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Friday 16th February, 2018
Hi
43mls, 17mls, 35mls, is this the wettest February we have had ?
I just had to go and get the fan to put in our little shop last weekend because the flies were soooo bad and they are lazy flies to boot. They just tend to sit on you or on the warm corners of the computer and are a constant annoyance. I had this sudden brainwave to use the fan to create air movement that would move them on or at least stop them from landing on me. I'm not sure that it has totally worked but the bonus was the cooling effect when in the shop and serving customers and that alone made things much more bearable.
It seems that, suddenly, we have become the the tropics and all the rain and humidity kind of makes it seem like an early autumn and the growth of the plants is just phenomenal, what is March and April going to bring?.. it's anybody's guess.
I know that its not officially autumn yet but it does kinda feels like it is because it has been so wet here, for this time of year and I imagine that as the days shorten there will still be plenty of ground moisture even if the rain suddenly stops like it did in January.
I know that its not officially autumn yet but it does kinda feels like it is because it has been so wet here, for this time of year and I imagine that as the days shorten there will still be plenty of ground moisture even if the rain suddenly stops like it did in January.
On that note, even though you can plant anytime of year, Autumn is the time that I consider one of the best planting times. The ground is moist and still warm and new plantings make huge root growth before the winter so I'm thinking that its a great time to get trees, hedges, shrubberies and any large plantings in from now on.
Ulmus Fraxinus Malus Maple Cornus
We have been re blocking and standing all the ornamental trees up and there are some really good trees there.. Check out the Elms, Ashs, Planes, Maples, Crabapples, Dogwoods, Magnolias and there is an extensive range of flowering cherries and more ... there would have to be something there for every one. Planning a tree for a driveway? Yesterday I spied a really nice grade of an upright Oak tree Quercus robur fastigiata, consider Acer rubrum Bowhall or even one of the small leaved elms like carpinifolia variegata or parviflora.
If you fancy planting a Camellia hedge... then check out Transnokoensis we have an excellent grade of these and they do make a pretty fab hedge. I like the way that, unlike a sasanqua camellia that stays green all season, Transnokoensis new foliage is a pretty reddish colour. There are also plenty of stock of classic green sasanqua camellias like Early pearly, Setsugekka, Silver Dollar and many more.
Transnokoensis Early Pearly Setsugekka Silver Dollar Silver Column
If you are not wanting a flowering hedge then some good options are Fagus Sylvatica the quintessential hedge for traditional English or formal gardens is available in good numbers, carpinus betulus which is ideal for hedging or pleaching, Ilex cornuta burfordii which has the added advantage of gorgeous red berries, this is a self fertile variety so no worry about having both sexes.
How are your roses looking ? Summer can be quite a hard time of year for these queens of our gardens.. its the heat... lol, its not just us that melt on these hot days.. often flower size is reduced and the colour can be less intense than it is usually and possibly any fragrance may have evaporated.
Mites is a usual summer pest given that these chlorophyll suckers like hot sunny and dry weather. They may not be so prevalent this year as we have had so much rain but their damage is unmistakable. Rose leaves will show symptoms of light yellow patchiness and if you turn over the leaf you will see the little blighters running around and possibly some webbing, well that is if you eyes are younger than mine as I now reach for a magnifying glass. Even young eyes will have to look hard as they are really quite tiny but you might just pick a couple of spots running around and that one will be the two spotted mite. There are a few other kinds and they may just look like a pin head sized orange dot. Mites can be quite difficult to control but surprisingly hosing the underside of the leaves does help deter them as they don't like being wet.
Conqueror oil sprayed on the underside of the leaves may suffocate them but you will need to do quite a few applications as you won't get them all. If you know a farmer or someone that has cattle drench then add this at the rate of one ml per litre of water to your spray tank. The drench will be absorbed by the plant and move within the plant tissues and when they go to suck... well whammo they're dead.
Looking Good Pavlova Cupcake Gold Reef Akaroa
All this rain and the humidity will bring on fungal infections like black spot and possibly even downy mildew so carefully timed sprays of Super Shield after pruning and before the rain and again after should help keep them clean.
If your roses are looking a tad finished or sad then perhaps give them a good prune, like winter, and bring them on again. If you do it now or over the next couple of weeks then they will be back in flower by the end of march beginning of April which is about 7 weeks. Usually I would say give the roses a good feed of rose food to push them back into growth and keep the water on but of late there has probably been enough rain.
Now this is the important point because at some point you want will want to force your roses into rest especially in our Waikato climate as they will just keep on continuing to flower.
After the last flush in April you need to stop any form of dead heading or pruning and let the flowers naturally finish and produce rose hips. This is the first step in signaling to your roses that its time to finish. Even removing the spent flower will encourage new growth and so resist the temptation.
Dont forget that nows the time to secure your new seasons roses and book them for when they arrive in June.
Cool Plants
Pinus Mugo when you are into plants and see something a bit different, well you just have to get it dont you... Pinus mugo is a true dwarf pine tree , slow growing and will eventually reach somewhere around 3 metres high. I have some in the garden and I think that they just over a meter high now and
after approx 20 years.. these babies are pefect for those who like to create their own Bonsai's or maybe you want an orienatal theme garden.
