Saturday 29th April, 2023
Hi
Sasanquas Versus Hiemalis ???
I was checking out the Sasanqua Camellias that were in flower today and noted that there are quite a few bright pinks flowering away quite happily. One of these of note is one called
Hiryu which is a gorgeous hot pink or bright cerise and I knew that this one to be a different species being Hiemalis. I needed to know more about this species but found there is very little info and that they are quite closely related to the Sasanquas.
Google suggests that the origins of
Hiemalis are relatively unknown though it's believed to be a natural hybrid between
Japonicas and
Sasanquas. It would appear though that the main characteristics of
hiemalis are very similar to those of
Sasanquas being small leaved and small flowers and the one main difference I could ascertain was ultimately a smaller growing shrub or tree. I also got the impression that over the years that there have been so many crosses, selections and propagations and that now nobody denotes the cross properly with an x and most probably list
Hiemalis with Sasanquas.
There were a few others out there flowering right now with similar flower colour and form to
Hiryu so I checked them out as well for what species, and found that
Sparkling burgundy,
Shishi Gashira and
Chansonette could all potentially be Hiemalis. There were others like
Jennifer Susan and
Bonzanza that looked like they could be Hiemalis but listed as
Sasanquas but it seems to me that there is not much in it, to that end they appear both in the hiemalis and sasanqua sections.
Chansonette, A very pretty Camellia with large, formal, double, brilliant pink blooms with ruffled petals. These are produced en masse in autumn and early winter.
Shishi Gashira, Free flowering with semi-double, rose pink blooms that appear from autumn to early winter.
Sparkling burgundy, An early flowering sasanqua variety with smallish open flowers in a bright ruby rose shade.
Gay baby looks like it should belong here too but is a cross between hybrid Camellias and actually flowers much later.
All of these will make for pretty amazing hedges shrub or tree in the garden.. The
Gay baby hedge that we have in front of the cottage is stunning and its new foliage is red like the Photinia Red Robin hedges and it has bright cerise pink flowers. Maybe a new fashion trend with hot cerise pink being the new white!
There are Lemons and there are Lemons
The last couple of weeks we have touched on the sweeter of the citrus but it's time to check out the sour or more tart.
Every garden needs a lemon but it's a matter of which one, or I will say that you need two. The first one you need is the one that would be most widely known and that would be a
Meyer. Now the
Meyer was brought to the US from China by a Frank Meyer in 1908 and it is thought to be a cross between a Eureka lemon and a Mandarin orange. The taste is unique being less acidic and slightly orangey in flavour. There are other attributes to our
Meyer lemon and these are, that it's not an overly large tree (around 1.5 to 2m) and almost shrubby in form, the other is that the fruit tend to persist for quite some time and there is nearly always a lemon to pick from the tree, compared to others that have a season. One always need lemons all year round, a slice with fish, one for the G and T, or just to bake a cake or a dessert.
The second lemon that you need is a true lemon Why you ask ? They have the tangiest, sharpest, zingiest flavour and the skin has more zesty lemon flavour than perhaps our reliable
Meyer. Scratch the skin of a
Yen ben,
Genoa or
Lisbon and its deliciously fragrant due to more fragrant volatile oils in the rind. Desserts, curds and drinks made using these lemons are unforgettable.
True lemons tend to grow into a larger specimen tree of approx. 3 metres high and perhaps 2.5 wide, though you can get a true lemon like
Yen Ben on flying dragon rootstock which will dwarf by around one third.
Yen Ben is and improved selection of the
Lisbon lemon and I believe these are the lemons that you can get from the supermarket.
Then there is the
Lemonade which tastes like a lemon but sweet like an orange. This one is a kiwi one and was first discovered in New Zealand in the 1980s as a chance seedling and again believed to be a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon. Just goes to show that if you like growing seeds then you may end up with a winner but you may have to wait a while until your chance seedling fruits!
The
lemonade seems to have popularity not only with Kiwis but also with our Aussie neighbours where its widely grown but also in California and Florida. The lemonade will grow into a similar size tree as the true lemons being approx. 3 metres x 2.5m and again also available on Flying dragon which will help dwarf.
Went for a wander to see what whats and some NZ natives caught my eye... quite a few groundcovers
Kakabeak or
Clianthus puniceus is its proper name and I believe the selected form that we have in right now is Kaka king. Kaka king has stunning parrot shaped flowers in a good desirable red. I always think of this one as being like a herbaceous shrub and is popular with the rabbits and slugs so keep this one a tad protected to get those gorgeous flowers.
Rubus Barkeri (or ground cover lawyer) is another NZ native plant and this selection is a ground cover with attract pointed lime green leaves. Great for covering space and would look neat planted next to contrasting foliage and forms.. would look neat aa contemporary planting.
Acaena Purpurea (Bidi bidi) not let this common name put you off as this ground cover plant is really cool with its maroony (my word) purple leaves. It will form dese matt and really need a sunny disposition. would suit a rockery or even just as a ground cover in the garden.
Fuchsia procumbens is one of our very own native Fuchsias and this one is a delightful groundcover. Im sure that most are familiar with Fuchsias and the fact they are semi shade or woodland style plants and the same goes for this beauty. Adorable tiny but classic shaped flowers that are followed by big fat berries.
Pimelea Prostrata or NZ Daphne, perhaps because the tiny white flowers resemble in form those of the traditional Daphne. I adore this groundcover because of its blue foliage. Again one for the sun. We have Prostrata in stock right now but there other selected forms coming that you could pre wait list. This one must be tough as you often see in the traffic islands around town.
Scleranthus biflorus is that cool moss like plants that is quite fun used in Japanese or oriental style gardens and in combination with weeping maples. It's the sort of plant that you just want to run you hand over. lol, well I do.
Just mentioning
Get your
Garlic and
Shallots now. Its time to at least secure yours. Traditionally planted on the shortest day or thereabouts and harvested on the longest day. Take the head of garlic and separate the cloves.. plant at twice the clove depth and approx 10 to 15 cm apart. Point up and basal part down. Lol don't plant upside down. Keep well fed and watered ( if no rain) as they need to make good root growth through out the winter. If it get dry as we get toward summer keep up with the water but recognize that when they start to dry off to cut the water as we approach the summer solstice.
Strawberries of the
Camarosa kind. We only have these bare root once a year and in the winter so pre waitlist yours.
Cryptomeria Japonica for a shelter belt. Perfect time to get these in and they have grown into big chunky plants of around 1.2 to 1.5 high. Keen to move these and happy to do a deal for a minimum of one hundred plants which will do 100 metres. Normally $29.99 now $25. If you need more like 200 then ask us for best price.
Whew!! back to normal now, holidays, stat days, done and dusted for a while now. Another weekend in the picture and it looks fine again, and so fabulous planting weather
Have a great one, Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team...
