Saturday 22nd June, 2024
Hi
A good start in life and a good result is dependent on the soil
Jan in the office found an article on soils and suggested that I write a piece in my newsletter regarding this subject and this got me thinking. Whilst it's not my particular area of expertise, Jan has shown me plenty of pics that customers have sent in to show how their plants have failed. I must confess that when I have looked at some of them I have thought to myself "No wonder the poor plant hasn't made it or is performing poorly".
Whilst most plants will attempt to grow in any soil conditions, some consideration for what you are planting them into will certainly improve the results. An ideal soil would be a loam that is free-draining and with a humus (an organic matter layer) on top. But of course, we often just have to deal with whatever is on our sections. Constant application of organic matter will always improve your soils, whether they be clay or sandy or everything in between, by attracting earthworms and many other beneficial soil organisms including bacteria and fungi.
Organic matter is a subject in itself and ranges from material that is mostly decomposed, like
compost you make yourself that is crumbly and almost soil like, to chip bark. The more composted the material is the sooner that the benefits are available to the plants compared to say wood-chip that will take years to break down to become soil-like and will steal available nitrogen as it goes. Hence wood-chip and shredded bark make for good weed control type mulches, as they slowly break down, but it's a good idea to add proprietary
ferts to the soil under these to compensate for the nitrogen loss.
These are all things to think about, particularly at this time of year when planting the many plants that are newly available in store like
roses and
fruit trees that have just been lifted. Some care is needed to get them going as they haven't made a root system in their containers yet and need good conditions for those new feeder roots to grow.
Digging a decent planting hole and crumbling the soil that is there is a great start, and at this time of year I am reluctant to suggest adding compost (though it depends on your experience). The type of compost you have, and how much you add, are the keys here as compost can hold water like a sponge. If it's too heavy or green, it will hold too much moisture and rot those new feeder roots as they start to grow. Well made, almost soil-like compost that is mixed in the right proportion through the existing soil could well be a good thing, as long as you take into account whether your soils are more sandy and porous or heavy, wet and clay-like. My go-to if in doubt is to crumble the soil in the plant hole, plant your plant and then add compost to the top afterwards, taking care to have consideration for the correct planting depth.
Planting depth should be to where the plant has been planted previously, that is, no deeper than it was when it came out of its container. In the case of new season's roses that should be just below the bud union. Now roses love food and lots of it, but get the new season's rose bush away before getting too carried away with fertiliser, bearing in mind that those new feeder roots want to move into something nice to start with but you don't want to burn them. You can feed all you like with organic matter from the top once your roses are away. Make sure that anything that you add to the soil surface doesn't touch the rose stem, because that would be the same as burying it too deep and also could allow microbes to infect the plant if it has any wounds in its stem.
New season's trees are the same planting process as the roses. You can usually see the discolouration on the stem showing where the tree was previously in the soil and this is again the planting depth. Trees and standard roses need the additional step of being securely staked when planted so that they don't wave around in the wind. Movement will break those new feeder roots and then your plants will struggle to establish. In my orchard I have big circles around my trees so that I can constantly apply mulch to the surface which continues to improve the soil structure. It is also a space where I can apply fruit and citrus fertilisers in Spring and it makes them easier to mow around and reduces the risk of ring-barking the trees, something I see happen all too often.
At the end of the day, it's like looking after anything that is living in that it requires care, nurture and the best growing conditions to perform to its best potential. No different from caring for animals and ourselves, everything needs the best start in life.
Our packaging and freight team are flat out with all these new season's roses, so if your courier order has been completed and processed, then I'm afraid we can't add further plants to it. However, we can create a new order for you, and keep in mind that two bush roses cost the same amount of freight as one.
Waikato Rose Society Mark these dates in your calendar
If you need to know more, or are keen on fine tuning your gardening and rose growing skills, then diarize one of the events when the Waikato rose society will be at the nursery. These guys have a raft of knowledge and are only too keen to share what they know, whether it be on spray programmes, pruning, selection of roses or growing show-class blooms.
Wednesday 10th July 10.30am to 12.30pm
Saturday 20th July 1.00pm to 3.00pm
Sunday 28th July 11.00am to 1.00pm
A short email this week as it's been a busy week potting, but after what felt like a very fast 4 weeks the roses are almost complete, just a quick 1000 left to do next week. I have to say that the rose area in the garden centre is now looking pretty full and comprehensive, so if you have been waiting, now is the time browse as the selection doesn't get any better than now. If you are waiting on your order, then these are being collated and dispatched as quickly as we can, though physically it does take time to get through.
Next week is a short week for dispatch due to our new public holiday being Matariki on Friday.
The first of the
fruit and
ornamental trees arrived this week and so the month of tree potting begins next week. The team has all got it down to a fine art now and things are moving along quite smoothly.
We have reached the shortest day and longest night and so we can look forward to the days getting slowly longer. Not that we will notice to begin with lol. Often the colder or more winter weather will happen now that we have passed the solstice and many will say that Winter is now official, roll on Spring.
If you are in the garden this weekend then note that many things are now dormant. If you need to shift things around and move roses and/or other plants then there is no better time than now. Your lawns should have slowed up growing and not need mowing so often and that should free-up time to garden.
Have a great weekend.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
-Bag.jpg?t=1718933135 "Potting Mix Premium 30L")
-Bag.jpg?t=1718933359 "Compost-Nutrient-Enriched-40L")
