August is rose-pruning time, says gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON. “One of the most important factors in growing roses is good airflow and ventilation to prevent any fungal diseases; so don’t crowd them in.”
Pruning roses any time before now had run the risk of having new growth burnt by late frosts, but after August all should be clear.
There are many different varieties of roses with many different ways of pruning them.
In general, bushy roses such as rugoasa’s, old-fashioned roses, carpet roses and balls on a stick can be pruned with hedge trimmers and chopped into shape.
Others will need a little more care. Hybrid tea roses, for example, need a good prune to a vase shape. Prune them to about 40 to 50 centimetres off the ground and remove dead, diseased or damaged growth.
Delbards, climbers and pillar roses are all pruned differently.
Some roses also can take up more room than others and one of the most important factors in growing roses is good airflow and ventilation to prevent any fungal diseases; so don’t crowd them in.
Different roses also have different maintenance levels, but overall the more dead heading, the more flowers.
Preparation is the key for any roses planted during winter. Choose a well-drained site where the rose will get at least five to six hours of direct, full sunlight a day.
Dig the soil over to spade depth and add blood and bone and/or cow manure to the existing soil. If bare rooted, plant on a small mound in the hole to prevent the roots from suckering.
Water in and don’t water again until new growth is seen. Don’t fertilise roses until the soil has warmed in October, using a specific rose fertiliser. Mulch the base to keep the plant from drying out.
A new rose, with white, smallish pretty flowers, for my garden this year is the winged rose (Rosa omeiensis) from China. Its translucent bright red thorns are the attraction to me.
IN the orchard and vegetable patch, the focus turns to feeding the soil and mulching.
Any greens will benefit from a liquid feed over the leaves on a sunny day. Mulch around any plants to keep the roots warm over the winter and keep weeds down.
Asparagus and rhubarb can both be planted now and both are permanent growers and don’t like to be disturbed, so choose a long-term spot for them to grow.
Asparagus likes soil that is a high pH, and rhubarb likes the opposite so don’t plant them together. Asparagus can be planted where beans or brassicas like to grow, and rhubarb will grow well beside other acid-loving plants such as strawberries and blueberry bushes.
MAGNOLIA trees, which are just coming into bud and flower right now, are very popular in our region as an evergreen species or a deciduous one with magnificent flowers in late winter, early spring.
It is ostensibly a tropical plant, but it’s becoming increasingly more available to cold climates.
The most popular magnolia for a small garden is Stellata or Genie. Stellatas are a small tree with beautiful, white, star-shaped flowers in spring. Genie has burgundy flowers and is a little more compact and suitable for smaller spaces, hedging and pots.
All magnolias need good drainage and constant watering in the warmer months.
Jottings
- Spray roses with copper to prevent fungal diseases.
- Lightly fertilise native gardens with blood and bone.
- Liquid feed anything that is in flower.
- Sow seeds of lettuce, spring onions and spinach.
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