Welcome to June - I hope you are enjoying the colourful display from the Camellias this month. They can be slow growing, but the pretty petals and glossy leaves are hard to beat as a hedge or as a stand alone shrub at this time of year.
Prune in June is a bit of mantra for our team for those trees that have finished fruiting - such as feijoas. Make sure your tools are sharp and clean to help prevent disease spreading between your plants. We use Dettol wipes for our tools between client's gardens.
We've highlighted a few gardening jobs that will keep you busy on sunny days in your garden.
Enjoy your month.
Love
Claire & the team from Sculpt Gardens x
June is the perfect time to plant new fruit trees such as apples, pears & plums. The new seasons stocks will be coming into local garden centres shortly. I think Waimea's selection is by far the best selection. Ask about the right root stock for your soil type. Certain root stocks are better at coping with Auckland's North Shore clay soil.
Don't forget the strawberries - the earlier you plant them, the earlier you will get the fruit.... and they will fruit for longer.
Up in warmer Auckland, it is safe to prune hydrangeas, though sparkly Toni, who originates from Christchurch never likes to do it!
Starting in the middle, remove any spindly, dead and thin growth, by cutting them out at the base. For the stronger shoots, prune back to 2 - 3 buds from the base and bring it back to a tight compact base so you get a good shape next season.
If you care about the colour changes, add lime to help the pink shade and aluminium sulphate for the blue.
Plant in front of your hydrangea to hide the stump until they look great again.
Pruning helps the Hydrangea to put its efforts into new growth encouraging healthy new shoots and flowers.
If you like the old flower heads, you can do nothing and they'll still look good.
This time of year is a good time to remind yourself to clean & sharpen your tools - white spirit works well. I drop my tools off at my local Hammer Hardware where a local tool sharpening guy collects them each week - well worth doing.
Making sure it is dry and your loppers are sharp, now is the time to prune deciduous trees who have lost their leaves. Any branches that are dead or diseased should be removed first, then prune for shape, removing any that are crossing or rubbing against each other and size. You might want to lift the crown, so remove the lower branches or reduce in size, pruning back along the main lateral branches.
If you don't have time to do these jobs or others in your garden in June, our sparkly gardener's would love to help with all your garden services. Contact us HERE to book an appointment.
