Yates Growing With You New Zealand - Autumn 2021 by Yates Gardening

AU T U M N 2 02 1

IT'S THE

perfect PLANTING SEASON

Grow a FLAMINGO (FLOWER!)

Autumn

flowers & vegies WHAT TO SOW & GROW NOW

LUSH LAWN TIPS EXPERT SWEET PEA WISDOM

Get Inspired Orchids for Mother's Day Spring flowering bulbs Beautiful brassicas

For all lawns great and small . Make it Yates® Weed’n’Feed® Whatever type of lawn you have, caring for it is easy with Yates® Weed’n’Feed®. Scientifically formulated to do two jobs at once; eliminate broadleaf weeds, like Thistles and Clover, while at the same time giving your lawn a quick burst of nutrients to promote healthy, green growth. Yates and Weed ‘n’ Feed are registered trade marks of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

Letter from the editor

It’s been a wonderfully productive summer in the vegie patch! Let’s just say our freezer is full of enough zucchini slice to keep us well fed for many nights…. And as we harvest the final weeks of a rainbow of different tomatoes, pumpkins reveal their delicious fruit as the vines start to die back and the scarlet runner and snake beans wind up, I can look back on summer and say that our garden has made a wonderful contribution to our meals. Another stand out in the vegie patch has been our tromboncino zucchinis. My lovely neighbour gave me one of her fruit at the end of last summer, I saved the seed for planting and I envisaged a special spot to grow them. My gardening-supportive husband created a very sturdy arch over one of our garden beds, made from an old trampoline frame and covered it with thick fencing wire. Affectionately now known as the bridge garden, I planted tromboncino seedlings at the base of the arch and as they grew I fed them through, up and over the wire. It created a fantastic half-moon of tromboncino plants, dripping with their long interesting fruit. As per other zucchinis, the fruit grow rapidly and go from 5 to 50cm long seemingly overnight. I love chopping the long necks of the fruit into rounds and roasting them. The frame has worked so well that I’m dreaming of installing another bridge and will be on the look out for discarded trampoline frames! Soil preparation for autumn planting is now in full swing, and the fragrance of Dynamic Lifter® fills the air. I really must sit down and plan the vegie beds (and then stick to the plan), but I’m

notoriously bad at being tempted by additional plants which then get slotted in everywhere… and the plan goes to mush. The joys of having so many delicious autumn vegies to choose from! Broccoli, Asian greens like tatsoi, spinach and peas will definitely get a spot, plus onions, garlic and broad beans. I just love autumn in the vegie patch. Our perennial flower border has continued to be a source of floral delight and over summer penstemons, salvias, agastache and echinacea were gorgeous. And as the weather cools, I can see the sedums and chrysanthemums just itching to get started. So many delightful flowers to keep me and the bees blissfully happy. Have a wonderful autumn in your gardens,

Angie Thomas

Horticultural Communications Manager

NEW

DROUGHT-PROOF YOUR GARDEN Many gardens are suffering from heat stress or lack of water or both! Plus, many Kiwi gardeners are also faced with watering restrictions – so every drop of water is precious. The NEW YATES® WATERWISE® RANGE is a great choice for drought-proofing your garden. It works in three different clever water management ways, to protect our gardens.

YATES® WATERWISE® SOIL WETTER Helps water penetrate to the plants’ roots in hard-to-wet or repellent soils, lawns and pots Reduces water usage Improves soil condition Perfect for pots where soil has become repellent, ie water runs down the side of a pot and not through the potting mix.

Added seaweed and trace elements to promote healthy growth Soil conditioners improve soil fertility Available in a 1L concentrate (perfect format for a watering can, for gardeners unable to use garden hoses due to water restrictions) and a 2L hose-on (which can be clicked onto a hose, or used in a watering can)

1 PENETRATE REDUCE WATER USAGE

STORE 3

2 PROTECT

GET WATER TO THE PLANT’S ROOTS

PROTECT PLANTS FROM WATER LOSS

YATES® WATERWISE® WATER STORAGE CRYSTALS Perfect for both potted plants and garden beds, to store water and keep plants healthy

YATES® WATERWISE® DROUGHTSHIELD

Prevent the soil drying out, improve soil aeration and drainage

Protects your precious plants from extreme conditions

Plants can tolerate drier weather conditions and less frequent watering

Forms protective clear biodegradable film, to help slow down transpiration of plant Protects plants from heat, water loss, drying winds, sunburn, droughts and transplant shock

Crystals rehydrate themselves with each watering Swell up to hundreds of times their weight

Allows you to water less often Lasts up to 90 days Prevents water loss by up to 50% Stretches up to 100% with plant growth Available in a 750ml and 2.5L ready-to-use spray

Go to yates.co.nz/water-saving to find out more, including tips & tricks on gardening during droughts and water restrictions ®Yates and Waterwise are registered trade marks of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd.

What's inside

AUTUMN GARDENING ESSENTIALS

TANTALISING TAHITIAN LIMES

TULIP TIME!

It’s time to get busy in the garden! Learn about key autumn gardening jobs to keep your garden looking fantastic.

Grow your own tangy Tahitian limes.

Time to plant tulips and other spring flowering bulb treasures.

FRESH START

AUTUMN CITRUS CARE

FLAMINGO FLOWERS

Growing a brand new lawn from seed.

Our top tips for keeping your citrus healthy during autumn.

How to grow these vibrant flowering plants indoors.

AUTUMN LAWN HEALTH

CREEPY CRAWLIES

CAPTIVATING MOTH ORCHIDS

Fix those lawn bare patches and the importance of autumn lawn feeding.

How to get pesky cockroaches under control.

Grow these wonderful and long lasting orchids at your place.

AUTUMN IS PLANTING SEASON!

RODENT SEASON

SOOTHING BLUES

How to make the most out of the autumn sowing and growing season.

Strategies for controlling rats and mice around your home.

Create a restful garden oasis with cool coloured salvias.

HOME GROWN BRASSICAS

SENSATIONAL SWEET PEAS

FABULOUS FLOWERS TO SOW & GROW

Growing this supergroup of vegies at your place.

Time to sow sweet peas for a stunning spring flower display.

Keep the blooms coming with our handy guide to what to sow in autumn.

AUTUMN VEGIE & HERB CARE

SWEET PEA WISDOM

PANSIES & VIOLAS

Getting the most out of your autumn vegie patch.

Learn from one of the world’s top sweet pea breeders, Dr Keith Hammett.

Create a winter wonderland with adorable pansies and violas.

VEGIES & HERBS

Keep the fresh, home grown produce coming with lots of delicious vegies and herbs to sow and grow in autumn.

AUTUMN LOWERS & FOLIAGE

Add autumn colour to your garden with camellias and Chinese pistachio.

GARDENING IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES

Handy autumn gardening tips for around New Zealand.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

AUTUMN GARDENING Essentials Autumn is a wonderful time of the year for gardening, being kinder to gardens and gardeners alike. The air temperature is milder, but the soil is still warm enough for root growth and plants to establish, so it’s an ideal season to sow and grow a fantastic range of ornamental and edible plants. Mild autumn afternoons are also perfect for relaxing on a lush green lawn, so pop some simple lawn care tasks in your gardening diary too.

Lawns need feeding during autumn to promote recovery from a long hot summer and additional wear and tear from weeks of backyard fun and games. Autumn feeding also helps the lawn prepare for the cooler months ahead and encourages the grass to stay greener for longer. Organic based lawn foods have the additional benefit of supplying the soil with valuable organic matter, promoting improved soil health and structure. Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Organic Lawn Food is a 100% natural lawn food that contains a special blend of rich, composted chicken manure boosted with blood and bone, fish meal and seaweed. The gentle, slow release organic nutrients include nitrogen, which promotes lawn greening and potassium, that encourages healthy growth which is hardier during winter. The organic ingredients also promote soil health and encourage earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms. Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Lawn Food is suitable for all lawns and a 5kg bag will feed 83 m2 of lawn. Moist and cool weather during autumn can lead to lawn diseases such as dollar spot and rust, which appear as circular brown, discoloured or dying patches of grass. To help reduce the incidence of lawn diseases, water lawns in the morning so the grass has a chance to dry off during the day. Wet grass foliage overnight can promote disease. At the first sign of any disease, apply Yates Fungus Fighter Fungicide over the lawn using a watering can.

Autumn lawn tip! If broadleaf weeds such as clover, dandelions, thistles and Onehunga weed start to emerge in the lawn during late autumn, early control will limit their establishment and spread. A quick and easy solution is to use a hose-on pack of Yates Weed’n’Feed, over the lawn. It controls the most common broadleaf weeds as well as providing the lawn with a quick burst of greening nutrients.

