Rose time is on its way,    Roses roses and more roses...

Oooooh that one caught us on the hop, two damn good frosts in a row but what a beaut day that follows. Give me a whole winter like this and I will be happy.  It will be rose potting time soon, well actually very soon and the place will be more action packed than it is normally. Funnily enough, it usually rains as soon as the roses arrive.  In reality this is really good as it keeps all their roots moist instead of us have to sprinkle them with water every 20 mins .  Not only do we need the rain as it's been quite dry of late but all the rose and tree growers will need a good downpour or two to wet the ground so that they can lift all their plants.  Rose time is fast and furious with around 10000 rose plants all to get into those black polythene bags.  It's a big team effort and I'm a dab hand at potting but using the tractor and front end loader to get the rose mix into the potting bin is just not my forte'. Just between you and me I have had the somewhat unmanly reputation of getting a tractor not just stuck but buried up to its axle in a flat car park just trying to load some scoria.  I got a little practice the other morning as Harry wasn't around and LOL Bev is still shaking the potting mix out of her hair. Just while on roses Harry gave me a copy of the NZ gardener special collectors edition on roses and its just jam packed full of stunning pictures and so reminded me of why we all love roses!! Check out whats coming on our web site and pre order if you like!!             

It seems to be a bumper season for feijoas but I reckon that there is going to be an abundance of mandarins ripe very soon. I seem to munch my way around the garden at the moment going from Feijoa to Persimmons to Mandarins. Just as well that I like fruit!  Anyways, for those that want the nitty gritty on their Feijoas, check out Chris's latest research on fruiting times and more. The Feijoa Chart.
How do you choose between all those lemons and I say plant two,  Every garden has got to have a Meyer which  seems to have some fruit on it all the time so there is always something to pick.  Then have a real lemon like a Lisbon or a Yen ben.  By real lemon I mean that have that special flavour for those that like to make lemon meringue pie, Yes..  there are lemon connoisseur's out then who really know their lemons. If you are short on space or want one for a pot then get one on flying dragon rootstock and this will help make the plant smaller by about one third but its worth noting that a Meyer will only grow to appox  1.5m whilst the other lemons will make it to 3 or 4 metres.

Vaporgard  Now that brings me to a new product that we have that is really relevant to this time of year. Now while old foliage on most citrus can tolerate a Hamilton frost the new stuff can get a little burnt so we have sprayed our citrus plants with Vaporgard, an organic anti transpirant and frost protection. We sprayed it onto a few other plants that whilst not frost tender, but do get a few marks on their leaves.  Now there are few around me here that swear by this product and not only for frost protection. Wally Richards describes it as spray on frost protection that copes up to -3 and lasts for a whole three months,  Chris, our fount of all knowledge botanical, uses it for preventing sunburn on her special buxus and I would suggest if this is the case it would be worth applying to freshly trimmed buxus hedges to prevent sunburn.   Well worth a go anyways!! Wally even suggests that the film will even be help prevent some fungal infections and would be perfect for freshly pricked out seedlings or on newly moved plants.

Gerberas: Gerberas for mothers day. These would have to rate as one of my favourite flowers and I always used to give my mum these in a bouquet of flowers. I just love that classic and simple daisy style with that large button centre.  I got a fresh batch of these hardier Gerbera in and needless to say,  all ours mums are getting some of these gorgeous plants for mothers day. They can enjoy them inside for a few days and then plant them out into the garden. These are beautiful plants here now in full flower.

          

Spirals Cone and standards  Awesome spirals and Table top cones just stunning plants and whether you are after a mother's day gift or just something to freshen up a pot but these are way cool and cool at a really hot price. These will really bring out the Edward scissor hand in you as you practice keeping them in form. Remember with Lonicera or Box Honeysuckle that  there is only a week or two between a good haircut and a bad one especially through the spring. Check these out on our Family Deals

          

I know that its still a little way off but the shortest day looms and the garlic is in and ready to go. Plant each clove separately in good rich soil and by the longest day or there abouts you will have  many fulll heads of garlic again. Too easy..  The flowers are also very pretty and look great in the garden.

 

Mothers day is looming so hope that you all are planning a family dinner or just some good quality time together. It looks like its going to be another frost tonight so I'm guessing that the weekend is going to be beautiful. Its perfect weather for tidying up the garden and setting it right for winter. Leave pruning your roses until late June or mid July.

Have fun and make the most of this glorious weather...

Cheers, Lloyd and Harry