Thursday 8th June, 2017
Hi
The longest night is not far away now
On the way home from the nursery last night the sky was these beautiful shades of clear blue shading to the softest pink and then a clear open sky with what I think is nearly a full moon. There is so something crystal clear about these skies, that seems so crisp and I have to say the chill in the air was crisp to boot.
I don't know if its coincidence or not but if there is a rising full moon then we always seem to get as period of frost or two. Not that I mind those frosty mornings as the day that we get are so worth that icy start to the day. In the Waikato though I do feel sorry for the plants because we usually have quite mild weather on the whole and then we get these quite serious frosts which can drop from -1 to approx. -5. In a cooler climate than ours the plants set themselves up for the cool season by stopping all growth but here in the Tron they keep growing and then wham -3 which does burn those leaves.
This is why here in the Waikato and other such warm climates you should not start pruning roses or other members of the Roseaces family (or anything) until late July or just before spring bud burst. If you prune now then they are likely to be stimulated into growth and then along comes the next full moon and Jack frost and the resulting new growth gets frosted and that just stresses the plant. So no pruning !!!
I always get asked about roses that have not performed , say one or two but all the others have done well and they all get the same care and fertiliser. My next question is what is the name of the rose that is not doing well and often its some rose that isn't as robust as others.
Its like this, and not too dissimilar from people, all rose cultivars are different from each other and all don't behave the same even if they all get the same growing conditions. Some rose varieties are just more susceptible to fungal infections than others. You can manage this to a degree in that a well fed rose with plenty of air movement around it will perform to its best. Just like us, enough sleep, healthy food and not too much alcohol, we will be less prone to colds and flu but if the virus/spores are around we then can still get sick.
To that end there is a very real culture of talented rose breeders who aim to breed roses that are naturally healthier than some of our favourite old clones and without the need to spray.
We all want
Blue Moon because it was in our mothers and grandmothers gardens and whilst it's a very beautiful and fragrant rose there are new clones that are similar in colour and fragrance and well are just so much hardier! Check out
Hi Ho Silver,
Memorial Day,
Heaven Scent. A few others that spring to mind is the gorgeous ivory creamy and totally fragrant
Love Me Do.
Lasting Love is a red Hybrid tea with fragrance and has such healthy foliage.
Serendipity is a yellow that has heaps going for it, clear and unfading. I had better not leave out Hamilton gardens, bred from Paddy Stephens and just so reliable. Iceberg is a classic that all know as a top performer and comes in brilliant pink , burgundy and blushing pink.
I think that over the next few years we will see a whole generation of new roses that we will all just love because they are robust and healthy. Lets face it, there are not many plants that will flower three or four times through our growing season; so if its flowers you are after then you cant beat roses.
Syringa or you may know these better as Lilacs, small trees that will bear panicles of flowers, ranging in colour from white through to deep purple and most shades in between. These panicles exude an exquisite and unique fragrance all of their own.
Wisterias have just arrived all naked and tall ready to be put in place so that can develop their amazing spring display. Again we have a lovely colour range available and both the long and short raceme varieties.
Viburnums.
If you choose carefully you can have Viburnums in flower from winter through to the end of summer. The flowers are often sweetly scented and are followed by very attractive ornamental berries. The deciduous varieties have excellent autumn leaf colour.
Hydrangea Seemanii is back in stock after disappearing so quickly of the beds so if you were unlucky and missed out on the first batch you should be getting an email soon to let you know they are back in stock. We also have the deciduous climbing
Hydrangea Petiolaris coming available soon. Some pics of our one have been pasted on
facebook.
Waikato Rose Society are keen to share their time and knowledge with those that would like some further insights into the world of roses. So if you are having trouble getting the best from your roses, not sure about how to prune the different types of roses you have in your garden or simply want to talk to people who are knowledgeable about roses then come to Wairere Nursery where The Waikato Rose Society are going hold a Q&A session on all things roses.
Win Win Win
If you attend any of the 5 planned events and sign in on the guest sheet then you will go in the draw to WIN a BUSH or CLIMBING ROSE valued at $29.99 of your choice.
This event will be held rain hail or shine.
These events will be held on the following weekends at the times given. Please register your intention to attend by response to this newsletter or if you are a
facebook user events have been posted for each date, you can click
here to choose the event you would like to attend.
Sat 24 June 11.00am-1.00pm
Sun 25 June 1.00pm-3.00pm
Thurs 6 July 11.00am-1.00pm
Sat 15 July 1.00pm-3.00pm
Sun 16 July 11.00am-1.00pm
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend where even GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag.
