Preparing for absence

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 29, 15 December 1987, Page 6

Preparing for absence

Just when our gardens should be looking their best and we are looking forward to having some time to enjoy them over the Christmas holidays nature has again defied us and our gardens look as sad and wet as everything else. The ground has received a thorough soaking and if the rain ever stops it will be a good time to lay on a mulch to hold moisture in the ground if there is to be hot dry weather and drying winds ahead. Just hope for a few fine days to remove the weeds which have sprung up oblivious of the weather, spread the mulch and relax with the thought that weeding will be drastically reduced for a while. Watch for die back on the roses, those blackened tips of the stems especially where a bloom has been removed. Cut back to the nearest node or leaf bud with a healthy portion of stem. The core of the stem should show firm healthy pith. If it is cracked or discoloured cut back a little further. To encourage further flowers remove all spent and damaged flowers and if your roses have not been fed recently give a feed of balanced rose food. Removing the spent flower heads from summer

flowering annuals will encourage them to bloom more freely and with a little warm sunshine the garden should look colourful again. Asters, zinnias, portulacca and salvia should be available now for the later plantings. Slugs and snails will be enjoy ing this prolonged wet weather, so get to work with the slug bait around young seedlings and the low growing border plants. If you are going away on holiday some provision needs to be made for houseplants. The best plan of course is to enlist the help of a friend or neighbour to water and care for your plants while you are away but failing this there are one or two methods you can use to supply your plants with the necessary moisture during your absence. For short periods, say two or three days, a good watering before you leave should suffice and your plants should not come to much harm. For longer periods put all your plants into the coolest room in the house away from direct sunlight. Group ferns and green plants together as this will help increase the humidity around the plants. A spray with a plant mister will help. Those which like to dry out a little between waterings such as African

violets and palms can stand a little apart from the green plants. If you are away longer than a week some form of moisture should be provided. Soak old towels in the laundry tub or bath and let excess water drain away. Stand your plants on the wet towels and this will help to slow the process of drying out as well as providing humidity. The deep dish method is a little more trouble but more effective for longer periods. Use a deep dish or tray larger than the base of the pot and fill to the brim with gravel or small stones. Fill the dish with water to the surface of the gravel and place the pots on the gravel. This will provide more humidity and slow the process of drying out. Again it will help to spray ferns and green plants, but plants such as African violets and fleshy leafed plants should not be sprayed. These will be my last gardening notes for a few weeks and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a pleasant holiday. Bea Barnes