Gerbera Garvinea Sunset Ann provides a spectacular display.
It’s great to have the feeling of summer and the festive season upon us.
If you want some good summer colour in your garden, here are a couple of good options to look out for. These plants are smart, tidy and can be grown in pots or gardens.
Alstroemeria
There are a few different series of these that have come from different breeders. The Inca and Inticancha ranges of dwarf alstroemeria, also called Peruvian lily, are top performers. They have a compact habit with larger blooms and intense flower colours. Like all alstroemeria, they perform best in a sunny, well-drained situation. In sheltered spots around Whanganui, they are evergreen but where heavier frost occurs they will be dormant in the winter months. They respond well to feeding with Novatec, best applied in September and January each year.
Alstroemerias are generally pest-free with the occasional infestation from aphids. This is easily controlled with rose spray or another insecticide. When growing in pots, ensure the pot is not too small. A common reason for plants not succeeding in pots is that, at the time of planting, consideration is not given to how big and at what rate a plant will grow. If a pot is too small, there is little soil content for water storage for the plant to use. This results in the plant being stressed and it consequently underperforms, or even dies, during dry periods. Use a good quality potting mix such as Ican Premium Potting Mix to ensure the plant performs at its best.
Garvinea gerberas
Traditionally gerberas have been notoriously difficult to keep alive for long periods. Their sensitivity to overwatering, humidity and fungus disease had put them into the too-hard basket for many. However, the alluring flowers of the gerbera make them a desirable plant. A turning point for New Zealand home gardeners was the arrival of a new generation of gerbera. Garvinea gerbera has proven to be revolutionary with a unique combination of features. Using genetics from wild South African plants, breeders have come up with a colour palette of strong, prolific, free-flowering gerberas which have cold tolerance and superior pest and disease resistance.
There are a number of vibrant colours available in New Zealand. Garvineas are happy in full sun to part-shade and look gorgeous mass-planted in garden beds and large containers. What Garvinea lacks in flower size, compared to other gerberas, is more than made up for by the number of flowers, with the average plant yielding more than 70 blooms per year. They provide colour from spring through summer and to the end of autumn. Garvineas are winter hardy and survive where temperatures may drop to -5C. Come spring, the flowers will start popping up for another long season. Being pest and disease-tolerant means Garvineas are easier to grow than most other gerberas. They thrive best in sunny. well-drained situations as they resent wet feet.
Switching direction into the vegetable garden, there are a few timely jobs to attend to.
Tomatoes: If you haven’t yet planted many heat-loving summer vegetables, there is still time. For those who planted early, your plants are likely now fruiting. High humidity after rain increases the risk of blight, mildew and other fungal disease. Protect plants with sprays of Growsafe Certified Organic Freeflo Copper or Yates Liquid Copper. The insect psyllid is also active so spray with Yates Mavrik or Wally’s Silicon Cell Strengthener. Note that Mavrik and Copper can be mixed and applied together.
Capsicums and chillies: These plants love the heat and will grow and produce quickly in a hot position during the summer months. Find a full-sun location out of the wind to grow these low-fuss vegetables. Feed with Ican Tomato Food for good results.
Sow seeds: Those that can be sown directly into the soil now include carrots, corn, butter beans, dwarf beans, climbing beans and radishes. Continue with successive plantings of other vegetables including lettuce varieties, celery, spinach and silverbeet, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Seeds of these sown in trays now will be ready for planting out in February and will make a good mid-autumn harvest in late March/early April.
Leeks: Traditionally they are planted between Christmas and new year (a bit like the tradition of planting tomatoes at Labour Weekend). While planting is not limited to this time, planting during December and early January tends to produce larger, more robust plants than those planted later.
Leeks are hardy vegetables that are affected by few pests or diseases. The bigger the leek, the more flavoured it is. Leeks are best planted in free-draining, organically rich soil. Apply generous amounts of lime to the soil, a few weeks before planting if possible.
Plants can be purchased in stores or grown from seeds. Seedlings grown in trays can be transplanted easily but leave them until they have grown 20cm high. When transplanting, trim 8cm off the shoots and about 2cm off the roots before planting out. This is usually unnecessaryon seedlings bought from garden centres as they are already prepared. Dropping more than one leek per hole is fine but the leeks will be smaller. Alternatively, the plants can be thinned, as with carrots, and the thinnings can be added to soups and salads.
Keep leeks weed-free as they hate competing for light and moisture.
Leeks can be safely left in the ground until needed or dig up the crop and place them in a container filled with soil (cover the stems, leaving the leaves free) and store in a convenient spot until needed.
Brussels sprouts: This vegetable is adored by some and detested by others. Brussels sprouts are one winter vegetable that needs to go in really early to get good height on the plants before the growth stops in cooler weather; the number of sprouts you get is almost 100 per cent determined by the length of the stem. Planting in January is ideal. Like its brassica cousins broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, Brussels sprouts will perform best in rich fertile soil. The addition of well-rotted animal manures, mushroom compost or soil conditioners, such as Yates Dynamic Lifter or Tui Sheep Pellets, will do much to enhance the soil structure and fertility and you will have a good chance to harvest a decent crop. They, like the leeks, prefer an alkaline soil so the addition of lime before planting is beneficial. The biggest pest to Brussels sprouts is the white cabbage butterfly and caterpillar which can be easily treated by the use of derris dust or a spray with Yates Mavrik or Yates Success.
A non-spray alternative is to completely enclose the plants with a fine-meshed bug netting so the butterflies cannot reach the plants to lay eggs, thus preventing caterpillars from gaining access to the plants. Companion plants said to deter white cabbage butterfly and keep the caterpillars away from brassicas include oregano, mint, hyssop, thyme and rosemary. Planting sage and dill with your brassicas is said to improve their growth and growing with chamomile is said to improve the flavour.
When planting any of these vegetables, prepare the soil with iCan Real Blood & Bone then feed monthly with iCan Organic Vegetable Food. If the growth is slow, fertilise with liquid fertiliser such as Ican Fast Food once a week.
Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre.
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