GARDEN NOTES

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 17, 27 September 1983, Page 10

GARDEN NOTES

Late September - early October in the gardening world is a busy period. One must remember that every little effort given to the garden now is rewarded tenfold later in the season. Flanting, sowing, pruning, spraying, taking cuttings, layering, mulching, dividing and repotting house plants are a fewof the jobs in store for September. Growing your own annuals, both flowers and vegetables from seeds can be fun and the results very satisfying, not to mention far cheaper than buying plants. Nemesia and antirrihinums germinate while the soil is still cool and a bit of encouragement and warmth will "bring forth" many others, such as French marigolds and African livingstone-daisies, mignonette, dwarf and tall asters, dwarf phlox will all give a blaze of colour later in the season. Tomatoes, lettuce, capsicums. pumpkins and cucumbers come into this category too. Sow in boxes and cover with glass for protection and promotion of good germination. Remember to prune your flowering shrubs as soon as they finish flowering and your conifers do well with a general "haircut"- the hedge clippers are good for this. A good general guide for pruning is "cut back after

flowering". There are a few exceptions to this rule. One of them is flowering cherries which need only rogue branches cut off, the other are berries which produce their fruit on last year's wood, so you would be losing next year's berries if you cut them back unnecessarily. If you have not sprayed for lichen etcetera it may not be too late but try with 'all seasons oil\ good for scale thrip lichen mossand can be used throughout the year. Gladioli planted now wil! flower in time for Christmas - 90 days from planting to flowering. Taking cuttings or layering is a great way of growing your own trees and shrubs -always worth trying. Perennials such as chrysanthemums, carnations and pinks all grow from tip cuttings and many others as well. You might surprise yourself when you try. Mulching, if not done yd^H is a tremendous boost for the coming summer, helping retain moisture and a cool root system for camellias. rhododendrons etc. "Ferennials can be divided now to fill those empty gaps ... better value than weeds! Contribuiedby P. Chambers and A. Boyd of ihe Raetihi Garden Club.