Saturday 18th November, 2023
Hi
I say its the best season for planting
It's interesting but is there a right or wrong time to plant, well in my head probably not, or I mean any time is good. Of course there is always pros and cons and a few constraints as in the fact that fruit, ornamental trees and roses are open ground grown and can only be lifted and dispatched in the winter. Hence why the best range of these is always the winter time.
I often hear that it's getting too close to summer, and yes the imminent dry season can be a factor. My thoughts are though, that often the best time to plant is right now in this season as the new season's roses and trees have now created a root ball with feeder roots and they are actively growing with leaves that are making food. These are in the best state to remove from their bag and into the ground. Another good point is usually at this time of the year the ground is warm and moist which will mean faster and greater root development straight away.
Now compare this to a freshly potted tree or rose that has yet to grow new feeder roots. These are often planted into the cold and wet of winter and many add heaps of compost to the planting hole which makes the position even wetter. Growth is much slower in the winter time and often the planting position can be too wet as well which can cause the new feeder roots to rot and plants not to fire away. Or they get what I call transplant shock where not enough care is taken at the time of planting and those new feeder roots get broken, the plants start to leaf up and there is nothing to keep it going.
Fungal diseases are often more prevalent in winter and early spring due to moisture and cool temps. As the plant (especially roses) tries to grow leaves these can be very susceptible to downy mildew and other fungal infections, for many reasons, like the leaf cuticle hasn't hardened off and its immune system is compromised as it has to grow new roots to uptake water and nutrients and so on.
Here in the nursery, we get very few losses from winter indent stock and I guess the reason is that the plants are going into a perfect growing media and environment and of course we religiously spray our roses and stone fruit to prevent the fungal infections. I often say that from now on is a great time to plant and really perhaps the main consideration is that you may have to provide extra water through the summer and that's if we are lucky enough to have a summer this year.
Black Friday has now become a thing
It seems that these sales days like Black Friday and Single days have become quite the marketing thing and it would seem not just for the day in these times but for a whole week. I guess why not, many turn their birthdays into a week of fun
On that thought we still have some great deals to tempt you on certain lines and perhaps will call it our Wairere 25% discount sale.
Roses, our beautiful in flower roses are all now 25% off and that is on all new seasons plants and on any number that you may require. Includes all bushes, climbers and standards.
Proteas also all 25% off. Great plants that like a very sunny disposition and good drainage, so no wet feet. Stunning flowers that many seek out for floral work or just grab a bunch and put them in a vase. Equally attractive as a garden plant. Trim after flowering to keep your shrub compact and bushy.
Azaleas of the evergreen kind. 25% off. Great for those dapple light gardens or passing shade and I'm wary that many plant these in too dark of a shaded position. Like all those of the Rhodo family they love moist peat compost soil that doesn't dry out but is not wet. Great for informal mass planting and even could be used as a small hedge. Like all Rhodos will respond to being trimmed after flowering to keep compact and bushy.
Helleborus remaining varieties all 25% off. Winter roses are a fav of mine and never fail to please with their buttercup shaped flowers in the late winter. Dappled light and some of the newer hybrids prefer it on the drier rather than wet side of things.
We did a bit of a field trip to see what was out there
Queensland frangipani trees and the best I have seen for ages. These are pretty decent large grade and many with flowers even. You might need to come armed with a trailer and they are too large to courier. Frangipani tree because of the similarity of the fragrant flowers to the real Frangipani called Plumeria. This evergreen (though can lose some leaves in a cold position) tree belongs to the pittosporum family and has largish glossy green leaves. It can be quite a slender and open growing tree and would enhance many a garden. If I recollect correctly then i believe I have seen some quite mature specimens of these down one of the CBD streets in Tauranga.
Fagus Sylvatica purpurea. We didn't manage to get these as grafted plants this year but when we spied these
Sylvatica purpurea and with pretty good purple tones we grabbed them. A very handsome hardy large growing tree and with purplish black foliage which looks very beautiful with its new leaves in the spring. Foliage can be used in floral work and I think that if you soak the stem in a Glycerin solution for the leaves to take up then this preserves them.
Prunus Thundercloud. If you don't have the room for a copper beech then check out Prunus Thundercloud with its beautiful burgundy plum colour foliage. A bonus of pink flowers in the spring and a smaller tree for the section.
Just arrived and I didn't know we were getting
Lily of the valley or
Convalaria Majalis and the best plants I have ever seen.. full in the pot and even in flower This one likes a damp and semi shade spot where it perform with those famous classic fragrant like flowers.. priced at $29.99 for these gorgeous plants
Passionfruit and again fabulous plants being tall and bushy and well furnished. Get one of these and you are off to a great start. Just $19.99 each.
Lilium, green foliage and stems of exquisite trumpet blooms with the most exotic of perfumes.
Up and coming Events... check out our event page
Gordonton Country Garden Ramble Saturday 25th of November
Tickets available on the day from St Mary's church 974 Gordonton Rd. Cash or bank transfer only. Or you can order a ticket and pay online.
https://www.trybooking.com/nz/events/landing/10814 Direct any other questions to rriddell@xtra.co.nz or phone on 0221077562
Enjoy a day out checking out some of the country gardens and businesses in the Gordonton region. There are numerous cafes in Gordonton for you to enjoy morning, afternoon tea or lunch. There are also Devonshire teas for sale at garden No. 9. Check out their Christmas decorated church which is only open today to view for ticket holders. Open by appointment for groups on other days for a gold coin donation per person.
Art Exhibition in the display garden at Wairere Nursery By Anthony... at Wairere nursery gardens. Friday 1st, Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd of March 2024, 10am to 4pm
Anthony (Tony) has a personal goal for his exhibition and that is to achieve a minimum of 12 to 15 paintings. The amount of detail that goes into each and every one takes time as he build ups the layers to the end almost photographic like picture. You could follow him on his
garden graphix FB page or instagram
anthony skinner artist and check out more of his work and some of the different stages of some of his paintings. Otherwise tag the date in your calendar and meet Tony and see the work in person, then have wonder around our display gardens.
Just putting it out there
Looking ahead for the next few weeks with those that order by courier. Its usually a hugely busy time for the courier companies and we can't afford to get our plants stuck and not make it to where they are going. Our last week delivery for December will be South island Monday the 11th and Tuesday the 12th of December and North island will be Wed 13th of December.
The nursery is only closed for Christmas day and we are open normal hours of 8.30 to 5pm all the way through the holiday period. There is always watering to be done and so someone needs to be here. If you are planning to visit from around NZ then know that we will be open as usual and the display garden is there to visit too.
The team have started on the hedges to see if we can get them all done (as there are a lot of them) prior to Christmas. Its my plan to get onto the ones at home as well. I can't believe how fast these weekends roll around but hopefully it's another fine one to get things done in the garden. The roses in the garden centre are still breathtaking and worth a visit if you have the time.
Have a fabulous Weekend!
Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team
