What to do in the garden this week
It is time to plant tulips
The main thing to remember about growing tulips is that they like a nice coolwinter to complete their flower bud development deep inside the bulb, or they can flower with disappointingly short stems and small flowers.
Tulips should be planted in May. If you live in awarmer area of the country, ideally you should chill your tulips for six weeks prior to planting so that the bud can complete its development and to ensure the plants have nice, long stems. If you haven’t done this, it is still fine to plant them in early June.
Put the bulbs in the fridge in a paper bag and keep them away from fruit and veges that produce the ripening gas ethylene, such as apples and bananas, which can prevent flower and root formation.
Plant tulips around 20cm deep in freedraining soil in full sun. Work the soil to at least 35cm to allow space for root development. If you have a heavy clay soil, dig a hole, put some grit at the bottom and fill with specialised bulbmix. Unless you’re in a cold climate, planting in pots is not recommended as they warm up too much, even in winter. Feed tulipswith bulb fertiliser in springwhen flowering.
Regional planting and flowering guide
■ Warmest northern areas: Plant in May for flowers in September and October. ■ Lower North Island and warmest South Island areas: Plant in May for flowers in October.
■ Coolest areas of North and South Islands: Plant in May for flowers from mid-October.
Tulips can be divided into 15 groups based on their characteristics, such as cup shape (eg bell, cup or lily), colour or blooming time. The most common groups are singles, paeony, parrots (vibrantly coloured and feathery), fringed (frilly-edged petals) and Darwin (single, tall stems). There are more than 3000 varieties. See nzbulbs.co.nz for more.
The single early tulips like ‘Friendship’ produce one flower per stem and bloom early to midspring. They have very strong and sturdy stems, which allow them to stand up towind and rain with ease. They are great for mass displays and as cut flowers. With graceful curved petals ‘Pretty Woman’ grow to 40cm and flower mid-season. Flamboyant ‘Rococo’ is very striking, but needs a spot protected from strong winds.
Feast on feijoas
Autumn is the peak harvest time for feijoas. Only harvest them when the fruit comes away easily or collect fallen fruit – keeping the grass short and laying nets under the trees will make this job easier. Got too many feijoas? Turn them into wine!
Email inbox@getgrowing.co. nz for the recipe. Don’t have feijoas? Autumn is a great time to get trees in the ground as the soil moistens and temperatures cool. Fruit trees planted in autumn do better than those planted in spring, as the roots start to establish beforewinter and have the full growing season to take off.
If you only have room for one tree, plant the early season ‘Unique’ as it’s selffertile, although even the self-fertile and semi self-fertile varieties fruit better if cross pollinated.
If you’ve got the room plant a few varieties that ripen at different times, as they will still cross pollinate. Check out the Tui Products feijoa variety guide (tuigarden.co.nz) for more information.
Plant feijoa trees in a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil. Mulch around the tree (but not touching the trunk to avoid collar rot) and keep watered until it is established.
Fortify your fruit trees
Use the right fertiliser for fruit and flowers. Productive buds for next season’s fruit develop during autumn. Encourage maximum productivity by applying sulphate of potash (potassium) around the base of your fruit trees.
Avoid using excessive nitrogen fertiliser now as it will only encourage vegetative growth and a flush of new growth that will be prone to frost damage.
Be proactive and apply copper sprays now. It will smother disease spores that could otherwise linger through winter. This will also fast-track leaf fall and the move into winter dormancy, which is good both in terms of the next year’s productivity and also disease susceptibility on leaf scars.
Don’t make life easier for pests and diseases. Prevent them overwintering by getting the rake out for a tidy up.
Keep the ground around the fruit trees clean of fallen leaves and windfall fruit, as these can be a source of disease infection next season. If you are confident that the leaves are free of disease, cover the pile of foliage with a sheet of corrugated iron or old carpet to make leaf mould, which is a fantastic soil conditioner and mulch.
Recalibrate your watering ways
After months of endless summer, autumn rains are setting in and plant growth is slowing down, so there’s less need for irrigation.
If you’ve got automatic watering systems and sprinklers on timers, then check the settings are giving your plants the water they need but not too much. Go easy on the hose and watering can too.
Do keep an eye on container plants. A light shower or two may not be enough to keep them hydrated. On the other hand very few plants like to sit in water for long periods – especially when the weather is cold and damp.
Now that rainy days are here I’m turning the saucers upside down or propping up containers on pot feet, bricks or pot trollies on castors. I’m checking the drainage holes too as they can get blocked by roots and debris.
Stop watering plants that are entering their period of dormancy. As the foliage ofmy begonias and hippeastrums dies back I lay the pots on their sides. This allows the dormant bulbs and corms to ride out the winter without the risk of rotting away in cold, wet soil.
My terracotta pots of succulents have moved under the eaves for winter, where they’ll get any sun that’s going but not the full deluge of winter rain.
Prune away pests
Dotted lines along slim stems are the tell-tale signs of passionvine hopper eggs. A trim nowwill prevent the eggs overwintering. Send them to the bonfire or landfill to cut down the numbers of juvenile fluffy bums hatching in spring and maturing as little hopping insects with distinctive lacy wings.
Despite their name, they aren’t fussy about which plants they stick their sap-sucking fangs into or where they lay their eggs. You’ll find eggs on grapes, woodystemmed perennials, trees and even on wooden fence panels.