Enjoy Autumn & prepare for Winter

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 480, 6 April 1993, Page 11

Enjoy Autumn & prepare for Winter

This very unsettled Autumn weather, with very early frosts and snow leads one to believe that the weather forecasters may be right when they say that we face a long cold winter. Every fihe day is a bonus now to be used to the fullest advantage if we are to complete ali the jobs we have lined up to do in the g arden, cope with the autumn plantings and make preparation to protect our plants as far as possible from the ravages of winter. Just as we take steps to protect ourselves against the cold wet conditions so too do the plants we grow find their own way of achieving the

maximum amount of comfort during the winter season. Some which have flourished and flowered during the warmth of summer will, in autumn, drop their seed on to the earth below. Having fulfilled their function they will die away altogether leaving the seed to lie dormant in the ground until warm spring sunshine encourages them to germinate and grow. The top growth of perennials will shrivel and die away leaving only basal growth or in some cases no growth at all above the ground and the root system will go into dormancy until the spring.

Deciduous trees and shrubs will seal off the food supply to the leaves which in late autumn will wither and fall to the ground. The sap will cease to rise and those trees and shrubs will go into dormancy for the winter storing up energy to burst into fresh leaf in the spring (a condition many of us would happily share with them). Even the evergreens will discard all leaves which have finished their useful purpose, retaining those whose function will remain to nourish the plant in winter. The lighter softer green of summer will darken and the leaves become more leathery to resist the colder wet conditions. There are exceptions of course as in the case of rhododendron, evergreen azaleas (which are the same genus as rhodo's) and camellias. These plants have spent the summer months nourishing the emerging buds which will flower in late winter or early spring. We can do our part to

help our plants to live more comfortably in win-ter-time by spreading a generous layer of mulch across the ground not too close to the stem or trunk of the plant. This will act as a warm blanket and prevent hard frost from penetrating to the roots below and as much protection from cold winds as is possible especially for the more tender varieties. Young rhodos, azaleas and camellias can be protected from the wind by a screen or windbreak or sacking attached to strong stakes driven firmly into the ground for the winter which can be removed as the weather turns milder. Young trees can be protected by a layer of straw or sacking fastened around the trunk. Bring colour and perfume into the house for the dull days with pots of crocus, narcissus, sweetly scented freesia or hyacinth which will bloom in the late winter or early spring. Start them off outside by keep-

ing the pots in a frostfree place or in a very cool room such as an outside laundry or even a garden shed or a garage as long as they get sufficient light from a window and are prQtected from the

frost. When the buds show signs of bursting bring them into the living area. Brighten patios or porchways with little pots of some of the bright sedums some of which will go a brilliant red in winter. For a larger tub the larger red leaved grevillea Gaudi Chaudi to trail down the sides of a

tub. It will even throw up some of its red spidery flowers in winter. Bedding begonias which are still flowering in the garden can be lifted carefully with plenty of earth around the roots, potted up, to spend the winter in a cool but frostfree place. They will go on flowering for quite a time