Petrea Volubis we keep selling out of these climbers with the rough sandpaper like leaves and the moist amazing rich purple flowers.. they are a little frost tender but against a hot sunny wall they should be just fine .
Hibiscus Syriacus Standards, I have never seen this shrub as a standard before and we have some pure white one called Snowdrift and also a double mauvy pink one called Heidi, either keep these clipped into a ball shape or just let them grow into a small tree
Goji berries aka Wolfberry is an ancient medicinal and culinary plant from Asia that is highly valued for its therapeutic qualities. Green foliage, purple and white flowers in summer followed by nutrient packed red berries. Grows best in a sunny well drained position. Self-pollinating, hardy and deciduous. Nutrition experts recommend eating 10-30gms per day so you would require around 15 plants to feed one person for a year. The fruit are usually dried to preserve them and eaten as a snack, made inot fruit juice or used in muesli, soups and casseroles.
Passionfruit is another excellent summer fruit, we have 4 varieties of vine available at present. if you have the room plant 2 different ones to lengthen your fruiting time, improve crop size and have a variety of fruit size and flavour. Try the T Rex it is supposed to be a very large fruit with lots of pulp.
Cordyline make a wonderful structural element in the garden and the colour options are diverse. Purple Tower and Red Star are just in and are a lovely grade, they are big, bushy and beautiful.
Pinus Mugo Petrea volubilis Heidi Snowdrift Purple Tower
The Sales page has
Black Magic Bruce Bretchbill Dora Amateis Fatuoseum flore pleno Helen Johnson
Hydrangea's to check out that were $14.99 but now just $9.99 each Bridget Blue Immaculata Libelle Nigra Piamina Red Emperor Renate Steiniger
Tamarillo red, or tree tomato as many know them, are a subtropical tree that produces oval red fruit at the end of summer. Rich in vitamin C and delicious straight of the tree.
Green John Piamina Immaculata Geoffrey Chadbund McArthur
New New New
If you are in the nursery the chances are you will meet the newbies in the team at Wairere and again with that spanish flavoured accent. I think that we all have our ears tuned for the accent but its those odd kiwi phrases that catch us all out... This time our couple, Virginia and Guillermo hearld from the desert region of Mendoza in Argentina where I am told the annual rainfall is a measly 200mm per annum. Virginia cracks me up as she keep saying "If summer is this wet then I'm going to drown in the winter." All I can say is that I hope they don't mind getting a little wet! LOL
You will be pleased to know we have introduced a new option for sorting the plants on the website as we noticed that we have so many plants due to arrive soon that we had to scorll through many pages before finding items that were in stock. Each section now offers you a tick option to show 'in stock items' first. Once you tick it and click update, all the plants that have current stock will be displayed first for the catagory selected, all expected stock will be in alphabetical order after these.
I was overwhelmed by all the heartfelt messages I received from so many people after the last newsletter, thank you.
Trust all received some bubbles or some treat for Valentines day just past.. another weekend on the go and without a doubt,the lawns to mow again. Happy Gardening everyone.
Have a great weekend.
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend where even GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag.
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2018 Newsletters...
Feb already (3rd February, 2018)
Gardening friends (9th February, 2018)
..... fabulous feb
Grapes and Art deco in Napier (2nd March, 2018)
About Ferns (10th March, 2018)
out with willow and in with Camellias (27th March, 2018)
Paddock Trees (25th March, 2018)
Trees for Big Spaces (27th March, 2018)
Sasanquas take 2 (30th March, 2018)
Brrr Autumn is here (14th April, 2018)
Garlic and Winter Roses (21st April, 2018)
Friday Again (5th May, 2018)
Espaliered (12th May, 2018)
always a project (18th May, 2018)
Power Outages and Proteas (31st May, 2018)
Rose time again (8th June, 2018)
Aussie Natives (19th June, 2018)
Roses Abounding! (23rd June, 2018)
Ornamentals (7th July, 2018)
High, Low or Cascading (13th July, 2018)
Daphne time (20th July, 2018)
Spring in four days (27th July, 2018)
Let the blossoms begin (3rd August, 2018)
Tamarillos (10th August, 2018)
Magnolias3 (17th August, 2018)
Bloom time not gloom time (28th August, 2018)
Is it September Already? (31st August, 2018)
Nuts abounding (7th September, 2018)
Its all in the name... seriously (14th September, 2018)
Blossom bloom again (21st September, 2018)
Fabulous Friday 28 (28th September, 2018)
Fluffies and Pretties (5th October, 2018)
October rain with 22mm (12th October, 2018)
Blue October (19th October, 2018)
Its all about roses this week (26th October, 2018)
what about this (2nd November, 2018)
Rose show 2018 this weekend (9th November, 2018)
The running of the balls sequel 1 (16th November, 2018)
Orange Kumara 1 (23rd November, 2018)
scones (30th November, 2018)
Hydrangeas (8th December, 2018)
French Tarragon Hmmm (14th December, 2018)
Happy Holidays (21st December, 2018)
Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: