Summer has arrived late this year. Spring on the Central Tablelands often comes and goes almost before I know it but this year weeks of cool weather and a couple of falls of rain delayed its start till last week.
As a result my roses are only just beginning to fade and I need to get into deadheading and pruning fast if I’m to get another two flushes of bloom before autumn.
Roses flower approximately seven weeks after pruning, so if I cut them now I’m hoping they will bloom around the Australia Day weekend, followed with any luck by a final display in late March/early April before Jack Frost strikes.
I don’t prune the bushes heavily, simply cut them back as though picking for indoors. Roses treated like this need plenty of nourishment to keep performing, so I add a hit of liquid fertiliser like Seasol Powerfeed to keep them happy.
Spring flowering shrubs including Lilac (Syringa), Mock Orange (Philadelphus), Beauty Bush (Kolkwitzia) and shrubby honeysuckle Lonicera tartarica can be pruned now. This is a good time to do it as it’s easy to recognise the minutely-branched, flower bearing shoots and remove them at the base of the shrub.
One more job while you’re out and about with secateurs - foxgloves, wallflowers and valerian (Kentranthus ruber) can be cut back now as their flowering finishes. Tidy gardeners might like also to remove faded hellebore (H. orientalis) flowers but you need to leave a few to broadcast seed if you want to increase your stock.
December is a good time to collect sweet pea seed pods as they ripen and turn brown. Shake out seeds and store in a paper (not plastic) bag for sowing next autumn.
Spring flowering shrubs including Lilac (Syringa), Mock Orange (Philadelphus), Beauty Bush (Kolkwitzia) and shrubby honeysuckle Lonicera tartarica can be pruned now.
If you haven’t yet mulched your flowerbeds, do it pronto before the mercury really soars. Lucerne hay is the best mulch, but anything that covers the soil is better than nothing: leave your weeds, assuming, ha, you have weeds, to rot down if necessary. Soak beds before mulching, then spread as thickly as possible, a thin layer of lucerne hay soon breaks down and won’t keep earth damp during dry spells.
If you took tip cuttings a few weeks ago, check if they’ve made roots by watching for new shoots or tugging them gently. I’m thrilled my tip cuttings of a dark pink, winter flowering Italian lavender (L. stoechas) and a pale pink, early summer flowering abelia (A. floribunda), taken in late September have all rooted, bingo.
They now need re-potting in individual pots and fertilising or they’ll die in their sterile cutting mixture, thus wasting my time and effort. Check all your cuttings regularly and keep them damp, as they’ll turn to toast in hot weather, especially when covered in plastic. Lastly, annuals in pots need watering every day in warm weather.
Heads Up: Stephen Vella’s large country garden Wild Meadows, 243a Coxs River Road, Little Hartley 2790 is open 9.30am-3.30pm the second weekend of every month, including December 9-10.
Last Chance: Pick lavender for drying before flowers open. Closed buds retain colour and scent longer than open flowers.
