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Saturday 23rd March, 2024
Hi
You know it's Autumn when the naked ladies are out.
I am going to make an assumption that most of the bulbs that are flowering their hearts out right now, being early Autumn, belong to the family Amaryllidaceae. Commonly they will flower before they form leaves (e.g. those cool Hippeastrums) and I'm sure you will all have seen the Belladonnas that are blooming right now. These have pink blooms flowering on tall stems and have the common name naked ladies.
Interestingly enough, the blood lily has been flowering in the garden and when I looked this one up, I found it also belongs to the Amaryllis family, a connection I had not made before. Par for the course, this one's leaves also come after the flowers.
The Autumn crocus or Zephyranthes candida is also flowering now and also belongs to this Autumn-flowering Amaryllis family but is a tad different in that its leaves are present whilst in bloom. I love this plant as it flowers in the Autumn and for the most part is evergreen with attractive dark green chive like leaves and the prettiest white crocus shaped flowers.
Zephyranthes look amazing when they are mass planted or even used as a border. Give them full sun and a position that is not too dry over the summer and they will do very well.
How do these Autumn bulbs know when to flower given that there are generally no leaves to measure daylight? I had always thought in response to rain after the summer but a google of Amaryllis suggests perhaps temperature is the trigger with a requirement for a ground temp average of approx. 10 degrees Celsius for 8 to 10 weeks. I am going to assume that this is perhaps the case with all of these including our Rain lilies but imagine that the temps may vary between genus and species.
You know its Autumn when the Feijoas begin to fall.
On the Am show this morning Lloyd of TV 3, one of the Hosts, said he had been sent a box of Feijoas from his Aunty in the Naki. I don't think that he was going to share the fruit, but it did spark the debate of how to say the name of Feijoa. I know that here in NZ we probably say it in a typical kiwi kind of way whereas those with Spanish would have quite a different pronunciation as Fejoas are named after a Portuguese naturalist. Maybe we could cut the debate and call them Pineapple guavas instead.
Feijoas are pretty easy to grow here in NZ and should have a bumper crop in our climate here. They are best ready when they hit the ground as they fall from the tree, especially if you want to eat them fresh. Cakes, muffins, chutneys or stewed for crumbles, feijoas have found favour with us for a huge variety of culinary purposes. Follow these links to see recipes for Roasted Feijoa chutney and a Ginger and Feijoa cake. Yum!
There are a large number of cultivars out there and all of them will be good and have been selected worthy of propagation due to their positive attributes like big fruit, good taste and so on. There will be some cultivars that fruit early and others that are perhaps later but in my opinion they all come ready in the Autumn: just some earlier than others. This can also depend on where they are grown as some districts may be later due to cooler climes.
The other important consideration is that it's worth having a few different cultivars, one being cross pollination and getting more bountiful crops and the other is your season of fruit will be longer due to slightly different ripening times. Check all the feijoas out here.
Anatoki A desirable new variety that fruits early in the season around March-April. The fruit are exceptionally sweet, large and round. Yum Yum. As with all Feijoas will fruit best when 2 or more are planted. Likes a sunny sheltered position.
Kakariki This recent introduction has large and sweet fruit that ripen nice and early in the autumn. Plant in sunny well drained spot, preferably with another Feijoa close by. The fruit are ripe when they start to fall naturally off the tree.
Kaiteri If you love Feijoas then you will enjoy the large and very sweet fruit of this new variety. It is ready early in season too - towards the end of February so lots of yum for your tum while in the sun. Plant with another Feijoa for best results. Likes a sunny well drained spot.
Have you preordered yours? Garlic, Spuds and Strawbs.
Garlic is in store now even though there is plenty of time for planting. The traditional theory is to plant around the shortest day but any time in the Autumn is good and may just mean an earlier harvest. Good rich soil and a lovely warm and moist Autumn will get your cloves off to a good start and encourage that all important root growth to produce large heads to harvest. As usual we have the classic cultivar of Printanor.
You never stop learning and I think that is what I love about plants so much. Now just for a little more understanding: Garlic and Elephant garlic are two different species of the Allium or onion family, being Allium sativum and Allium ampeloprasum respectively. Elephant garlic is more like a leek that produces large cloves, named as such for their pure size and has a mild garlic flavour and can be planted Autumn or Spring.
Normal garlic like Printanor tends to be cropped and replanted but Elephant garlic can be harvested in the same way and/or apparently actually stay in the ground to regrow. Planting instructions are here.
