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Saturday 27th May, 2023

Hi
It was a quick trip away and purely to catch up with a friend for her birthday who we haven't seen since the beginning of Covid and lockdowns. It seems a number of my team, Cecilia included, have been reuniting links with their families abroad after the pandemic has kept us from them. Luckily for me, our  few days away were filled with blue skies and sun which also had a huge feel good factor for me, especially after all the months of inclement weather that NZ seems to have attracted.  Luckily, now that I am back its still sunny.
It's, I suppose, not rocket science but when its a stunning sunny day that it makes us all feel fabulous. Or is it this what seem to be the relentless cloudy, overcast, wet and stormy weather that seems to have persisted for absolute months and then to suddenly see blue sky is almost overwhelming.
The restoration project we have undertaken with the local council has been a tad fraught with the constant wet weather. There is meant to be fencing done to contain the area to be planted and for a entire year it's been too wet to get a tractor in there. Finally it dried out enough to think about it and then down comes the rain and another 120mls and again its too wet. I even had the rose potters start early so that we could get some planting done regardless of the fencing and now you almost need a canoe to get around. The good thing is that the kahikatea are probably loving it.
To Hedge or not to Hedge
There are many reasons to plant a hedge from creating privacy, wind breaks or just because they are cool. There are not so many plants that you can use to create a screen and not need to be maintained somehow, no matter how much clients ask me for this. 
In my response I often say that the maintenance of a hedge is easy as it's really all about cutting the sides and the top and what could be simpler than that. Also, you should be able to get any one to do it compared to tailoring a natural screen. Twice a year I believe is best as the growth is still nice and soft and so the job is not difficult and there isn't too much to clean up.
The simple fact is that most plants continue to grow either upwards or outwards and generally get too large for the position. Then there is also the fact that they may change form and become tree like and drop all the lower leaves and branches thus enabling it to be seen through and under. There is also the point that the more that you trim a plant the bushy it becomes and performs a worthwhile function in the garden of perhaps privacy and screening.
It's also worth noting that not all plants are so receptive to a life of constant pruning and trimming and that different plants have varying life spans. Then there is the matter of height and whether the plants mature size can be kept realistically to a certain measurement. There is more to growing a hedge than many think.
I have mentioned Sasanqua Camellias suitability for hedging in previous emails and the reasons they find particular favour with me is their hardiness, lifespan and ability to cope with constant pruning. They are a tad slower than say other plants but sure make up for that. Most Sasanqua Camellias will make for a great hedge from 1.2metre to 3 metres..
NOTE ..Generally though I aim to have a medium size hedge at around 1.2, 1.5 metres as when you get them too high then the task of trimming is so much more difficult and you will need trestles and planks.
 
Japanese cedars make for pretty awesome hedges too and you often see them around orchards spaces. It never ceases to amaze me that the kiwifruit orchards machine prune them to approx 30 to 50 cm wide and they tower some 4 to 5 metres high. The other huge place that these cedars have over their Cupressus (Cypress) counterparts is that they don't get canker. You don't have to have these for such a tall hedge as orchards but certainly a taller subject.
I made a list of a range of plants that we currently have  and rather than write about them all will list them as options but hey many plants can be manipulated into a hedge or topiary because constant trimming will result in a bushy habit. The thing is that certain plants are traditionally used so get creative!!! as I can't mention all possibilities here.

 
Mid to taller hedges,  Camellias Sasanquas all, Photinia red robin, Cryptomeria or Japanese cedar, Pittopsporum, Fagus or beech, Griselinia, Michelia figo or port wine magnolia, Osmanthus.

  
Small to mid range choices. Azaleas and in particular the Kirin series,  mountain totara or Podocarpus nivalis which incidentaly has been trialled by the RHS in the UK as a buxus sub,  Westringa or Ausssie rosemary, Coprosmas, Loropetalums, hebes, Gardenias, Camellias of the dwarf or minis selections.
Personally I adore the structure that a hedge gives a garden esp if they are well maintained and cut razor sharp. The Nursery and display garden boast many hedges and topiaries that are carefully maintained by Alex who takes huge pride in the end results.. If you are looking to hedge yourself in or out, create standards or topiary balls come and check out the selections here right now as this is the best time of year to get them established.
Edible garden interests
It probably seems a tad weird to be planting in the cold season but its right now and only now that we will have bare root strawberries available for sale. They like the cold and once planted will established a powerful root system to start cropping in summer around Christmas. Establish mounds of good rich composted soil and plant at around 30 to 40 cm apart. You will need approx. 5 to 6 plants per person to crop enough for picking.
Strawberry Camarosa is the variety that we have available and they come in bundles of ten.. Get yours now as these only have a short shelf life and need to get into your garden. They are good chunky plants.
Garlic  The traditional planting date is around the shortest day which is suddenly started to loom quite quickly, thankfully because then we can look forward to the start of longer days, I like the that thought though, that we are heading again into the spring and maybe this year have a summer. We still have Elephant garlic and of course the classic normal size cloves of Printanor and its their planting time now.
Broad beans, there is still time to get these in but usually mid to late winter is the time to get them in for a spring crop. I grew these last year as broad beans are a hit with me. I do remember that Dad used to grow these and pick them young and we ate them still in the pod, but I prefer the shelled mature bean.

 
The rose potting season is upon us again
We are planning on doing things a little differently this year and in line with our new software will be emailing out to all those on our waitlists that its now time to commit. This means that this year, as we are potting we will be putting aside only the roses that have been committed too and confirmed.  Then we can put out into the garden centre all the other roses so that they are available to everyone on line and through the shop.
There maybe delays if you have several roses on your waitlist from different sources as it will take us the entire month of June to pot the some 24 k roses. This is entirely new to us and so we will be do our very best to make it happen seamlessly but I'm sure that there may be some teething problems. I know that Jan has been frantically working through the orders to let those know what we may be unable to supply and so forth. 
If you haven't ordered your roses and want too, there is still time to get those orders in and onto our wait list system. The same goes for the fruit tree and ornament trees which will get potted in July. The year goes so fast
Winter time is the arrival of the Protea family in the nursery
If you love picking flowers, creating floral displays and arrangements then many of the plants in the Protea, Banksia and Leucadendron genus are for you. I think of these flowers here as being stunning, quite structural  and with a good long vase life which makes them so suitable for floral work. Remember though, poor soil, full sun, great drainage and no phosphate ferts.  The other tip that I can offer is that prune them back after flowering to maintain a better shape shrub in the garden.
King proteas have amazing flowers that are quite open in form with a surrounding set feathery bracts. We still have a few of a couple of hybrids being Madiba and Tsitsikamma. I think that my favs are the Nerifolia forms being the likes of Nerifolia Ruby.. There are quite a few cultivars of this species to check out but the feathery bower like black tips (though not always) intrigue me. Again pick all of the flowers so that you maintain a fuller bush or shrub.

 
Leucadendrons are not really flowers like in the normal sense but a collection of bracts that often has a cone in the centre. These highly coloured bracts  can vary in size and colours and again are great for floral work or just a fiery foliage display in the garden.  Like the proteas, harvest  all the flowers or rather stems of bracts so that the plant stays bushy in the garden.Again fulkl sun and great drainage, so no wet feet.
Banksias, It seems that we have a few here right now but there is quite a range still to come so if keen add them to your waitlist for when they arrive. Follow the links to check out the Proteas, Leucos and Banksia's.
If you haven't had a chance, check out our facebook page, Cecilia posts about all the new product and amazing looking displays here in the nursery, www.facebook.com/WairereNursery
Fingers crossed that its a least fine, as in not raining, though sun would be grand,  for this weekend as I hear last weekend was a shocker here. However you are placed for the weekend Have fun.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team

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Last 25 Newsletters...

Things Citrusy (13th April, 2024)

Get harvesting and preserve (6th April, 2024)

Crabapples looking good (29th March, 2024)

Garlic (23rd March, 2024)

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)

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Tidy Up Time (25th November, 2023)

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..... To Hedge or not

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