Saturday 29th July, 2023
Hi
It seems that once the shortest day is done and dusted that all the signs of spring start to happen. I know that we usually suffer the most wintry time after the equinox, or maybe it is just that typical fickle spring weather regime. Anyways five weeks after the shortest day, there is now around an extra half hour of daylight happening once I have got home from work to start doing stuff outside. Wahoo!!!!
All the Tulips that Tony planted in his pots have just broken through the soil with their leaves. The
Felix Jury flowering cherry that has only just lost its leaves around 4 weeks ago is now almost ready to burst into blossom with the Tui there playing around already. Then there are all the
Stellata Magnolias flowering away with their pretty star like flower. It just seems to start earlier and earlier or is it because it really hasn't got cold here.
Planting your new season trees
New seasons fruit and ornamental trees are grown in the ground and can only be lifted in the winter for distribution and sale when they are dormant. They come to us bare root and in bundles and then we get to pot them. Now I know there are a few nurseries out there that do bare root trees and they have to have a proper set up to do this, like having large beds of untreated sawdust to heal them in and keep the roots moist. This is suitable for a limited time but once the leaves start to come then it's no longer a viable storage method and the trees need to be potted. Often too when trees are pulled for customers, this leaves air pockets in the sawdust and the roots of the remaining plants are left exposed or plants get pulled half out and then the roots deteriorate.
Some of the root masses I have seen of late have been huge. It looks as if the whole root systems came out when the trees were pulled from the soil, and so we do have to trim these to be able to fit them into bags. The trimming actually stimulates the development of new roots, particularly new white feeder roots. When potting is done well, this happens really quickly. It's just like when you trim back a stem when pruning, this also stimulates growth.
There is a misconception that bare root trees with untrimmed roots are better but I personally don't think so as the trimming does stimulate those new feeder roots and there is also no issue with spiraling roots etc
We bag all our trees so that the roots are always in the best environment and we generally tape them into their bags before they travel to your place for several reasons; to stop them from falling out on the way home, to help prevent drying out and also so they don't make a huge mess. in other words we want them to get home safe and sound.
When going to plant a new season's tree, be gentle because it may be at a stage that the new roots have started to form and you really want to keep these intact. Dig the hole to roughly the size of the bag that it's potted in and break up the soil so that it's nice and crumbly, if that's possible in our wet year.
To add compost or not to is up to you. I usually advocate not to because if your soil is already wet or heavy then compost can actually hold more moisture and be too wet for those new feeder roots causing them to rot. If you have sandy soils then perhaps compost is necessary but make sure that it's well mixed through you existing soil and doesn't just make for a big wet spot in the hole. Plant your tree to the same depth that it's in in the planter bag or look at the trunk to see where its been in the soil before, usually there is a discolouration which gives this away, and plant to that depth. You can always add mulch to the top surface but take care not to build it up around the stem.
Make sure that you plant the tree firmly, treading in the soil around the trunk but without stomping if the new roots have started and lastly, please stake. Staking is important for a new season's tree as its stops it from being buffeted by the wind and then this action can break the new feeder roots. By comparison a last season's tree that has an established root mass in its bag has less need for staking though the same problem of breaking the new roots can happen if it's a windy position and/or if the tree has a large top mass. Remember that the stake is temporary until the tree has established itself in the soil. I see enough trees around with a waratah or wooden stake still in the centre of the tree
What's recently been potted .. well lots have been
While the guys have been busy potting all the new seasons trees, I have been up in the garden centre reorganising our new space to fit them all in and there have been some pretty damn fine specimens to check out.
The first ones that I put away were some pretty fine high worked weeping crab apples and so if you are looking for a feature tree for the centre of a lawn or as a specimen tree then consider one of these.
Malus Red Jade H/W 1.7 Fabulous cascading branches, blush white flowers in the spring followed by red crab-apples
Malus Echtermeyer H/W 1.7 A graceful, weeping tree with pendulous branches that are covered in masses of rose crimson flowers in spring followed by decorative reddish purple fruits. The emerging spring foliage has red tones before maturing to green.
Malus Kaitoke H/W 1.5 A gorgeous crabapple with pendulous weeping branches that are covered in bright carmine red blossoms in spring. The new leaf growth also has red tones before turning to bronze-green for summer. Small red ornamental fruits appear after the flowers.
Malus Floribunda H/W 1.5 An early blooming ornamental Crabapple with pendulous arching branches decorated with tight red buds. These open to beautiful white blossoms flushed with pink throughout September/October. The flowers are followed by small red and yellow fruits.
Malus Coronet peak H/W 1.8 and H/W 1.5 Bred in Queenstown. White flowers in spring followed by masses of small golden fruit in autumn. A red blush develops as fruit mature in winter. Semi-weeping branches on a centre leader tree
But if you are hankering for a specimen
Magnolia,
Gleditsia, Liquidambar, or even a
Golden elm or two then there are a good range of these here too.
Fruit trees we have started on and the range is not complete but still plenty to come out and have a look over or check out what's available potted online
I have a deal
Ulmus carpinifolia variegata or variegated elm.... A truly beautiful specimen tree with graceful open pyramidal habit. Foliage densely mottled creamy white giving it an overall silvery effect. Hardy and easy to grow. Looks great as an accent plant amongst other green trees or as a single lawn specimen.. There are some good numbers of these from the previous season.
Normally $74.99 but can let these go for just $50.00 each for ten or more.. Be great as a Farm tree or as an avenue down a drive way
Japanese Cedars or Crytomeria japonica ideal for a boundary hedge or a shelter. A great choice because these are hardy and don't succumb to canker Normally $29.99 but half price for numbers of 100 or more.
This Saturday coming, Arvo 1pm to 3pm
All you need to know about growing and caring for roses from those that love to show them. The guys from the
Waikato Rose Society are here for the last session here in the nursery to share their knowledge and love for the rose. Come on out armed with your questions and get the answers
This Saturday 29th July from 1 - 3pm
I missed my weekly email last week as its been a tad busy out there with potting and reorganising the trees but thought that I can't let it go for two weeks running.. Time just flies this time of year for me and suddenly its another weekend imminent. Even though we have had kind of squally showery weather it is starting to dry out somewhat which will make being in the garden more pleasant ( We have even had to turn on the irrigation, albeit briefly ) Heres to a fabulous sunny weekend in the garden or hopefully we will see you in our garden centre... it's like a lolly shop at the moment
Take care and have a fabulous weekend. All the very best from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team
