Wet summer gardening
by Metropol | February 18, 2026 8:33 am
What to do in your garden after an unseasonably rainy summer.
A rain-soaked summer can leave gardens looking lush, leggy, diseased or just a bit confused. If this season felt nothing like a typical Christchurch summer, you’re not imagining it. As autumn approaches, your garden will benefit from a slightly different kind of care.
All that warmth and rain may have produced impressive growth, but it often comes with hidden issues: compacted soil, fungal disease, and stressed roots from water-logged soil. Instead of pushing for more growth, now’s the time to restore and prepare – without forgetting late or second crops.
- Begin with a proper tidy-up. Remove and dispose of diseased leaves, spent flowers, and soggy plant debris, particularly from roses, vegetables, and crowded perennials. Clearing this material now helps prevent problems carrying over into autumn.
- Keep pruning light and targeted. Cut out dead, damaged, or crossing stems, and thin dense plants to improve airflow and light penetration. Save hard pruning for winter, and always work on dry days with clean, sharp tools.
- Next, turn your attention to the soil. After a wet summer, soil can become compacted and airless. Use a garden fork to gently loosen the top layers around plants, then top-dress with compost or worm castings to improve structure and soil life. Hold off on heavy fertilisers until growth settles.
- Finally, mulch based on soil conditions. Light, free-draining soil in sunny positions needs mulch before heavy, moist and water-logged soil will.
- As you work and notice what thrived and what struggled, this might steer some different planting decisions next season – although it’s anyone’s guess how the climate will shift and change in the coming years.
Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/wet-summer-gardening/