Mother’s Day orchids A growing gift for Mother’s Day can bring smiles and lovely memories for years to come, and with moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) in beautiful bloom during autumn, they make the perfect Mother’s Day gift. Team an orchid with a decorative pot, a bag of Yates® Thrive Orchid Potting Mix and a bag of Yates Thrive® Plant Food Spikes Orchids so Mum has all her orchid needs covered. Moth orchids do best in a well-lit position indoors that is protected from direct light and will thrive in a bright, humid bathroom.

Know your soil pH Soil pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline the soil is. A pH of 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Most plants prefer soil pH to be around neutral, between 6.5 and 7.5. pH has a significant effect on plant health and the availability of nutrients. For example, at an alkaline soil pH of 8, iron is difficult for plants to access and leaves start to yellow, with the veins remaining green. Testing your soil pH, in various locations around the garden, provides important information about whether the soil pH needs to be fixed. Alkaline soil can be treated with Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur (to lower the pH) and acidic soil can be treated with Yates Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime & Dolomite (to raise the pH). They’re easy to apply over the soil with a watering can.

Specialist citrus care Healthy, well fed citrus trees can provide us with buckets of delicious and juicy fruit. In addition to the three main nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, that citrus require, they also need trace elements for total health. A common trace element deficiency in citrus trees is magnesium. Lack of magnesium shows up as a dark green V shape at the base of older leaves, with the leaf tips becoming increasingly pale. Magnesium deficiency can lead to trees dropping their leaves and overall tree health and productivity will suffer. Yates Leaf Greener Magnesium Chelate is a fast acting, concentrated form of liquid magnesium that is sprayed onto citrus leaves to correct magnesium deficiency.

Stop the rot Poorly drained soil or prolonged wet weather can lead to the development of root and collar rot diseases. These diseases, often caused by phytophthora pathogens, affect the ability of plants to effectively absorb moisture and plants can, confusingly, appear wilted. Citrus and avocado trees can be particularly susceptible. Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide can be applied onto stems of trees where phytophthora stem cankers appear. Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide can be mixed with water or a water based paint, and it’s best to remove any dead tissue from around the canker first. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Fresh start Growing a brand new lawn from seed

If you’re thinking of a brand new, lovely lush green lawn, a really economical way to create one is to use lawn seed. Early to mid-autumn is a great time to start a new lawn from seed. Air temperatures are milder, but the soil is still warm, which encourages lawn seed to germinate, and the lawn will have time to start establishing before the cool winter weather arrives. To get the best possible results from sowing your new lawn, there are a few important steps to follow: »

Weed control – weeds will compete with the new lawn so should be controlled 2 weeks before sowing lawn seed (this allows the weeds to die completely). Yates® Zero® Weedkiller can be used as a general spray over the area to kill any weeds and existing grasses.

Soil preparation – lawn seed should be sown into well drained, firm but not compacted soil that is rich in organic matter. An application of lawn top dressing can also benefit lawn establishment where the existing soil is heavy clay or poor and sandy or the surface is uneven.

Measure – measure the area and calculate the correct amount of lawn seed.

Sow – spread Yates Dynamic Lifter® Organic Lawn Food over the area then rake the soil surface in straight lines to create shallow furrows. In addition to improving the soil, Yates Dynamic Lifter will provide the grass seedlings with nutrients as they establish. Broadcast the seed evenly over the area. It helps to halve the seed and sow half in an east west direction and the other half in a north south direction. After sowing, lightly cross rake the area to mix the seed into the topsoil.

Water – water the area with a fine mist spray. It is very important that the top soil remains moist for the first 14–21 days to complete germination. This may require watering several times a day if the weather is hot or windy. As the grass establishes, the number of waterings can be reduced but increase the volume of water at each watering.

Choosing the right lawn seed Whether your lawn is in sun or shade, needs to be tough and hard-wearing or you’re craving a soft-to-walk-on backyard, there’s a lawn seed to suit. Here are some favourites from the Yates lawn seed range:

Yates Sow Anytime A stadium grade blend of ryegrass and red fescue that creates a deep green, lush lawn, even in shade. It has the unique ability to grow all year round and will germinate at temperatures as low as 3˚C.

Yates Kikuyu Blend A unique mix of hardy kikuyu grass and ryegrass that is excellent for high traffic areas, coastal gardens and drought prone frost-free districts.

Yates Made for Shade Specially formulated to maintain its appearance under both damp and dry shady conditions. Ideal for semi and relatively dense shaded areas under trees and next to high walls and hedges.

Lawn pro tip! One week after germination apply Yates Thrive® Natural Seaweed Tonic over the new lawn to stimulate healthy root growth.

Autumn lawn health Is your lawn looking a bit thin and patchy? You can thicken up the lawn by oversowing with lawn seed, which helps fill in the gaps and create a dense grass cover. Thickening up the lawn will also help reduce weed infestations, which can quickly invade patchy areas. Autumn is a great time for repairing and thickening up the lawn, as new grass seedlings can establish during the mild conditions.

TIME FOR

LAWN ACTION! Do you need to sort a patchy lawn by over-sowing with lawn seed, or perhaps start from scratch with a new lawn? Choosing the right lawn seed (with fungicide & bird repellent) is vital. Yates Sow Any Time ®

A clever Rye & Fescue blend, developed to germinate from 3°C all year round. Tolerant of both sun and shade – re-sow your lawn now, and then oversow to thicken your lawn throughout the year if needed.

Yates ® Tuffgrass

To prepare the lawn: »

Remove any dead grass or weeds by gently raking. In bare patches, lightly cultivate and loosen the soil to create a nice soft and crumbly surface for the seeds to grow in.

Scatter Yates® Quick Fix over the thin areas and bare patches and gently rake into the surface.

Yates Quick Fix contains premium turf type annual ryegrass and creeping red fescue seeds that are ideal for thickening thin lawns and repairing patches in both sun or shaded areas and high traffic areas.

Yates Quick Fix has multiple additional benefits. It contains fertiliser that will feed the new patch as it establishes and the seed is coated in ACTive-GRO Advanced Coating to help protect the seed against fungal disease and bird theft.

It’s very important to water the area regularly while the new grass establishes. Watering several times a day may be required in hot, windy or dry weather.

Specifically developed as a quick to establish lawn that withstands substantial wear and tear. Perfect for kids’ play areas.

Yates® Kikuyu Blend A vigorous, warm climate grass, suited to high traffic & play areas, coastal gardens and drought prone districts in frost free regions. Ryegrass germinates first and protects Kikuyu until it establishes. Yates ® Luxury Lawn A fescue blend for those who love a fi ne grass, with a uniform and luxurious appearance to their lawn. Produces an excellent deep green coloured lawn.

For a fast lawn reno –Yates ® Quick Fix is perfect. It contains both lawn seed & fertiliser, and is perfect to reinvigorate an existing lawn or patching / oversowing high traffic areas.

Go to yates.co.nz for more lawn tips & tricks

Autumn

is planting season We’re celebrating one of the best seasons of the year to garden – autumn! The baking heat of summer has faded, but the soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth, creating perfect conditions for planting. We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to autumn planting options. Delicious cool season vegies like broccoli, spinach, garlic and snow peas can go in and it’s time to plant spring flowers like hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and gorgeous sweet peas. You can choose beautiful camellias while they’re in full and fabulous bloom or pick your favourite autumnal foliage tones. Citrus trees will also enjoy being planted in autumn’s mild and gentle conditions. Just like building a house on solid foundations, a flourishing garden starts from the ground up. The secret is in the soil! To give new autumn plants the best possible start, it’s important to prepare the soil before planting. It’s not complicated. It’s as simple as mixing some handfuls of Yates® Thrive® Natural Blood & Bone into the soil or planting hole. It refreshes and rejuvenates the soil, breathing life into the garden and nurturing new autumn plants.

Why is Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone good for your soil? Used regularly, the rich organic matter contained in Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone will help increase the soil’s water and nutrient holding ability, improve soil structure as well as providing a source of food for earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms, which are super helpers in the garden. Earthworms and microorganisms turn organic matter into valuable plant available nutrients and earthworms also make tunnels through the soil, making it easier for plant roots to grow. Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone will help to improve your soil, no matter what soil type you have, from the heaviest clay to the lightest sand.

What is Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone? It’s concentrated blood and bone boosted with NZ seaweed to promote strong root and plant growth. It is a natural source of organic slow release nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and is certified for use in organic gardening by BioGro NZ.

Feeds earthworms and microorganisms.

Enables Assits drainage Good source of better water and aeration slow release organic and nutrient through nutrients: Nitrogen, holding. binding of soil Phosphorus, particles. Potassium (NPK).

Natural Liquids For gardeners that prefer liquid solutions to feed their garden and nurture their soil, Yates Thrive® Fish Blood & Bone includes a rich blend of natural ingredients. Available in hose-on and concentrate packs, Yates Thrive Fish Blood & Bone contains more than 40% cold composted fish sustainably sourced from the Southern Ocean. It’s extracted using a gentle method that preserves more of the delicate plant growth boosting compounds and oils. Plus humates to condition and improve the soil and enable plants to absorb nutrients faster and stimulate worm activity. It’s also boosted with fast acting nutrients to promote strong and lush plant growth. The 2L hose-on pack of Yates Thrive Fish Blood & Bone allows you to quickly and easily feed 100 m2 of garden beds and lawns. The 1L liquid concentrate makes up to 450L of fertiliser, which can be applied using a watering can and is perfect for feeding smaller garden areas and potted plants.

Pots a plenty during AUTUMN

Pots give gardeners with limited space or who love the flexibility and accessibility of growing plants in pots an opportunity to grow a plethora of delicious produce and beautiful flowers. Autumn’s mild weather creates an ideal opportunity to refresh and rejuvenate your potted plant collection. For plants that have grown too big for their existing pot, it’s time to upgrade to a slightly larger pot. Don’t be tempted to go too big too soon! Gently remove the plant from its pot and tease out any circling or compacted roots. Place the root ball into the new pot and backfill with Yates Premium Potting Mix, ensuring that the fresh mix completely surrounds the roots and the final level of mix comes to the same level on the plant’s stem as the original mix. For plants that have been in the same pot for several years but you can’t progress to a larger pot, the plant can still be repotted. Carefully remove the plant from its pot and inspect the roots. If they’re tight and compacted, you can trim off around 20% of the entire root ball with a sharp knife. Place back into the existing pot and backfill with Yates Premium Potting Mix. This will help promote fresh new root growth and give the plant a new lease on life. After repotting, give the plant a gentle but thorough watering with Yates Thrive Natural Seaweed Tonic. This will settle all the new potting mix around the roots, help reduce transplant shock and stimulate new root growth. Keep the plant moist as it establishes.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Beautiful brassicas

Brassicas is the name given to a family of plants that includes popular vegies like cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The cooler seasons are ideal for growing these delicious and super healthy vegies, whether it’s out in the vegie patch or in pots on a sunny balcony, veranda or patio.

Also called crucifer vegetables, brassicas are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, and are reported to contain natural compounds that stimulate our immune system as well as being an important source of antioxidants. Add more brassica vegies into your diet by growing your own! Here are some delicious options for you to grow at your place: Yates® Broccoli ‘Shogun Winter Harvest’ is a hybrid variety that produces firm, rich dark green dome-shaped heads. After the main central head has been cut, small side florets can continue to develop. In temperate areas, seed can be sown during autumn. In cool climates, look for broccoli seedlings in your local garden centre. Yates® Kale ‘Red Russian’ is a very attractive kale, with grey green deeply serrated leaves and mauve stems. Being so ornamental, it looks equally at home in the vegie patch and in flower beds. It’s also packed full of nutrients and is delicious in salads, soups and casseroles. You can pick kale leaves individually as you need them. Yates® Cauliflower ‘All Year Round Hybrid’ is a vigorous variety that produces an excellent tasting large, tight curd. Sow seed throughout New Zealand during autumn and cauliflowers will be ready to harvest after around 15 weeks.

Yates® Cabbage ‘Sugarloaf’ is a conical shaped, crisp and sweet flavoured cabbage that matures quickly (8–12 weeks after sowing). It’s an easy to grow variety that’s hardy and reliable. Yates® Brussels Sprouts ‘Drumtight’ is a highly productive variety with firm green sweet heads that retain their colour and flavour. You can pick the sprouts individually over a long period. Brassica seeds are best sown into trays or punnets of Yates Black Magic® Seed Raising Mix and seedlings transplanted into their final home when they’re around 7cm high. To give the seedlings a great start, dig some Yates Thrive® Natural Blood & Bone into the soil before transplanting seedlings. This adds valuable organic matter to the soil, improves soil structure and attracts earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms. Once the seedlings are established, each week apply a complete plant food, like Yates Thrive® All Purpose Liquid Plant Food, to help promote healthy plant growth and a great harvest. Young brassica seedlings are a magnet for destructive snails and slugs. Your seedlings can disappear overnight! To attract and kill snails and slugs, lightly sprinkle some Yates® Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the newly planted seedlings. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Growing brassicas organically Newly planted vegetable seedlings and fresh autumn growth can attract some very destructive pests, including caterpillars and aphids. Even the smallest of caterpillars can chew through mountains of foliage and left unchecked can result in heartbreaking skeletonised leaves. Light green cabbage white butterfly and cabbage moth caterpillars are particularly troublesome to brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflowers and Brussels sprouts. They can damage the leaves and also the heads of broccoli and cauliflower.

Aphids, which often congregate in their hundreds, literally drain the life out of plants, causing leaves to curl and yellow. You may also see ants crawling up and down plant stems (they’re attracted to the sweet honeydew that aphids produce) or sooty mould disease developing, which appears like a dark grey covering of ash over leaves and stems. Grey aphids (also known as cabbage aphids) are common on brassica vegetables, forming seething colonies on stems and leaves. Brown, black or green aphids can also affect brassicas, often hiding underneath leaves. Being an organic gardener doesn’t mean you have to let your vegetables succumb to these pests! Organic gardeners can easily control hungry caterpillars by spraying vegies each week with Yates® Nature’s Way® Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray.

It’s a combination spray based on natural pyrethrum and vegetable oil and is boosted with seaweed. Spray leaves thoroughly, including the undersides, as this is where caterpillars often hide. The odd aphid can be squished between your fingers or hosed off with a squirt from the hose however large, damaging colonies can develop quickly. To protect vegies from aphids, as well as other sap feeding insects like thrips and whitefly, spray plants each week with Yates Nature’s Way Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray. Yates Nature’s Way Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray is approved for use in organic gardens by BioGro NZ and there is just a one day withholding period.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn vegie

& herb care

Autumn’s mild conditions are wonderful for growing a deliciously diverse range of vegies. Here are some autumn vegie care hints to keep your patch or pot wonderfully productive. Peas »

Climbing peas, like snow and sugarsnap, are the ultimate space saver vegie. They can be grown along a trellis on a fence or up a tepee or tripod in a vegie patch or in pots, taking up minimal horizontal space.

Yates® Snow Peas produce crisp, sweet pods that can be eaten whole and Yates Sugarsnap Peas have juicy, sweet flavour packed pods that can be eaten whole when young or shelled when mature.

Sow pea seeds in a spot that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day (in cool zones wait until June to start sowing climbing pea seeds). Sow seeds direct where they are to grow, beside a trellis or support, into damp soil. Don’t water again for a few days as pea seeds can rot if they’re too wet. Seedlings should pop up in around 10 days and you can start harvesting in around 8–10 weeks. Snow and sugarsnap peas are prolific croppers, so you should have lots of tasty peas for several months.

To encourage a great harvest, as soon as the seedlings are established start feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser which is boosted with extra potassium to promote flowering and pod development. Keep picking pods regularly too, which helps prolong the harvest.

Watch out for powdery mildew on peas, which appears like a dusting of talcum powder over the leaves. Control with sprays of dual-active Yates Nature’s Way® Fungus Spray.

Seedling saver »

Tender new autumn seedlings are irresistible to snails and slugs. Not only do we provide the snails and slugs with delicious food (the seedlings), we also supply them with ample moisture (which snails and slugs need) as we help the young seedlings establish.

Snails and slugs can devour entire seedlings overnight, chew in to stems causing the seedlings to fall over, or eat most of the seedling’s foliage, leaving just a skeleton.

W s i i o

These slimy fiends are easy to control with a light sprinkling of Yates Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the plants, which attract and kill snails and slugs.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Asian vegies »

Asian leafy vegies like tatsoi, Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan) and Chinese cabbage (Wong Bok and Choy Sum) are tender and flavoursome and ideal in salads and stir fries.

It’s easy to grow a gourmet selection of Asian leafy greens by sowing Yates seeds Gai Lan Chinese Broccoli, Wong Bok Chinese Cabbage, Choy Sum Chinese Flowering Cabbage, Bok Choy Chinese White Cabbage, Shanghai Bok Choy Chinese White Cabbage and Tatsoi Spoon Mustard. Find a sunny spot and sow seed directly where the plants are to grow, in a vegie patch or pots. Individual leaves of tatsoi and choy sum can be picked from just a few weeks, leaving the rest of the plant to grow.

Keep the soil or potting mix moist and feed each week with a nitrogen rich plant food like Yates Thrive® Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food to promote fast and healthy growth.

Leafy Asian greens can be prone to caterpillars. You may not see the caterpillars themselves, just chewed leaves or droppings. Control caterpillars by spraying the plants every week with Yates Nature’s Way® Pyrethrum Natural Insect Spray. It contains pyrethrin, a natural extract from the pyrethrum daisy, and will control a wide range of insect pests, including caterpillars.

Garlic »

It’s time to plant garlic cloves, that will be ready to harvest in around 8 months time. Find a sunny spot in a well-drained garden bed, or you can also grow garlic in a 30cm diameter pot.

Mix some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Organic Plant Food into the garden soil or potting mix. This helps increase the amount of organic matter in the soil which attracts earthworms and soil microbes, helps retain moisture and nutrients in the soil and promotes better soil structure. Yates Dynamic Lifter will also provide the garlic with slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

It’s best to buy fresh garlic cloves from a garden centre as garlic purchased in a supermarket may have been sprayed with a sprouting inhibitor and may not grow.

Plant the garlic cloves around 4cm deep with the pointy end facing up, leaving around 10cm between each clove. After planting, water the garden bed or pot well and apply a 5cm layer of mulch like lucerne or pea straw. This will help keep the soil moist.

When the first garlic shoots emerge through the mulch, keep the soil or potting mix slightly moist and feed every 6 weeks with Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food to promote healthy leaf growth as well as good sized garlic bulbs.

Baby leaf spinach »

Prized for their nutty flavour and smooth texture, baby leaf spinach leaves are a popular addition to mixed salads, pasta and stir fries.

Baby leaf spinach can be grown in the vegie patch or in pots, in a sunny or partly shaded spot. It’s a quick vegie to grow and you can start picking individual leaves as you need them from just 6 weeks after sowing.

The best tasting leaves will be from plants that are grown quickly, so ensure to keep the soil or potting mix consistently moist and feed each week with a fast acting liquid fertiliser like Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.

Organic gardening tips

Organic gardeners can still create a fabulously productive vegie patch using products that are approved for use in organic gardening.

Soil preparation and feeding – before sowing seeds or planting seedlings, improve the soil by mixing in some Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone. This adds valuable organic matter to the soil, improves soil structure and attracts earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms. Reapply Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone every 8 weeks around the plants to provide gentle, slow release organic nutrients to promote healthy plant growth.

Planting Tip:

When planting a new navel orange tree into the ground, mix Controlling ® caterpillars – these®destructive chewing insects can rapidly decimate autumn vegies. Yates Nature’s Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser someWay ® Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray is a ready to use spray that contains a unique combination of into the bottom of the planting hole.daisy) Yates Dynamic pyrethrin (an extract from the pyrethrum and vegetable Lifter oil to control caterpillars. improves the quality of the and–supplies theinsects newly Controlling aphids, thrips andsoil whitefly small sucking likeplanted aphids cause leaves to yellow and distort and ® plant health to suffer. Yates Nature’s Way Natrasoap Vegie Insect orange with gentle, organic nutrients as it establishes. Gun is an insecticidal soap, made from vegetable

oils, that is very effective against insect pests like aphids. Spray over foliage every 10-12 days to keep plants protected.

VEGIES & HERBS

to sow

I N AU T U M N

NATIONAL

During autumn there’s a fantastic range of vegies and herbs to sow, that will help keep your kitchen well stocked with delicious and fresh home grown ingredients. Here is some autumn Yates® seed sowing inspiration for around New Zealand:

TEMPERATE

VEGIES

HERBS

VEGIES

HERBS

Asian Stir Fry

Basil - Sweet, Gourmet Mix, Thai, Genovese, Holy

Beetroot - Bull's Blood, Cylindra, Derwent Globe, Golden, Super King

Dill

Baby Beets

Chives, Garlic chives

Broccoli Shogun

Broad Beans - Evergreen, Exhibition, Hughey

Coriander

Carrot Manchester Table

Cabbage - Sugarloaf, Red Mini, Racer Drumhead

Parsley - Italian Plain Leaf, Curled

Chinese Cabbage Buk Choy

Carrot - Baby, Topweight, Early Chantenay, Express Hybrid

Rocket Large Leaf

Lamb's Lettuce

Cauliflower All Year Round Hybrid

Microgreens Cabbage Red, Mizuna, Rocket

Lettuce Buttercrunch

Chinese Cabbage Wom Bok, Chinese White Cabbage Shanghai Bok Choy, Chinese Flowering Cabbage Choy Sum

Parsnip - Hollow Crown, Yatesnip

Kale - Tuscan, Red Russian

Radish - Amethyst, Daikon Mooli, French Breakfast, Gentle Giant, Salad Crunch, Long White Icicle

Lettuce - Baby Combo, Cut & Come Again, Frilly Mix, Greenway Iceberg, Salad Mix

Turnip Purple Top White Globe

Mesclun French Salad Mix

Dwarf Peas - Greenfeast, Earlicrop Massey, Novella, Sugarsnap

Kohl Rabi Green Duke Hybrid

Climbing Peas - Snow Peas, Sugarsnap

Leek Welsh Wonder

Dwarf Peas - Greenfeast, Earlicrop Massey

Onion - Pukekohe Long Keeper, Sweet Red

Climbing Peas - Snow Peas, Sugarsnap, Telephone

Silverbeet - Compact Deep Green, Fordhook Giant, Perpetual, Bright Lights, Ruby Chard Spinach - Baby Leaf, Winter Queen Spring Onion Tatsoi spoon mustard

Check seed packs for sowing directions and the best sowing times in your area.

Turnip - Japanese Hakurei

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Here are the three easy steps to sowing and growing delicious vegies and herbs in autumn:

Step 1 »

Choose a sunny spot in the garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. There are some vegies and herbs, such as Yates Baby Leaf Spinach and Yates Sweet Basil that can be grown in part shade. Many vegies and herbs are also perfect for growing in pots, so you don’t need a big backyard to grow some of your own produce. Consider delicious options like Yates Lamb’s Lettuce and Yates Parsley Italian Plain Leaf. Seed packets include helpful information about how much sunlight your chosen vegie or herb needs and whether it’s suitable for growing in pots.

Step 2 »

Follow the directions on the seed packet and either sow seeds direct where the plants are to grow or sow into trays of Yates Black Magic® Seed Raising Mix. Water gently and keep the soil or potting mix moist. For peas, limit watering until seedlings emerge as seeds can rot before germinating if the soil is too wet. For seedlings grown in trays, transplant them into their final home once they’re large enough to handle. Ensure young seedlings are kept well watered as they establish.

Step 3 »

Once the seedlings are established, encourage lots of healthy growth by feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Growing tantalising

Tahitian limes Grow a taste of the tropics at your place with zesty Tahitian limes. From freshly squeezed juice in a refreshing drink to marmalade, cakes, desserts and marinades, limes can be used in multiple ways in the kitchen. Tahitian limes (Citrus latifolia) are heavy bearing trees growing to around 4m tall, with juicy fruit that is harvested green when the limes are around 6cm in diameter. Tahitian limes need a warm and sunny, frost protected position and well-drained soil. They can also be grown in a large well-drained pot (40–50cm diameter is ideal) filled with good quality potting mix like Yates® Premium Potting Mix. Growing a potted lime tree means that even cool climate gardeners can enjoy home grown limes, if you position the pot in a warm, protected spot. Against a north facing wall is ideal, where it can soak up the sun and also enjoy radiated heat from the wall. When planting a new lime tree in the ground, mix some Yates® Thrive® Natural Blood & Bone into the bottom of the planting hole. It improves the quality of the soil and supplies the newly planted lime with gentle, organic nutrients as it establishes. Keep your new lime tree well-watered for several months as it settles into its new home and continue to keep the soil moist during the following spring and summer, as the root system is still developing. Potted citrus trees will dry out much faster than in-ground trees, so it’s important to monitor moisture levels in the potting mix regularly. Limes are usually picked while they are still underripe, tangy and green. However if they’re left on the tree their skin will yellow and the fruit will become slightly sweeter. So if your limes turn yellow, they’re still perfectly fine to eat.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn CITRUS CARE

As the citrus harvest season begins, keep your trees protected and promote the best quality fruit with our top autumn citrus care tips. 1.

Citrus trees will often produce a second flush of new foliage in late summer and early autumn. This tender new growth is vulnerable to being infested by aphids. Aphids are small sap sucking insects that can be green, brown or black and can cause leaves to permanently curl under and twist. It’s easy to control aphids on citrus by spraying the foliage with Yates® Nature’s Way® Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray, including on the undersides of leaves where aphids often hide, every 7days. Yates® Nature’s Way® Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray will also control scale insects, which appear as raised brown, pink or white bumps along stems or on leaves. Ensure the spray directly contacts the scale. Yates® Nature’s Way® Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray, is based on natural pyrethrin and vegetable oil and is approved for use in organic gardening, so is ideal for gardeners wanting to use organic methods of insect pest control.

that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need. Apply Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food around the root zone of in-ground and potted citrus trees in early autumn, while citrus trees are busy maturing their fruit. It contains a special formulation with controlled release nitrogen to gradually feed citrus trees for up to 12 weeks. It also contains phosphorus and potassium to promote quality fruit.

In addition to nutrients, having access to sufficient moisture is important for fruit quality. Citrus trees have a shallow root system and can dry out rapidly. Keep the soil or potting mix moist with regular, thorough watering. Applying Yates Waterwise® Soil Wetter around the root zone of in-ground and potted citrus will help water penetrate evenly and effectively down into the roots and spreading a layer of mulch around the root zone will help retain moisture.

Feeding citrus regularly is the key to promoting bucketfuls of juicy fruit. Citrus are very hungry plants and lack of nutrients can lead to a decline in fruit quality. Yates Thrive® Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food is a complete plant food G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Controlling creepy crawlies Cockroaches are one of the most loathed insects that sneak into our homes. There are various introduced cockroach species, and they leave behind mess, produce foul smelling odours, ruin fabrics and other household items and can sometimes carry infectious human diseases and worm parasites. Some people are allergic to cockroaches and the materials they leave behind, triggering conditions such as asthma and dermatitis. Cockroaches are prolific and rapid reproducers and are highly successful insects due to their ability to survive on a very wide variety of food sources. For example, the female German cockroach (Blatella germanica) can lay up to 240 eggs in her 200 day lifetime and the population can grow very quickly, particularly when there is an abundance of food and water. It’s important to control cockroaches inside your home as soon as they’re noticed. Evidence of an infestation includes small faecal droppings, smudges from regurgitated food and faeces, foul-smelling odours in cupboards, or other sheltered areas, damage to fabrics, clothing, shoes and books. Cockroaches come in various colours, including black, brown and yellow, and some have distinct patterns and markings. Cockroaches have a flattened oval body, triangular head and a pair of long flexible antennae that wave independently to sense their environment. They can be present throughout the year and are mostly active at night, generally hiding throughout the day. If cockroaches are observed during the day, this could be the sign of a major infestation. Cockroaches are fast moving, can travel across both vertical and horizontal surfaces and run away when exposed to light. Some cockroaches also have wings and will sometimes fly. Cockroaches are social insects with many preferring to live in groups.

They use their faeces, sometimes mixed with a pheromone, to attract mates and mark out feeding and shelter areas. This produces a nasty odour and an awful mess. Cockroaches are attracted to areas where food and water are available and are commonly found in warm, humid and sheltered areas such as the pantry, kitchen, bathroom, toilet and garage. To kill the most common species of cockroaches inside the house, apply Yates® Blitzem® Indoor/ Outdoor Barrier Spray in areas frequented by cockroaches, including behind and under appliances, cabinets and sinks, around plumbing pipes, doors and windows. And to create a barrier to discourage cockroaches from entering the house for up to 3 months, apply Yates Blitzem Indoor/ Outdoor Barrier Spray around exterior walls, door entrances, flyscreens and window sills and frames, as well around foundations, under the house and in cracks and crevices.

Creepy crawly tip! Yates Blitzem Indoor/Outdoor Barrier Spray will also create a barrier to control spiders and ants outside the house and carpet beetles, fleas, silver fish and clothes moths inside the house.

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G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

RODENT SEASON Rodents like rats and mice can become an increasing problem during the cooler months, as they’re searching for food and shelter.

There are two common types of rats that live in suburban New Zealand. The black rat, also known as the roof rat, and the brown rat, also called the Norway rat. They’re both around 16–20cm long with a smooth coat and big, thin ears. Mice are usually around 7.5–10cm long with a smaller tail. In your house, the tell tale signs of a rodent problem include hearing scratching in your roof or walls, seeing chewed food packets and small droppings, or pets acting strangely or being overly excitable. Here are a variety of options to get rodents under control.

Poison-free rodent solutions The Ratsak® Pre-Baited Mouse Trap is a strong, well-designed and easy to set trap that comes ready-to-use, with a non-toxic bait which is highly attractive to mice. Just remove the foil, set and place. With the push of a lever, dead mice can be easily disposed (there’s no need to touch the mouse) and the trap reused. For rats, the Ratsak Rat Trap is a durable plastic trap with extra-powferful killing force. The unique design makes it easy to set and is reusable. The trap can be baited with a small amount of peanut butter, hazelnut spread or Ratsak Attract Paste Lure and placed where there are signs of rodent activity or along walls where rats travel.

Bait rodent solutions Ratsak Throw Packs contain pellets in individual chew-through packs, which kill rats and mice in a single feed. Ideal for hard to reach places such as roof voids and ceilings. No need to touch the bait, just throw where there are signs of rodent activity. Ratsak Wax Blocks are another easy and effective way to kill rats and mice in just one feed. Ratsak Wax Blocks are moisture resistant, making them ideal for damp areas such as laundries and garages.

The Ratsak Reusable Rodent Bait Station is pre-baited with 4 wax blocks and helps keep baits away from children and pets. It should be placed where there are signs of rodent activity and in dark, sheltered places where rodents often hide. Simply refill the bait station when the wax blocks are eaten. Disposable bait stations are another option, and the Ratsak Disposable Bait Station comes pre-baited with a wax block. It’s a no-touch solution and the station can be thrown away after the bait has been eaten. It has a clever clear lid design to enable easy visual inspection of the bait. Place the station with the entry holes parallel and closest to the wall and leave the station undisturbed for 2-3 days.

Professional tip! When handling wax blocks, throw packs and traps, wear gloves to prevent a human scent being transferred, which can deter rodents from approaching.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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KIT C H E N

Sensational SW EE T PE AS

Sweet peas are delightful and very popular plants that combine delicate and very pretty flowers with a beautiful fragrance. St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) has been the traditional day to sow sweet peas, however it’s often best to wait for cooler conditions in April to sow them. In the subtropics, sow sweet peas later still in May. There are gorgeous sweet pea varieties to suit most climates and gardens, whether you want to cover a fence, have room in a garden bed for a sweet pea tepee or fill a container or hanging basket on a sunny veranda or balcony. eet Pea Sw Blue Reflections

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Yates® Sweet Pea ‘Colourcade’ is a blend of the finest fragrant white, purple and pink sweet peas with lightly frilled flowers. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Blue Butterflies’ is a revolutionary sweet pea known as a ‘reverse bi-colour’ with an unusual arrangement of darker coloured wings and pale standards (upper petals). It does best in a lightly shaded position. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Blue Reflections’ has beautiful blue, mauve and white flowers. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Brilliant Fragrance’ is a delightful, unique and highly fragrant late season sweet pea with soft cream petals that change to a pastel pink as they mature. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Hammett’s Surprise’ contains a surprise selection of 12 different varieties, from large flowered to frilly and striped or bi-coloured to pure vibrant colours and includes beautifully scented types. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Liquorice’ is an intriguing and glamorous sweet pea with small but striking deep purple fragrant flowers. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Lucky Dip’ contains a superb mix of highly fragrant sweet peas in a range of beautiful shades. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Old Fashioned’ produces large ruffled and heavily perfumed blooms in white, shades of pink, burgundy and red. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Hammett’s Original’ is a highly fragrant heritage variety with richly coloured deep pink and mauve flowers. Yates Sweet Pea ‘Swan Lake’ is a classic Spencer type sweet pea with softly ruffled, subtly scented pure white blooms and long stems. PlAnT HeigHT 1.5-2m

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Follow these easy steps to create a beautiful sweet pea display: 1.

Sow seed around 15mm deep into a garden bed or pot, firm down and water in well. If your soil is acidic (has a low pH) also apply some Yates® Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime & Dolomite. This will help to raise the soil pH (make it more alkaline), which sweet peas prefer.

2. For potted sweet peas, use a well-drained pot or hanging basket, at least 30cm in diameter, and fill with a quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix. 3. Only water again sparingly until seedlings emerge in around 2 weeks time. Too moist soil can lead to the seeds rotting. As the tender new seedlings emerge, they’ll be vulnerable to snails and slugs. A light sprinkling of Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the sweet pea patch will help protect the seedlings from snails and slugs. 4. Once the seedlings are around 5 cm tall, start feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Rose & Flower Liquid Plant Food. This fast acting complete fertiliser provides nitrogen for healthy leaf growth, phosphorus for strong root development and potassium for lots of lovely sweet pea flowers. 5. Tall varieties will need to be grown on a frame, trellis or tepee. Young seedlings may need to be supported with small twigs or bamboo skewers until they can reach their trellis. 6. Sweet peas take around 12-14 weeks to flower. Don’t forget to cut handfuls of deliciously scented flowers for a vase. 7. As the plants grow, watch for signs of powdery mildew, which appears like a dusting of talcum powder over the leaves. If not controlled, this disease will progress to causing the leaves to yellow, plant health will suffer, and the flower show cut short. Powdery mildew can be controlled with regular sprays of Yates Rose Gun™. It comes in an easy to use trigger applicator and contains a systemic fungicide which moves around the plant’s system to control common diseases like powdery mildew.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

SWEET PEA INTERVIEW WITH

Dr Keith

Hammett

Dr Keith Hammett is one of the world’s leading professional breeders of ornamental plants, including sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus), dahlias, amaryllis and clivias, and has released more than 300 cultivars so far during his extensive career. His plant breeding highlights include stunning bicoloured and flake sweet peas and the ‘Mystic’ series of dahlias with striking dark foliage, and his clivia collection contains more than 30,000 plants. He is passionate and generous about sharing his horticultural knowledge and Yates’s horticultural communications manager, Angie Thomas, was fortunate to interview Keith about one of his specialties, sweet peas.

When and how did your interest in sweet peas start? I had an uncle who separated his flower garden from his vegetable garden with a row of Sweet Peas. At the age of 14, I bought a packet of Sweet Pea seed and entered my first flower show the following year. I was encouraged to enter more shows, at both a local and national level (a teenager being interested in horticulture was quite a novelty) and went on to study botany at university. During my university years I began to experiment in breeding sweet peas and dahilas, which I had also become interested in since another uncle had been growing them on their farm’s home garden. What is it about sweet peas that you love? Their form, and when I still had a sense of smell, their scent. To gauge a sweet pea’s fragrance, I now rely on friends and colleagues to provide their feedback and rating. Tell us about your farm I have a 10 acre farm in Auckland, New Zealand, with a glasshouse connected to my house and two plastic tunnel houses. It’s set up as a research farm, where I can grow seedlings, take cuttings and cross-breed, as well as having facilities to grow plants during winter.

Do you have a favourite sweet pea variety? No, like children, it is wise not to play favourites. How do you go about creating and screening new varieties? The most important first step is to define a goal. Second, assemble a gene pool that contains the characteristics that you wish to bring together. Third, understand the breeding mechanism of each plant genus and fourth, have patience. It takes several years to get to know the cultivars you have in your gene pool. In year one you make the cross-pollination. In the second year all the plants produced by that cross should all look to be identical. Seed saved from that generation will produce a population of plants with all the characteristics of their grandparents all jumbled up. You look for any plants that are a step closer to the goal you defined. Seeds are saved individually from any candidates. These are grown in the next season and most likely they will segregate again and new selections will be needed. This process can continue for several years before a cultivar becomes ‘fixed’ for the main characteristics. To get a new cultivar released takes between 10 and 15 years from the time the cross was made. Start young!

G RGORW OW I NIGN G WW I T IHT H Y OYUO U - YA - YA T ETSE S

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What are some interesting facts about sweet peas?

What are your top sweet pea growing tips?

In the early 1900s, ‘sweet pea mania’ hit the United Kingdom. A show, held at the Crystal Palace in London, attracted more than 33,000 bunches of sweet peas and the organisers ran out of vases!

It’s best to sow seed directly into the ground, or into pots, in full sun. This way stocky hardy plants are produced. Feed with a slow release plant food that’s not high in nitrogen, as it can cause bud drop. And for powdery mildew, it’s best to start control sprays as soon as the first disease symptoms are noticed.

Sweet pea flowers self-pollinate 2 days before opening, so we have to manually open up the flowers before this happens and transfer pollen from one flower to another.

When growing sweet peas for cut flowers, stem length is dictated by the variety and also the difference between day and night temperature, with a 20˚C difference being ideal.

Orange sweet peas can be bred, however they tend to scorch in the sun, so not all characteristics are good ones.

Some varieties, such as ‘Blue Shift’, have the ability to change flower colour as they age.

There was a new sweet pea relative, Lathyrus belinensis, discovered in Turkey in 1987, with a yellow and orange flower. An exciting, brand new hybrid was created between L. belinensis and L. odoratus and named Lathyrus x hammettii. Editor’s Note: You’ll note the second part of this plant’s name – hammettii, which was given to honour its breeder, Dr Keith Hammett!

As night time temperatures increase, stem length decreases, so flowers produced earlier in the season will tend to have longer stems. High daytime temperatures also interfere with pollen, leading to reduced seed set.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn

FLOWERS & FOLIAGE

As the hot and harsh summer days wane and autumn gently glides into our gardens, there are some beautiful flowering and foliage plants that are in their element. To brighten your autumn, let’s take a closer look at camellias and Chinese pistachio trees.

Camellias are a wonderfully versatile and very attractive group of plants. They can be grown as a hedge or espaliered, used as a feature plant or grown in containers, and provide gorgeous colour during the cooler months of the year, particularly in shaded areas that can be challenging to add colour to. Sasanqua camellias, which are more sun hardy than japonica camellias, start flowering in mid to late autumn. Growing several varieties of both sasanqua and later-flowering japonica camellias can bring many months of flowers into the garden. Colours range from white to pretty pastel pinks, reds and even yellow. There are also different flower types, including doubles, ruffled petals and single flowers with exposed stamens, which are adored by bees.

Here are some tips to help keep your camellias looking fantastic: »

Feeding – all camellias will love a feed during autumn with Yates® Thrive® Camellia, Gardenia & Blueberry Plant Food. It’s been specially formulated to provide acid-loving plants like camellias with a balanced blend of nutrients and trace elements to promote healthy growth and lots of fabulous flowers. Apply around the rootzone of in-ground or potted camellias.

Watering – camellias like moist but well drained soil, so water camellias regularly to keep them hydrated. Potted camellias will require more frequent watering than in-ground camellias.

Trace element extra care - if you’ve had problems with bud balling in the past (where buds form but go brown and don’t open), an application of liquid magnesium might help. Yates Leaf Greener Magnesium Chelate is a concentrated source of fast acting magnesium that can help correct magnesium deficiency in camellias.

Scale – camellias can be prone to scale, which appear as raised bumps along stems and leaves. Yates Conqueror Spraying Oil can be used to control scale on camellias. It works by contact action, so ensure all sides of scale affected stems and leaves are covered.

Chinese pistachio (Pistacia chinensis) trees are autumn foliage heroes, developing intense shades of yellow, crimson, orange and red leaves as the weather cools. They are excellent trees for a medium sized backyard, growing to around 8 metres tall and 6 metres wide. And being deciduous, provide welcome summer shade and let the winter sunshine stream in. They’re fairly hardy trees that will tolerate moderately dry conditions and most soil types, however will do best in a well-drained spot. Some nurseries will have potted Chinese pistachio trees for sale during autumn, where you can choose your favourite autumnal shades. Otherwise, bare rooted trees will become available during winter. When planting a new Chinese pistachio tree, mix some Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone into the planting hole to improve the soil and nurture the tree with slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Tulip time!

Sublime spring flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils and anemones dazzle us with their beautiful blooms and jonquils, hyacinths and freesias fill the air with fragrance during late winter and spring.

Whether you create swathes of gorgeous colour in garden beds or brighten an outdoor area with a pot packed with bulbs, autumn is the time to get planting. A little preparation now will result in much healthier bulbs and a gorgeous floral show. Here are some tips to help create a fantastic display: »

If your bulbs haven’t been pre-chilled, put them in the fridge crisper for 4-6 weeks to trick them into thinking they’ve been through a cool winter.

In a well-drained, sunny location out in the garden, enrich the soil in the planting area with some Yates® Thrive Natural Blood & Bone. The rich blend will help improve the structure of the soil, encourage earthworms and beneficial microorganisms and provide the newly planted bulbs with gentle, slow release organic nutrients to promote good early bulb growth.

For potted bulbs, choose a pot or bowl with good drainage holes and fill with a quality potting mix such as Yates Premium Potting Mix. When planting bulbs in a pot, they can be grown quite close together, which helps create a lovely dense look. Follow the directions on the bulb pack as to how deep to plant your chosen bulbs and ensure that you plant them the right way up!

Warm climate tip! In warm areas try ixias, gladioli, babiana and Zephryanthes (rain lilies) for spring colour.

Water the garden bed or pot after planting to help settle the soil or potting mix around the bulbs. Potted bulbs will need regular watering to ensure they have enough moisture.

As soon as the first leaves emerge, you can start to feed the bulbs each week with a high potassium plant food such as Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser, which encourages healthy growth and helps promote future flowers

Monitor for snails and slugs too, which can damage the tender new shoots. Sprinkle some Yates Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the bulb patch to protect the leaves from snails and slugs. Continue feeding until most of the leaves have died down in late spring or early summer.

FL A M IN G O

Flowers

Your indoor plant collection doesn’t have to be a sea of green! Add some floral pizzazz with Anthuriums (Anthurium scherzerianum). Also called flamingo flowers, they have rich burgundy, bright red, pretty pink or white heart shaped flowers with an interesting waxy appearance and a distinctive yellow ‘spadix’ growing from the base. The flowers are long lasting and together with the glossy green leaves, add a tropical feel to indoor spaces. Growing to around 60cm tall, anthuriums prefer a warm, brightly lit spot indoors, out of direct sunlight and protected from draughts. In warm climates you can also grow anthuriums in a shady garden, or in pots on a sheltered deck or patio.

Here are our top tips for growing a lovely lush anthurium: » Choose a pot that’s at least 20cm wide, with good drainage holes. Fill with a good quality premium potting mix like Yates® Thrive® Indoor Plants Potting Mix. It’s a perfect foundation for indoor plants like anthuriums and contains controlled release fertiliser that will feed plants for up to 12 months. It’s also boosted with NZ seaweed to promote healthy root growth and help improve plant resistance to pests and dry conditions.

» Flamingo flowers like humidity and will enjoy having their leaves misted with water when it’s hot and dry. You can also sit the plant on a saucer filled with pebbles and then add water to the saucer. This helps to increase the humidity around the plant.

» Water the new plant in well, but then allow the potting mix to dry out slightly in between future waterings. Anthuriums do not like to be over watered. Check moisture levels in the potting mix by inserting your finger into the top few cm of mix.

» Feed anthuriums every two weeks from spring to late autumn with Yates Thrive® Indoor Plants Liquid Plant Food. It’s an easy to measure concentrated liquid that feeds indoor plants through both the leaves and roots, encouraging lush healthy growth and lots of vibrant flowers.

» Anthurium leaves can attract dust, so regularly gently wipe the leaves to keep them clean. And remove any dead leaves or spent flowers to help keep the plant looking tidy and encourage fresh growth and flowers. Anthurium flowers can also be cut for a colourful vase display.

Green thumb tip: Indoor plants like anthuriums can be affected by mites, which are tiny sap feeding pests that cause leaves to yellow and mottle and large colonies of mites can create spidery webbing. Control mites by spraying plants each week with Yates® Nature’s Way® Natrasoap® Vegie Insect Gun which is an insecticidal soap that’s made from natural vegetable oils.

Secrets to growing

Succulents! Succulents come in a huge range of colours, shapes and sizes and with the right care, make them a plant that’s perfect for even the most novice gardener. Yates has made it easy to care for your cacti & succulents, with a range of plant care products tailored specifically for them!

POTTING To give your cacti & succulents the perfect foundation, use Yates® Thrive® Cacti & Succulent Potting Mix. It is a special free-draining blend of barks & organic material, pumice, lime, dolomite, and a 6 month plant food. Perfect for desert & tropical cacti, and a range of succulent plants.

NO MESS FERTILISING Yates® Thrive® Plant Food Spikes Cacti & Succulents are specially designed to feed your cacti & succulents where they need it most, at the roots. Each plant food spike contains slow release nutrients that feeds for up to 2 months. They’re easy to use and out of sight – simply insert spikes into the potting mix and water well. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Yates and Thrive are registered trade marks of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Captivating moth orchids Phalaenopsis orchids, commonly known as ‘Moth’ orchids, are native to tropical Asia and are stunning orchids that make a beautiful potted plant. The flowers are long lasting and moth orchids can live for many years, so they’re a worthwhile and very pretty investment. It’s like receiving a bunch of flowers every day for weeks! The long, fragile looking flower spike can make moth orchids appear daunting to care for, however by using a few simple steps they can be an easy and rewarding plant to grow and can also re-flower for you. » Moth orchids naturally grow within the canopy of trees, attached to tree trunks. When grown in a pot, they need the same free draining environment so need to be planted into a chunky, well drained orchid mix such as Yates® Thrive® Orchid Potting Mix. » They love humidity and bright but indirect light. Don’t place moth orchids next to an air conditioner, heater or hot westerly facing window. » An easy way to water your orchid is to ¾ dunk the pot in a bucket of water, water will seep up through the drainage holes and once the potting mix is wet, allow the pot to thoroughly drain. Overwatering and waterlogged roots can quickly kill your orchid, so allow it to almost dry out between waterings. » You can sit your potted moth orchid on a saucer that’s filled with pebbles and regularly add water to the saucer. This creates a more humid environment around the plant but doesn’t allow the roots to be permanently sitting in water.

» To keep moth orchids well-nourished and promote repeated flowering, feed every 4 weeks with a Yates Thrive Indoor Orchids Liquid Plant Food Dripper. These drippers have been specially designed to promote beautiful flowers and healthy green leaves. » Moth orchids are usually sold with their flower spike supported by a small stake. Keep this stake even after the flowers fade (cut the old flower stem off 2cm from the base), as it can be used again for the next flowering season. » Cooler temperatures at night encourage the development of flower spikes so look out for newly developing flower spikes in autumn and winter.

Enrich with Nature® (www.enrichwithnature.co.nz) has a fabulous selection of premium table top moth orchids that are perfect for styling indoor spaces. They also have an additional range of moth orchids in varying colours, flower sizes and stem heights, including Harlequins, which have petals with interesting large coloured spots, pure white blooms with yellow or red throats, stunning pure pinks and purples and flowers with pink coloured stripes.

S O OT H I N G

Blues

All around the world people are turning to gardening as an oasis of calm in the madness of the pandemic and economic uncertainty. Tending a garden and communing with nature is known to have a strongly beneficial effect in reducing stress and improving mental wellbeing. The types and colours of plants can also have different effects if you are looking to create an environment for rest and respite. Informal cottage gardens are ideal, with their soft gentle textures, rather than more formal sculptural gardens. Blue floral tones are cooling and restful and harmonise well with other colours. The salvia ‘So Cool’ series from Living Fashion, in purple, violet and pale blue, are the perfect perennials to give you that cottage effect and in the most soothing colours of all! ‘So Cool’ salvias grow to 70cm tall, spread to around 1 m wide, and produce masses of flowers over a long period, including well into the autumn months. Their evergreen foliage is aromatic when crushed or brushed against and they are low maintenance salvias that are perfect in sunny mixed border plantings. Once established they’re dry and frost tolerant too. Before planting, enrich the soil first with some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Organic Plant Food. It will improve the structure of the soil as well as provide the new plant with gentle slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

‘So Cool’ salvias can also be grown in large containers. For best results, choose a well-drained pot and fill with a good quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix. To help keep ‘So Cool’ salvias healthy and encourage lots of flowers, feed every 8-12 weeks with Yates® Thrive® Rose & Flower Granular Plant Food. It’s enriched with flower-promoting potassium and contains controlled release nitrogen to feed plants gradually for up to 12 weeks. Pruning the salvias back after the main flowering flush will promote a fresh flush of new foliage and faster re-blooming. Salvia 'So Cool' information and images courtesy of www.livingfashion.co.nz G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

It’s time to sow a fabulous range of Yates® flower seeds, to bring glorious floral colour into your garden over the coming cooler months. And it’s very important for us all to grow lots of flowers, to provide food for insects such as bees, butterflies and other beneficial pollinators.

Autumn

flower seeds

Here is some autumn seed sowing inspiration for around New Zealand: NATIONAL

TEMPERATE

Alyssum - Magic Circles, Carpet of Snow

Linum Blue Dress

Aquilegia Columbine Mixed

Marigold Safari Mixture

Asclepias

Phacelia

Bee Pasture

Snapdragon -Tetra Mixed, Twinny Appleblossom

Butterfly Field Calendula Pacific Beauty

Here are the three easy steps to starting a fabulous autumn flower patch:

Campanula Carpathian Bellflower Cineraria Starships

Step 1

Cornflower - Blue, Double Mixed

Cottage Garden Mix Delphinium - Galahad, Pacific Giants Dianthus - Double Pink, Diana Lavender Picotee Everlasting Daisy Forget me not

Choose a sunny spot in a garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. If there are any weeds or grasses in the area, spray with Yates Zero® Weed Killer and let them die back completely (usually around 2 weeks).

Step 2 »

Foxglove - Foxy, Coral Chimes Freesia Giant Masterpiece Gypsophila Baby's Breath Hollyhock - Double Elegance, Pink Powderpuff

Mix some Yates Thrive® Natural Blood & Bone into the soil, to enrich and improve the quality of the soil and help give the new flowers the best possible start. Follow the directions on the seed packet and either sow seed direct where the flowers are to grow or sow into trays of Yates Black Magic® Seed Raising Mix. Water gently and keep the soil moist. For seedlings grown in trays, transplant them into their final home once they’re large enough to handle.

Lobelia Riviera Midnight Blue Lupin - Hartwegii Mixed, Russell Hybrids Mexican Fiesta Nigella Love in a mist Pansy - Imperial Antique Shades, Giant Supreme, Purple Lace Poppy - Iceland Artist's Glory, Red Flanders, Shirley Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy Statice Stock Giant Perfection Sweetpea - Blue Butterlies, Blue Reflections, Brilliant Fragrance, Colourcade, Liquorice, Lucky Dip, Old Fashioned, Original, Patricia Ann, Pink Diana, Potted Fragrance, Swan Lake Vintage Green Village Border Mix

Step 3 »

Once the seedlings are established, encourage lots of healthy growth and promote masses of vibrant flowers by feeding each week with Yates Thrive Rose & Flower Liquid Plant Food. It’s as easy as adding 1–2 capfuls into a 9L watering can and applying around the plants and soil.

No backyard? No worries! Many flowers are also perfect for growing in pots. Seed packets include helpful information about whether your chosen flower is suitable for growing in pots. Compact flowers that are perfect for growing in containers and window boxes include Marigold ‘Safari Mixture’ and Dianthus ‘Diana Lavender Picotee’.

Wildflower Meadow Wildflower Mix - Carpet of Blue, Carpet of Pinks, Mexican Fiesta, Tough & Hardy, Shady Woodland

Seeding tip! protect flower seedlings from damaging insect pests like caterpillars and aphids with Yates Rose Gun®.

PANSIES & VIOLAS

The delightful face-like blooms of pansies and violas help brighten winter’s gloomiest days. They’re closely related, both being in the Violaceae plant family, and their names are often used interchangeably. Pansies usually have larger flowers than violas, but both plants become beautifully smothered in colour during the coolest months.

During autumn, it’s time to sow viola and pansy seed, which will create a wonderful flower show in 3-4 months time. One of the many benefits of growing violas and pansies from seed is that you can grow lots of plants very economically. There’s no such thing as too many flowers! Here are some fabulous Yates® viola and pansy varieties to tempt you: »

Pansy ‘Purple Lace’ – a unique and richly coloured pansy, royally robed in deep purple velvet, trimmed with a fine silver lace edge for contrast. A weather tolerant variety with compact foliage and abundant flowers.

Pansy ‘Giant Supreme’ – a beautiful blend of large blooms in clear, bright colours. Particularly impressive when planted en masse in garden beds in full or part sun, or in pots and troughs to brighten outdoor entertaining areas.

Pansy ‘Imperial Antique Shades’ – a pretty watercolour palette with velvety blooms that mellow from a rich cranberry rose to dusky peach then pastel apricot. It’s a heat tolerant variety with a mounding habit that is perfect for pots or planting in drifts for an abundant show of medium-large sized flowers.

Viola ‘Sorbet Marina’ – a highperforming viola with graceful periwinkle-blue flowers with white centres and subtle deep purple ‘whiskers’. This cool blue beauty looks stunning in garden beds, pots and hanging baskets in full sun or part shade. Viola ‘Sorbet Violet Face’ – this variety has masses of charming little flowers with deep purple petals which contrast wonderfully with crisp white faces which are sketched with darkest purple. A vigorous and hardy viola that’s weather tolerant and an added bonus is that the blooms are fragrant.

How to sow and grow It’s best to sow pansy and viola seeds into trays of Yates Black Magic® Seed Raising Mix. Cover the seed well, to a depth of 6 mm, as the seed needs to be in darkness to germinate. Firm down, water gently and keep moist but not wet. Seedlings will emerge in 21-28 days and can be transplanted into their final position when large enough to handle. Choose a sunny position (violas prefer a spot that’s protected from hot afternoon sun). Mix some Yates Thrive® Natural Blood & Bone into the soil before planting, or for potted plants, fill well-drained pots with Yates Premium Potting Mix. To promote healthy plant growth and lots of gorgeous flowers, feed plants every 1-2 weeks with potassium rich Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser. Remove spent blooms regularly to keep the plants looking tidy and prolong flowering.

Gourmet tip! It’s a complete package when a meal is both visually appealing and delicious. You can take your cooking to the gourmet level by adding viola or pansy flowers to a whole range of dishes, including salads, cakes and desserts. When growing flowers for eating, it’s important to treat them as an edible plant rather than an ornamental plant when keeping insect pests under control. Use insect control sprays that are suitable for use on vegies, herbs and fruit and follow any withholding periods.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Gardening in different climates All around New Zealand, there are lots of things to keep you wonderfully busy out in the garden during autumn. In cool climates it’s time to: »

Help protect vulnerable plants from early frosts by moving potted plants to a protected spot, draping frost cloth over sensitive plants and spraying foliage with Yates® DroughtShield™ before frosts are predicted. It forms a protective flexible film over the leaves which helps reduce frost damage.

Harvest pumpkins once the vines have browned off. Cut pumpkins from the stem, leaving a few centimetres of stalk, leave in a spot in the sun for a week to encourage the skin to harden and then store in a cool, dry dark place for future delicious use.

Start making your own compost using fallen autumn leaves. Mix bucketfuls of leaves, plus kitchen scraps and Yates Nature’s Way® Compost Maker together in a compost bin, pile or tumbler, keep moist and let the beneficial composting microorganisms get to work.

Start a strawberry pot or patch from crowns, runners or small potted plants. Strawberries love a warm, sunny position and regular feeding with a specialised fertiliser like Yates Thrive® Strawberry & Berry Fruit Liquid Plant Food. It will promote healthy leaf growth as well as lots of pretty flowers and delicious berries.

Control mossy spots in lawns with fast and effective Yates Weed’n’Feed® Mosskiller. Help minimise future moss growth by trimming back any overhanging trees (to allow more sunlight into shaded areas) and aerate the soil with a garden fork to improve drainage. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

In temperate climates it’s time to: »

During early to mid-autumn, while the weather is still warm, feed potted cacti & succulents with Yates Thrive® Plant Food Spikes Cacti & Succulents. The spikes contain concentrated plant nutrients that will feed the plants for up to 2 months. Just push a spike into the potting mix midway between the plant stem and pot edge.

Keep watch for small Onehunga weed & clover seedlings emerging in the lawn, which can grow rapidly in autumn’s mild weather. For large lawn areas, hose-on applicators like Yates Weed’n’Feed make treating weeds quick and easy.

In mid-late autumn, start harvesting spring planted sweet potatoes. Gently dig around in the soil to reveal the tubers.

Repot overcrowded indoor plants into a slightly bigger pot with fresh potting mix. Yates Thrive Indoor Plants Potting Mix is ideal and provides the perfect foundation for new root growth as well as feeding the plants for up to 12 months with controlled release fertiliser.

Visit your local garden centre and choose a tibouchina while it’s in spectacular purple (or pink or white) flower. Look for compact varieties, such as ‘Peace Baby’ and ‘Groovy Baby’, for growing in small spaces and pots.

And all across New Zealand, it’s time to think about some Easter gardening activities with the kids! Here are some ideas to keep them wonderfully busy in the garden: »

Vegies for the Easter bunny! What better way to welcome the Easter bunny in early April than to get the kids to start a delicious bunny themed vegie patch. The Easter bunny will love vegies like radish and carrots (think of all the plants that Peter Rabbit™ would pinch from Mr McGregor’s garden!). It’s easy for kids to start these plants in a small raised garden bed or even their very own pot or trough.

Seed tapes, such as Yates Baby Carrot Seed Tape and Yates Radish Red Rubin Seed Tape, make gardening super easy for kids. You can cut the tape to whatever length you need and the tape contains pre-spaced seed. In between the seed tape rows, sow some loose leaf lettuce, which are fast growing and great for picking individual tender leaves as you need them. And for an extra Easter themed touch, place some plastic coloured Easter eggs in amongst the plants. Easter bunny garden complete!

And don’t forget some pretty flowers for your Easter garden. Yates Magical Creatures Fairy Flower Mix contains a pretty blend of pixie flowers in shades of rose, violet, magenta and lilac. It’s also a wonderful mix of flowers for attracting busy bees and beautiful butterflies. These seeds are easy to sow. Simply scatter over bare soil, lightly cover with seed raising mix and keep the area moist while the seeds germinate and the seedlings establish.

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