I understand that many of the elephant garlic are already presold but there are still a few cloves available and Ang tells me that some more are on their way so if you are hankering to start your own plot of the ginormous elephant garlic then waitlist these now.
Strawberry plants are due in June and we only get these bare-root plants once a year. Winter is the time to plant these so that they establish good roots prior to spring and fruiting. What I have also learnt is that strawberries are either short day or day neutral and Camarosa is a variety that will initiate flower buds in the sort days of early spring resulting in early cropping.
Camarosa is the variety renowned for its vigour with large firm berries, bright red in colour, wedge shaped and sweet. Preorder and have ready on your wait list now.
Potatoes I know that the season for planting of these seems far away but when you grow plants, well it just flies past. I see that there are quite a few orders on these and so if you want to secure your favourite type of spuddie now is the time to make a move and preorder. Follow the link and see all the varieties that we will have available.
Just arrived
Peonies as pre packs have just come in for planting now or over the winter and these will come up to flower in Spring. There are quite a few of these gorgeous cultivars available ranging from pink crimson reds to yellows, click the link to check them all out.
Plants for hedges of the smaller kinds like Buxus green gem, Buxus macrophylla and Euonymus Emerald Gem. All nice plants at just $14.99. While checking these out I spied a handsome grade of Laurus nobilis or bay which would be very suitable for a taller screening hedge 60-80cm and just $21.99.
Petrea volubilis or sandpaper vine. This one makes for a decent climber with largish rough leaves. The sharp contrast between the soft, delicate flowers and the harsh, crisp leaves of the Purple Wreath is most unexpected! Even the new leaves are stiff and papery. This is a twining vine with rough green leaves and spectacular clusters of purple flowers. Each cluster remains for many days.
Viburnum Davidii, both female and male and these look really great plants too. A low growing viburnum renown for the blue berries carried by the female plant. You do need a male around as well to get the blue berries. Typical viburnum style flowers which are also quite pretty.
Our Autumn Sale
Camellias. All varieties that were $42.99 are now just $35.00 each.
Azaleas of the evergreen kind, now 25% off.
Grevilleas: those that remain in store are all 25% off.
Fruit and ornamental trees from $30.
I know that the guys have taken out of stock quite a lot of these trees as we can't carry them for another year. Nothing wrong with them, but just need planting out. Now these are no longer in stock and so not available online which means that you will have to come out and see what is there on offer. Bring a trailer if you want a few.
Perennials end of season clear out. These have all been put out at half price.
This includes lavenders (all that are left in stock), Armerias, Delphiniums, Echinaceas, Geraniums and more. These need to go in the ground now. So probably best to come in and choose them for yourself and experience that little thrill of finding yourself some bargains.
Selected berries like raspberries, currants, and boysenberries
Gordonton Art and design trail is not far away now.
Gordonton art and design trail is on the weekend after Easter being the Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th of April. Hours 10am to 4pm. This is a free event and trail maps will be available from the nursery and various other venues in Gordonton. Artists will have work for sale and will accept both cash sales and bank transfers. Our own Anthony Skinner will be participating.
Easter Hours
Easter trading hours... we will be closed Good Friday but will be open the remainder of the weekend being Saturday, Sunday and Easter Monday and our normal hours of 8.30 to 5.00pm.
Two short weeks in a row will mean some dispatch changes. Next week dispatch to the South island will be Monday only with the rest of the country being completed on Tuesday. The following week we will dispatch Tuesday and Wednesday only.
We have passed the Autumn solstice, the mornings are definitely cool but of late the days have been beautiful and settled in true Autumn style. Easter is just around the corner and daylight saving ends in just a few weeks now, being Sunday April the seventh. Note to self to make the most of longer evenings over the next couple of weeks.
Autumn is the season to get the garden tidy, weeds controlled, garden beds mulched and kind of get it ready for the winter rest. Save pruning until it really gets cool or in a warm climate like here just before bud burst in the spring. Get all your hedges done so that they hopefully don't grow through the winter or make sure they are definitely done before spring burst. Finally, get planting! Honestly it's the best time.
All that remains for me to say is have the best weekend.
Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
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Last 25 Newsletters...
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..... Garlic
Autumn Sale Preview (16th March, 2024)
Orchard planning (9th March, 2024)
Gardens are for play (3rd March, 2024)
Autumnal feel in the air now (24th February, 2024)
Newsletter correction (16th February, 2024)
Welcome back (17th February, 2024)
Thank you (16th December, 2023)
Pot care (9th December, 2023)
Mulch is a must (2nd December, 2023)
Tidy Up Time (25th November, 2023)
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Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: