Our weekly email news letter. Sign up here to get them delivered straight to your email in box. See below for previous issues...

Please note that product availability and prices may have changed from when this newsletter was sent. Please check this site or phone us for current availability and pricing.

Saturday 29th June, 2013

Winter Is The Time For Best Trees and Rose Plants

Hi

Crepe Myrtles have Sexy Bark

I often get asked if now is a good time to plant roses and trees and other than the Autumn its the best time.  The reason here is that in our climate the soil is still reasonably warm and so our newly planted roses and or trees make all important root growth so that when spring comes your new plant takes off running. Now its important to know that now or Winter is  also the only time that quality trees and roses are available. Growers that produce trees and roses  do so in the ground and can only lift their plants  in the dormant season being Winter. This is why we have this massive influx of roses, trees, fruit trees and the like at this time of year and the big pot is on cause we can't get the best quality at other times of the year.

I find its a bit like being a kid in a candy store as I drool over all the new plants and I never get bored of all the exciting stock. I was laughing with a client the other day when she asked if we have any crepe myrtles, to which I replied yes and then elaborated, They have such sexy bark, you just want to stroke their trunks. and then I was off telling her about when we were away and I took all these pics of trees and all their fascinating  barks and textures. I wanted to collect pictures for when we upgrade our web site and then I can share them all with you

Our next big task is to get them all into alphabetical order as finding them can be a bit of a mission when there are so many. Finding one of three roses out of 14000 can be daunting if its not in the right place and the same goes for fruit trees as well

Jenny shares her Biscotti

Jenny flew in the other day with a glass barrel filled with Biscotti claiming them to be fat free, well that is if you didn't count that they were choc filled with chocolate drops but hey at least you know what ‘s in them cause you have made them yourself, she laughs!  She doled out a great large one each and I have to say it was just divine. She makes them large and not too hard saying that you don't want to break your teeth and they are just what you need to give you that extra zing with your coffee break
Apparently easy as to make

     
Jenny's Biscotti
Beat 2 eggs (no 7 eggs) and 1 cup castor sugar
Sift in 2 cups flour, 1 tspn Baking powder (scant) plus a splash vanilla essence
Add Choc drops ( not chippies always choc drops ) plus cranberries or whatever you wish to put in ie chopped crystalised ginger, hazelnuts, apricots

Shape into 1 log kinda low and wide just like a biscotti shape
Bake 150 degrees C for 25 mins, depends on oven
Cool completely, Slice however thin you like
rebake 150 degrees C for another 25 mins



Martin writes in re their Mid Winter tradition and Hey what a cool thing to do!

For last 4 yrs part of our mid winter, shortest day has been for each of the family to plant a red flowering lily bulb in a bucket of mix.  4 grandchildren and 5 adults. Red plastic buckets, green labels. Name and date on label. Have saved bulbs each year and I buy one  different variety , red flowering when I find one.  When flowers are out close to Christmas the children put them at our front doors. Tradition is what you fall back on when you run out of imagination  !!!!   Still have a roast, Xmas Pudding but also pavlova!!    Cheers  Martin

Now there is Copper and there is Copper
Wally Richards sent me an email the other day with a few pointers re Copper  sprays, I learnt a few new things so will  share his email directly with you. Now I'm a fan of doing these winter sprays as it means starting the spring with a clean slate so to speak and combined with good feeding and cultural practice should minimise eradicant spraying.
I quote " Copper Hydroxide is far more effective than copper oxychloride as the former has a smaller particle size and covers the target plant more completely.
Mixing any copper with spraying oil reduces the effectiveness of the copper to about 50% and aids it washing off the plant faster in rain.
In most cases there is no target insects to use the oil on and if there is then a separate spray with the oil can be done at any time of the year out of sunlight.
Raingard to be used with the copper that is far more advantageous to the customer as it will hold the particles of copper in place for up to 14 days rain or shine.
Wallys Liquid Copper 250 mls which makes up 250 litres of spray, does not block the jets like powder coppers and comes to you at a price and amount  when made up beats copper oxychloride by miles.
Also copper hydroxide is approved by organic certifiers for minimal usage and copper oxychloride is banned from organic certification."

New Releases

Camellia Curly Lady  Here's something a bit different - a Camellia with twisted, undulating stems and leaves. The leaves which are a glossy dark green are complemented by large semi-double red blooms in spring. Something of interest all year round. Happiest in acid soil and dappled light. Evergreen.

Magnolia Honey Tulip   Another drop dead gorgeous hybrid from the Jury breeding programme. Large rounded goblet shaped blooms in a soft shade of honey yellow. The petals are of good substance and the flowers appear early spring on bare branches. Plant in a sheltered position in acid soil for best results. Deciduous.

Standard Roses, There are some pretty cool ones that we haven't had before like Pink petticoat, The popular Lemon and lime or even Munstead wood, check out princess Alexandra of Kent

Finally we are getting some frosts and a period of cold weather so this is the month to look at pruning roses and fruit trees cause Im pretty certain that they wont regrow. Remember to only prune on a very dry and sunny day as rain drizzle and moisture can transmit diseases like silver leaf into the open pruning wounds. Following up on your pruning with a copper spray is not a bad idea either.  So if its fine tomorrow or the coming weeks  perhaps pruning will be on your task list as its is for me and our garden

Enjoy the weekend

Cheers

Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team

Make it a Wairere weekend where gardening's not a drag

Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, RD 1, Hamilton
07 824 34 30
www.wairere.co.nz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archived by year 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |

2013 Newsletters...

New Year and Crepe Myrtles (8th February, 2013)

clivias and Roses (15th February, 2013)

Roses in the beginning (22nd February, 2013)

The Albas (1st March, 2013)

St Patricks day (9th March, 2013)

Cabbage Roses (15th March, 2013)

Hirsute Roses (22nd March, 2013)

Portland Roses (28th March, 2013)

Bourbon Roses (4th April, 2013)

Big boots to fill ... (11th April, 2013)

True Love and Large Hips (11th April, 2013)

Happy Birthday (10th May, 2013)

Tea Roses (17th May, 2013)

Hybrid Perpetuals (24th May, 2013)

Planting and caring for your new roses (29th May, 2013)

Polyanthas (31st May, 2013)

Hybrid Teas (8th June, 2013)

Floribundas (14th June, 2013)

Austin Roses =?utf-8?Q?e298bc?= (23rd June, 2013)

..... Different Coppers

Pendula or weeping (5th July, 2013)

All in a days work (19th July, 2013)

Daphne (26th July, 2013)

Hydrangea Secrets (2nd August, 2013)

Maples high worked (9th August, 2013)

Magnificent Mags (16th August, 2013)

Mags Part two (23rd August, 2013)

Hedges (30th August, 2013)

The fluffy stuff (12th September, 2013)

Fluff and Stuff (12th September, 2013)

PC Irises (20th September, 2013)

Beardless Irises (27th September, 2013)

Lavender (4th October, 2013)

The Ilams (12th October, 2013)

Maples (17th October, 2013)

Maples (18th October, 2013)

Maples Part two (24th October, 2013)

Maples Part three (1st November, 2013)

It's Rained (8th November, 2013)

Busy week (15th November, 2013)

Hydrangeas (29th November, 2013)

Its rained some more (6th December, 2013)

Who's pinching my Peaches (13th December, 2013)

Merry Xmas (24th December, 2013)

HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: