses this month can
be risky, as early pruning can encourage
roses to throw out fresh
shoots that will be zapped by
frost. Coastal areas can usually
get away with winter pruning
but in general, August is the preferred
month for rose pruning.
Garden centres have barerooted
roses in stock now and
buying early is recommended to
obtain popular varieties.
Cinerarias grown in a glasshouse
will be pushing up their
flower stems and will benefit
from a liquid manure once a
week, the day after they have
been watered.
Cyclamens (above) can also be
started in the greenhouse and
brought indoors as soon as the
first buds appear.
Tuberous begonias can be
grown in pots in the glasshouse
until almost ready to flower in
summer, when they can be taken
indoors or put on a sunny doorstep
or deck.
Carnations can also be treated
in this way.
Fruit
If any new fruit trees are still
to be ordered, do not delay or
you may miss out on a chosen
cultivar.
Plant trees and soft-fruit
bushes (currants, gooseberries,
raspberries and brambles such as
blackberries) in well-composted
soil to get them off to a good
start. Spending time getting the
soil into good shape before planting
pays dividends later.
With young fruit trees, avoid
letting them crop the first
season. Let the trees’ sturdy
trunks and branches develop for
better fruiting as they mature.
– ODT
Try nemesia if you’re after vibrant colour
IF YOU HAVE an area in
your garden you’re thinking of
blanketing with colour, then
nemesia is the plant for you.
Nemesias are colourful
annuals and short-lived
perennials, bearing wonderfully
fragrant, colourful flowers from
late spring through to autumn.
A small bedding plant, they can
be used for edging, in borders
and as a ground cover and,
in the right conditions, will
produce so many flowers it’s
hard to see the greenery.
Growing to a height of
around 20cm, nemesia is also
lovely grown in pots or hanging
planters.
Nemesia seedlings come
in mixed colours. Bi-colour
bundles contain seedlings that
will produce flowers with more
than one colour on each flower.
Some are a mix of white and
lavender, yellow or pink and
others are just a mix of different
colours. A mixed bundle will
produce all sorts of different
coloured flowers.
Nemesias make excellent
partners with other summer
flowering plants. Full sun and
free draining soil are essential
for them to flower well, as
poorly drained soil can result in
root and stem rot. Choose your
spot then plant your seedlings
about 15cm apart from each
other in spring.
Depending on the weather,
in just five to six weeks you can
expect a beautiful array
of different coloured flowers in
your pot or garden bed.
BLOOMS: Brightcoloured
nemesia
can be used for
edging or in hanging
pots and planters.