Saturday 4th November, 2023
Hi
A stormy start to the week
Wind and garden centres don't really go hand in hand and Monday's winds certainly battered the nursery around for the day. I have a golden rule though that once the plants are down that they stay down for the rest of the day. That always minimizes the amount of damage of broken branches and the like. Tuesday morn dawned reasonably calm and so we can get the entire team on picking all the plants up and many hands make light work and so it didn't take that long.
I'm sure that we didn't get the worst of it all here in the Waikato but there was a huge amount of new spring growth all around town as new seasons leaves got blown off the trees and the nursery was no exception.
It also never ceases to amaze me the amount of dead wood that gets blown out of the trees when there is a decent breeze going on and the claret ash in the middle of the garden centre sheds a fair amount. I think that it took the garden crew, Alex and Anita all day to blow and clean up all the wind swept leaves and sticks to make the place look as if there had never been that wind.
Standard roses the short and the tall of it
I have always called them Patio standards (stds) and habits do tend to stick but they are really small standards or 40/45 cm standards by stature. Patio stds because traditionally this size was typically grafted with patio style roses on them. Patio roses are smaller floribundas and usually have smaller flowers and the overall height of the bush is around 50 to 70cm compared to a typical floribunda which has a bigger flower and grows overall larger to around 100cm. In the years gone by this size used to be the domain of the patio rose but increasingly there are floribundas and hybrid teas grafted on these more diminutive stems.
These smaller stemmed standards are great for pots as they are not so tall and perhaps more so if they have a patio rose at the helm. That doesn't mean you can't choose a floribunda but just make sure that your pot is big enough to carry a bigger head. Of course its handy sometimes to have a smaller plant or standard overall so that they can go in front of windows or just somewhere where you need to look over them. So for those that like some dimensions a patio std with a patio rose grafted on top, an overall height of around 100cm to 120cm and with floribunda or hybrid tea on top perhaps 150cm to 170cm in full flower or thereabouts.
Of course we still have Patio roses on these shorter stems and here are a few examples to check out,
Babe,
Beehive gold,
Cupid,
Cutie pie,
Daltons Gold,
Sweet dreams and
Scentasia. When I went for a wander amongst these short standards these ones stood out as being in flower looking pretty nice right now. Many of the varieties that we have on the shorter stems are new to us this year and so there is a fabulous range.
Tequila sunrise which I don't believe we have ever had on a short stem before but theses were budding up nicely. This one is a hybrid tea and its name describes it well, being a delightful pointed bud in gold with their edges tipped in scarlet. a popular rose.
Fairy tale magic is a new one to me and is a floribunda. Enchanting blooms of soft blush pink with hints of apricot, this award winner casts a spell in any garden with its lovely fragrance, multi-petal form and easy care nature.
Pink ribbon is of course a pretty pink rose and bred by Bob Matthews and is another newbie on a short standard for us. Supporting Breast Cancer Foundation NZ this truly beautiful rose creates an outstanding, continuous display of soft pink cupped shaped blooms.
My mum, Floribunda. Bob Matthews of NZ bred this rose and named it for his Mum so you know it is going to be a top performing and beautiful rose. The colour of the abundant blooms is a blend of coral, salmon, apricot and pink
Pure n simple is another floribunda. Simply gorgeous, free flowering softly cupped, blush pink white blooms with hints of warm apricot. Glossy foliage, bushy grower. Light fragrance
A gardeners dream. Floribunda. Charming clusters of fragrant apricot blooms with vintage ruffle form. An easy care plant, this multiple flowering beauty lives up to its name in every way, making it a gardener’s dream.
Pillar roses are a fancy standard really and are a feature rose in their own right just like you may use a small tree or pot as the star. These have many roses budded up the stem and so if you can imagine at maturity, ie after 3 years could be almost 2 metres across and 2.5 high.
Weeping standards are usually 1.8 high with a cascading rose grafted at the top and again useful as a central feature. Both pillars and weeping standards will need to be staked securely.
The Current deals
Roses pick 5 and pay for 4 and get the lowest price one for free. A great deal as the roses are looking amazing and you can make your selection by seeing them in flower. This arrangement includes all bush and standard roses.
Cryptomeria japonica, Fab decent sized plants normally $29.99 now just $25.00 but the more you buy the more economic they become. One of the best choices for a shelter or tall hedge.
Camellias for hedging. Camellias are one of the best choices for creating a hedge. The reasons are that they are hardy and robust coping well with constant trimming. Long term compared to many other plants The largest grades are normally $42. 99 otherwise 20 for $40.00 or 50 for $39.00
Something different
Podophyllum Kaleidoscope is cool. I saw these in a display in the Auckland Winter house and they are amazing. A deciduous woodland kind of plant that has very interesting leaves and the most fascinating mahogany coloured flowers that kind of hang from under the leaves.
Kolkwitzia ambabilis Pink cloud or beauty bush. I have mentioned this one before but I bring it up again because the plants are in flower in the garden centre and also in my garden at home and its truly a sight in full bloom. Just masses of pretty pink tubular flowers.
Calycathus Hartlage wine. This one I saw recently in Christchurch in one of the gardens at Hagley Park and whilst I have seen the flower I had never seen on a large shrub in a garden situation. This shrub boasts 5-8cm deep wine red magnolia like flowers, being handsome shrub with lustrous dark green disease resistant foliage; flowering stems are outstanding in vases.
Colour your world
Argyranthemum frutescens (Daisies), We have just received in a delivery including a few varieties of these colourful perennials.
Sugar Cheer, A delightful daisy with soft pink cheerful flowers.
Superstar is a flamboyant performer with a central gold eye, exploding out to petals which graduate from deep rose to pale pink.
Summer stars, A delightful daisy that has frilly pink cheerful flowers with a lemon centre.
Alstoemerias, known as the Peruvian lily originated in South America. The colour range on these new plants is phenomenal.
Irises of the bearded and wetland types. We haven't had a range of these for a few years. A great way to add some spring and summer colour to your garden.
Waikato Rose society's,
Daltons Spring rose show at the Hamilton Gardens
coming weekend 11th and 12th November.
The weeks go too fast, have a great weekend!
Cheers from Lloyd. Tony and the Wairere team
