Friday 10th July, 2026
Hi
BRRR! It's a bit scary when you wake up and the internet says -2.5 degrees, and it feels like -5 degrees. This was my reality on Saturday just gone. Cold enough to freeze the brass balls off a monkey! My son tells me this expression is actually a reference to days-of-old (think Napoleonic wars) when cannon balls were stacked on a brass monkey (kind of a little table) and when it was very cold it contracted and the balls fell off. Who knew! Winter is definitely here but it is also pretty amazing how quickly you wake up and warm up when you are running around the nursery.
Once we had gotten over the negative temps, people were pouring into the nursery, making the most of the fine days. I won't tell you how many layers I was wearing, but they definitely included a beanie and gloves. Cue my husband telling me to harden up... Any hoo... Lovely winter days demand planting; and have we got the deals for you! The last of our new season's
Roses have arrived and are all in stock NOW so don't wait - this is as good a selection as you will get anywhere in NZ - so come and have a look. Also, we have received so far about 7,000 trees which have been all bagged up and are ready to go. So the selection of
Fruit and Nut and
Deciduous Ornamental Trees is expanding daily.
Plants newly in stock include the favourites pictured below:
Matariki Holiday June 10th
As you may be aware, the new public holiday of Matariki will be celebrated on Friday July 10th. This is a time for reflection and contemplation of the year past, celebrating the present and looking forward to the year ahead. Stargazing is a nice way to examine your place in the world, a humbling but grounding experience that reminds you of your part in the planetary scheme of things. With a star gazing theme in mind, I thought I would discuss some of the beautiful star magnolias which we stock at this time of year.
Magnolia stellata comes in many forms and it produces a medium sized (2-3 m tall) bushy shrub which is covered in flowers in late winter to early spring. Magnolias do best in acid soil, so add the same fertiliser as you use for camellias and rhododendrons and you will be rewarded with a lovely show in early spring. Check out our range of deciduous magnolias
here. As always
we are open from 8.30 to 5pm on this public holiday and you are welcome to come and enjoy our winter display garden and nursery.
Trees:
Latest
Deciduous Tree arrivals include some mega favourites such as
Cherry Compact Stella (not to be confused with
Cherry Stella). This semi dwarf variety grows to about 3 metres or so, so it is more manageable than the full-size versions. Delicious heavy crops of dark red cherries with a light red flesh. This one is self-fertile too, so you only need one. Make sure to plant in an area with full sun and protect from high winds; this will maximise chances you will be able to harvest cherries when they ripen in summer. Rain during December sometimes causes cherries to split, so ideally they grow in climates with hot dry summers.
Roses
I'd like to tell you about a new section of
Roses which we are offering this year. These are single bud standards. Normally the
Standard Roses have two grafting points at the top of the stem, but sometimes one doesn't "take" for whatever reason and only one remains. Most of the time people don't even notice, as the one bud that is left is more than enough to generate a full head. The growers have offered us some of these single-grafted plants, which have been in the ground for another year, for sale at a lower price point and we are happy to offer these to you. We are confident that you will end up with a full head of gorgeous flowers once they have filled out. Check out this
link to see the full range.
Helleborus/ Winter Rose
A winter newsletter wouldn't be complete without a nod to the colourful
Winter Roses or Helleborus. These delightful flowering herbaceous perennials will give you pleasure year after year as they gradually become large clumps with even more flowers. There is a range of colours including: white, cream, yellow, pink and purple, with some spotted or with an edge of deeper colour on the petal. We have over 20 varieties currently in stock, from seedlings to well established plants, so there should be something for everyone.
Leucospermums
The name for this group of plants comes from the Greek words for white (Leukos) and seed (sperma) because of the pale fleshy stuff which surrounds the seeds. This fleshy stuff has a fancy name too (elaiosome) which refers to the fact that it is rich in oil and lipids and it is this stuff which attracts the ants which help to distribute the seeds in the wild.
For most people
Leucospermums are simply called pin cushion plants because they have multiple wavy styles (the female part of the flower) which give the effect of a bristling pin cushion of yellow or orange in the flower. Usually you can't see the style of the plant, but this group of plants like to show off and waves them about for all to see. As they are rich in nectar they are very attractive to birds and insects. The styles of these plants also become more intensely coloured when the flower is mature, in order to attract pollinators. The result for us is attractive flowers on bushy plants which love the sun and good drainage. Great for picking too, they are usually found in colours of yellow, orange, red and pink.
Rose Pruning Demonstrations
Our wonderful friends from the Waikato Rose Society have started their annual workshops on rose care and pruning. The first one was on Wednesday (8/7) and there are two more scheduled for July 18th from 1 pm-3 pm and Sunday 26th July 11-1 pm. Come along and watch the experts prune roses and answer any questions that you have. If you can, please let us know if you are planning to come by email or on our Facebook page. We look forward to hosting you at one of these.
Waikato Rose Society Pruning Demonstrations: One down, two to go.
Thanks for reading, I hope your Matariki weekend goes well and you can celebrate a lovely day off with family and friends. Regards, Tracy.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere Team.
