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Saturday 17th February, 2024

Hi
Welcome back 
Sauce and jam making time
It's been a while since we have caught up! In my book it's been a fabulous summer for everyone, not only has it been lovely and warm but there has also been plenty of rain about that most surely has kept growth going. In a way it's like the planting season never stopped because we kept getting regular rainfall. I think that I have grown the best tomatoes that I have ever, also there has been plenty of fruit on the trees in the orchard and there is nothing like picking fresh from the garden. 
It was one wet day off that we had planned to be cutting the Transnokoensis hedge, so Tony got busy painting and I needed an inside project. I remembered that there was a heap of Hawera plums ready for picking and if I was going to beat the possums and birds it was now. I managed to get a good three kilos off the tree and decided on a Plum sauce recipe that I had made a year back and it was so good. Nothing like a brilliant homemade sauce with grilled snags, roasted spuds and veg. so here it is. I doubled the recipe as I had the plums and I wanted lots of sauce but this is the version from direct from her book Rowan Bishop with Relish

  
Rowan Bishop's  Szechuan Plum Sauce
1.5 kg plums preferably red fleshed, 1 Medium-large sized onion peeled and diced, 2 Tbsp peeled and minced ginger, 4 cloves garlic peeled & finely chopped, 1/2 - 3/4 tsp chilli powder (more if you are sure), 1 Tbsp whole allspice, 1 tsp ground allspice, 1 & 1/2 Tbsp Szechuan peppercorns, 2 cups of sugar, 1 Tbsp Salt, 3 cups white vinegar. Stone and roughly dice the plums. Transfer to a large saucepan and stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil over a low medium heat, and cook until the plums are very soft (about 20 minutes).
Force through a sieve over a bowl with a wooden spoon - only the onions  and whole spices should remain in the sieve. Discard these.
Return the sieved flesh and juices to the saucepan and bring back to boiling point. Cook for about 15 minutes more or until the sauce is lightly thickened - it will thicken further as it cools.
Pour into hot, sterilized bottles or jars and seal with hot sterilized lids or corks. Leave as long as possible before opening.
 
I have a few plum trees in the Orchard as on the whole they are easy to grow and crop well. Hawera is a goodie and I picked a huge bag of Santa Rosa which I froze as I didn't have the time to do anything with them. Perhaps some plum jam another wet day. We are still eating Luisa Plums from the tree and they are delicious. Soooooo juicy and if you tend to have a sweet tooth like me, very sweet too.
How often and when do you trim Camellia Hedges
My Uncle messaged the other day and the conversation went like this
"Hey Lloyd, how often and when do you trim Camellia hedges"
"sorry forgot to answer the other day... usually twice a year... after the Spring flush and after a Autumn flush so twice a year though a wet summer may mean an extra trim. Really with Camellias they are so hardy ... as you need but if you do straight after the flush it's easiest"
" Cool Thought I could get away with 1 trim a year but its pretty woody. Thanks"
"Yeah / Nah once a year ends up being twice as hard."
"Thumbs Up"
So on that note There has been no summer dormancy because it's too dry here... well here in the Waikato and perhaps most of the North island that I know of. We only trimmed our hornbeam and Fagus hedge back 5 or 6 weeks ago and it's going to need another trim now. Not to mention one of the Camellia hedges. Then there is the Camellia Transnokoensis hedge that missed an Autumn trim prior to winter and it's taking a bit of grunt to get it back to where it should be.  Final point that I say to all the team who do the trimming... leave just one centimetre three times a year and you have gained an inch and after a few years well that hedge is a bit wider and taller than it should be.

 
The analogy that I gave to Anita the other day... you need to be able to see the old wood  (branching and stems) and leaves after you have trimmed back to the base.
So why Camellias, simple; they don't have many (if any) negatives.  Well in my book they are so reliable and hardy especially all the sasanquas and these will take almost whatever you throw at them. Hardy and easy to grow in most positions but for hedges they don't mind being cut and are very robust in regeneration unlike many other plants. You could almost cut them off at ground level and they would regrow into a hedge. It would take a year or three, but they will do it. If they do get a tad wide or high, then just cut them back to where they should be and they will regrow.
They tend not to have any bugs or fungal afflictions like borer, scale, leaf spot etc. and also don't seem to suffer from soil borne root fungal infections which can cause the demise of individual plants. Finally while I am on a roll of positives, longevity for me is a huge plus as Camellias have a long lifespan compared to many other plants used for hedging. They may take a little longer to create that hedge, than say other plants that can be used, but all the plusses make up for the extra time. In very general terms Camellias and other exotics will provide long term and brilliant hedges. Other choices may be faster but not quite so much in for the long haul.
Sasanqua Camellias are a species of which there are many cultivars ranging in a range of white pinks and even some reds. They will give you a classic, tightly knit dark green hedge.
Transnokoensis is a species that makes for a pretty cool hedge. It has a smaller leaf but with new foliage being a pinkish red is not unlike the well used and popular choice of 09'ers Lilly pilly.
There are other species and species hybrids that could be a choice for example Hiryu which has a stunning hot pink flower.

 
However it's time to have trimmed you hedge back if you haven't already and if you are like us here almost time to do again. If you are planning on putting a hedge in then now is the time to start the process by thinking about it and organizing the area. After all, Autumn is officially only a couple of weeks away and Autumn is the best season for planting. You could start early due to our wet summer, we do have plenty of choice currently in stock or if you don't see your choice there, then Wait list for April.

Are your roses looking manky 
These hot summer temperatures can be harsh on your roses particularly with the high humidity brought by the regular rain that we have been having. You may also notice that the summer flower flush is lighter in colour and the flowers are actually smaller than normal; all due the the very high light and heat. Or perhaps all the leaves have fallen off due to lack of water or disease. 

 
You can bring them on again with a new flush that should happen in around 7 to 8 weeks. Remember though, that if it stays dry they will probably still need some additional water and also more rose food to kick start that new flush. 8 weeks from now will be approx. mid April, totally dependent on when you cut, but the season will be much cooler and the intense daytime heat will be that much shorter and so the flowers should looking pretty good by then.
Pruning should be a little like a winter prune by removing all the finished flowers leaving around 4 to 5 buds or 10 to 12 cm at the base of the cane and opening the bush out a little. The entire bush should be covered with new growth in weeks.

 
Watch for black spot and aphids and at first sign spray the new growth with a Super shield and do a follow up a couple of days later so that it doesn't get a foot hold. Generally though in dry weather disease is pretty minimal.
Mites can be a problem in hot dry summer weather and the leaves look yellowish, as though they are lacking feed. If you can imagine a whole lot of mites underneath sucking the chlorophyll out of leaf cells then that will give you a vision for what the top could look like. Spraying conqueror oil will help but you need to get coverage under the leaf and do it several times. Pour-on cattle drench at the rate of 1ml per litre is way more effective.
Planning ahead.. 
Strawberries. I know that winter seems in the distant future but that's how it works. Just putting it out there, but if you want bare root strawberry plants for Winter planting, then now is the time to order them. 10 plants per bundle and Camarosa is the name of the game. These will come and go quickly as they have a short shelf life, so wait list yours today!
On that note we have made all of our winter orders and so if there is something specific that you want whether it be roses fruit or ornamental trees,  a particular rhodo or Camellia that we may be getting, then make that order and we will let you know when it has arrived in stock.
If there is something that you are after and you don't see it online, by all means ask us and we can certainly make some enquiries to see if it's available and try and get it for you.
There is a bit happening on the art scene. 
Many of you will remember Anthony (Tony) our very talented garden designer for Wairere nursery has now turned his abilities to art and painting. His previous office is now a studio for painting. Tony is a person who has a natural eye for design and was a very successful garden designer teaching himself to draw like an architect. These days he is fulfilling a life long passion to paint and hold his own exhibition. I know that many that enjoyed Tony's garden design will be interested to see his next chapter in the space of Wairere gardens. He paints very detailed building, land and seascapes and these will be on view the first weekend in March as below.
Art Exhibition in the display garden at Wairere Nursery By Anthony...  at Wairere nursery gardens. Friday 1st, Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of March 2024,  Hours 10am to 4pm.
Gordonton Art and Design Trail. Then there is this annual Art and design trail happening and they have set the dates to Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th of April this year. Hours 10am to 4pm. This is a free event and trail maps will be available from the nursery and various other venues in Gordonton.

School's back. Auckland anniversary weekend and Waitangi day are all done and dusted and we are back into mostly a normal year again though Easter and Anzac are both looming in the not-too-distant future. Personally, I can't get over how fast time flies and that we are... well right into another year... perhaps it's an age thing. Anyways I am pleased that it's been a nice summer and I think that we all felt we were cheated of that last year.
Odds on that it's going to be another fabulous, fine and warm weekend. So, what ever you all have planned  
Have an awesome weekend 
All the very best from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.

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Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: