Saturday 19th August, 2023
Hi
How is your plant grown
The way that plants in our garden centre begin their paths in life are quite varied and on pondering this I decided that perhaps over half our stock starts life grown in the field and open ground. Take all those roses that you see here that have spent a good 18 months to two years in the ground. Now that doesn't mean that you can't grow roses in a container but it must be more cost effective to do so in the open ground. The only roses that spring to mind that are container grown that we stock, would be a few cutting grown ones and a regular example would be the
flower carpet series. These are still yet to arrive in and probably still need spring growth to kick in.
Then there are all of our fruit and ornamental trees that are supplied to us, there are a significant number of these and they are all grown in the ground as a two year crop which we receive in bare-rooted and pot.
So why grow plants in the ground?
As you can imagine there are plenty of pluses and negatives but generally in the ground you get a much larger or robust grade. Then there is what I consider the buffering factor in the open ground where watering and nutrition is not so precise and a whole lot more forgiving. However we often don't know the exact grade prior to arrival as this can be dependant on the season that the growers has had i.e. wet like this year or drought as in previous years.
Having said that you still have to be mindful of the requirements but once a container runs out of either food or water.. it has literally run out and then the plant will take a check in growth. ( A good note / reminder here is to feed your container and pots regularly with pot fertilizer so that you are ahead of their needs for nutrition)
Then of course in the open ground, weeds could be potentially more of a problem as they compete for nutrients and water. Then the fact that weeds will smother small plants that you are trying to grow to a larger grade and the plants can also end up misshapen. Hence keeping control of weeds is really quite important. Field produced plants pose the challenge of being lifted and getting ready for the garden centre to sell. In my day of open ground production a huge U shape blade was winched behind a tractor, under cutting the plants, which just left the task of spade cutting between them.
Then of course the plants have to be actually lifted and bundled according to type and healed into sawdust beds to keep their roots moist. In our case as, you all will know, we are supplied bare root and we do the final step of the root pruning and potting. The last step for growers when supplying to garden centres that don't pot as we do, is to pot them up themselves.
You almost have to treat open ground production like a crop as it is when it's ready it all has to be lifted and sold. In most cases, a third year in the ground would result in plants getting actually too big for general handling. Sometimes extra time in the ground can produce a fantastic large grade for those that need to fill a space quickly or need a feature tree or just want to save time as they are getting longer in the tooth like me haha.
We have just taken a range of magnificent extra large grade plants field grown and balled in hessian. This is an older method which means that hessian is used to contain the soil around the plant's roots.. It must be quite the task for the guys out there in the field (no need to go to the gym) and the advantage is that you can plant the shrub or tree in its hessian wrap, as well as just getting a fab big plant.
Let me tempt you
Griselinia Ardmore emerald. These are massive ranging from 1.3 to 1.5m but hugely bushy synonymous with been grown in the field. Just $99.99 each and an instant hedge in the making.
Laurus nobilis or everyone will know these as Bay trees or shrubs.. A gorgeous bushy open ground grade at 140 to 160cm tall.. Price $109.99. Again perfect for an instant hedge which they are grand for making.. The one at the nursery must be knocking 30 to 40 years old.. These also make for a fab screening shrub or train as a topiary cone and have the added benefit of leaves for cooking. I must plant one at home as I need to bike to the nursery to pinch leaves for my stews.
Laurus Nobils or bay standards ... Lovely chunky grade with a range of stem heights but certainly enough there to get some matching specimens. Decent developed heads. Stem height is generally approx. 100cm and overall height is around 140cm for $199.99.
Podocarpus Gracilor and
Henkleii 150/160 cm and 130/150cm respectively, both cost $119.99. Up and coming plant I believe for all hedging standards and topiary work. Again these are field grown and untrained but prefect for using as you wish and a great advanced grade.
Pseudopanax purpurea and
Cyril Watson.. Purpurea are a stunning grade at around 120/150cm and bushy, $99.99 each. Awesome as a filler shrub or screen with purple black new foliage, suits a full sun and well drained or drier soil conditions. Cyril Watson is green with attractive wide flat leaves and again suits same position as Purpurea.. I think that the foliage lends itself to almost tropical in a cool climate. Grade is 60/70cm at $69.99 but note this cultivar is a kind of wide and fat form.
Pohutakawa or
Metrosiderous Vibrance. Magnificent grade at 140/160 cm at just $99.99.. I'm sure that these don't need any description and we haven't had any for quite some time. So be in quick as they are usually very popular.
NZ Native
podocarpus totara... OMG if you want a truly huge specimen totara then we have these just in .. the classic NZ Totara and they must be somewhere knocking 4 metres $199.99 specialled at $169.99. Obviously come armed with a trailer if you want these beauties.. There are also pretty good grades of the golden totara Aurea and the blue one Matapouri blue.
Just arrived ... LOL it was busy week last week
Proteas, Leucospermums, Leucadendrons, Grevilleas and Banksias.
It was a big week with all the big grades of the hessian plants all coming in and also a top up of the Proteaceae family. All of these plants love full sun and well drained soils and are usually shy of phosphates so be careful if using any fertiliser. This family generally are useful for cut flowers particularly the proteas with their gorgeous flowers.. I really like the
nerifolia forms that have the fluffy tips.. then there are all the
leucospemums that for all intents and purposes could be the pin cushion flowers of the world.
Leucadendrons have colourful bracts which are also pretty cool and great for cutting.
Grevilleas I'm not so sure about for the floral work though I'm sure that they would last long enough for a floral display. They are pretty awesome for those hot baking spots in the garden and provide lots of colour. Grevilleas range from ground covers through to shrubs and trees.
Banksias have the candle stick like flowers and again love the sun heat and well drained soils.. Not only great for floral work but many of the banksias will also provide nectar for birds like our Tui which are currently feeding in the Campanulata cherries like
Felix Jury,
Superba and
Puddum
Aspargus...It's time to plant these now
Tony tidied up my asparagus patch while I was in the nursery the other week.. Thank you Tony.. He cleared away all the dead foliage and gave it all a weed.. I imagine that I should also give my crowns a feed and create some rabbit proof fencing around them because in the not too distant future we are going to be eating our own asparagus spears. This year will be its first full production year and I'm quite excited to see how it goes.
Get your plants in this year and then you will closer to harvesting you own. Asparagus needs a dedicated bed as they will crop for years once they get going. Plant at 30 cm apart and rows need to be 50cm apart. Roots need to be placed in a 15cm trench with the crown planted under the soil level.
Funny weather patterns of late and the mornings have been bright, sunny and warm with the promise of a perfect day and then at lunch time the showers arrive and the temperature drops... spring weather huh
The up side is that the days are noticeably longer and we are getting close to the official period of spring even though we are seeing the cherry blossom and daffodils now
If you haven't, then know that it's time to prune everything from fruit trees to roses.. we still have ours to do and home there are hedges to trim before the spring growth hits. Plan also to have fertiliser on hand as the end of this month and September is the time to give everything a sugar rush... your roses will love you for it.
These weekends roll around relentlessly.. fingers crossed that it's another fine one...I love the weekend vibe in our garden centre on a sunny Sat and Sun.
Otherwise all that remains to say from me this week is have a great weekend
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team
