OMG I updated my phone the other day and it thinks for me. Yes you may well laugh but it seems to have done stuff without my asking it too. Harrys opinion on the whole matter is " well you never learnt to use the old one properly so why bother with a new one. The answer is that I have to at least try to keep up and it does thing like take photos and upload them with a minimum of effort.  Allan our IT guru has done something with it so that you can take a pic of the barcode and then a pic of the plant and it will upload to the website. The trick now is to teach the others to do this as well. We have just recently taken up with being on facebook for Wairere Nursery and its really handy to take a pic and then have it immediately upload it with an appropriate comment. LOL, though the other day I managed to get the same leucadendron pic up twice, cause I thought that the first one hadn't gone through.  Check out the Wairere facebook page, click here and follow Anthonys amazing eye for detail and design by following him here on Garden Graphix facebook click here

I have already owned up to my Magnolia habit but have never quite decided which flower shape is my favourite. Stellatas tend to have the open, more star like flowers and there are also a few out there that have Stellatas in their parentage but have larger flowers and more like other magnolias in flower size, eg Susan and Leonard Messell.  Then there are the more goblet shaped flowers or what I would call classic or traditional Magnolias. I think that these have Soulangea in their make up and San Jose, Rustica and Soulangeana are good examples here. The last style of flower is that amazing cup and saucer look where some of the petals reflex backwards and Iolanthe is like this but its not just about  flowers its also about size LOL and Chris sorts size out next.

           

So you've decided that a Magnificent Magnolia is a must have for your garden but which one to choose? Magnolias come in all shapes and sizes from dainty little shrubs that flower on naked branches in winter to tall leafy forest giants. Some species and their cultivars may take many years to flower but will mature to be a tree of such breath-taking beauty that it will be admired for generations to come. By way of contrast, modern hybrids often start blooming the same year as planting. Modern hybridizing has also seen the flower shape and colour range of Magnolias greatly expanded and gardeners can now choose from the purest white, prettiest pink, deepest burgundy and sunniest yellow and various combinations thereof. Most of the blooms are fragrant. The earliest Magnolias flower in winter and the latest in early summer when the blooms are complemented rather than diminished by the dark green foliage.

Below you will find a size guide-line (based on an estimated 10 years growth) of recommended cultivars to help you make a choice as to which Magnolia is right for your garden. If, like me, you are enchanted by these most beautiful of trees you will find it very hard to limit your choice to just 1.

3m and under            5m and under            Over 5m
Amethyst Flame*       Apollo*                     Athene*
Genie*                       Brixton Belle*            Atlas*
Lennei alba                 Denudata alba           Black Tulip*
Liliflora nigra               Cleopatra*                Campbelli
Royal Star                  Hot Flash                  Campbelli alba
Waterlily                     Leonard Messel         Honey Tulip*
                                 Milky Way*                Iolanthe*
                                Royal Purple*              Lanarth
 *Bred in N.Z.                                             Sir Harold Hillier

And for those of you who have a really spacious sheltered spot a Magnolia with a serious WOW factor is Magnolia macrophylla AKA Big Leaf Magnolia. This Magnolia which hails from South East America has fresh green paper thin leaves that can be up to 1m long! The enormous and stunning flowers are 30cm + in size. The flowers open from big fat buds in summer and sit amongst the foliage. It is an amazing sight in full bloom.

Places to see Magnolia Collections in New Zealand

Hamilton Gardens - Bussaco Woodland (near the cemetery)
Magnolia Grove - Waitara
Trelinnoe Park - Just North of Napier
Tikorangi - Waitara (the Jury Garden)
Wairere Nursery right here in Gordonton - bring a trailer!

Watch out for downy mildew. Its the sneakiest of rose fungal infections and the reason why its so sneaky is quite often there are no real symptoms other than leaf drop but if you look carefully there can be faint purplish blotches on the upper leaf and stems. Now a bad infection causes constant leaf drop and then the bud or growing tip dies and the next one down tries to grow.  If this happens then you have to nip it in the bud, scuze the pun!

I bring this up now as the weather is just right for Downy being wet and moist and with warm weather bringing on those very tender sensitive new leaves and new roses can be particularly sensitive for some reason.

In the nursery I always spray prior to rain and then again after the rain as its the rain that causes/spreads the infection. Several close sprays  ie a couple of days apart can halt downy and once you have control you are good. Clean up the fallen leaves and put in the rubbish so the spores aren't hanging around. If you think that you have downy mildew then use Bravo to sort it out.
Spraying before the rain and again once the rain has gone is a good general regime to follow and if you have no problems then you may not need to spray at all.

Dont forget your roses should all be pruned by now and feed them, this will help give them the vigor they need to hopefully not get any problems.

Its been so warm and we have had some really good rain, its time to be getting some spuds in. Can't think that we'd be getting any frosts now, hardly had one all winter. There is a whole range to choose from including early and main crops and ones that come to maturity quickly. Follow the link to order Spuds

Harry couldnt resist some stunning Leucadendrons and a few Proteas to boot.  He also grabbed some beautiful lily of the Valley shrubs that were coming into flower.

Delightfully fragrant Boronias also came in to the garden centre this week with their unusual  blooms.

I'm hoping that it is going to rain this weekend and that it's a decent session of the wet stuff. I am going to move some of those plants that I need to shift before they leaf up and a good wet will just help the transition. 

Fathers day is looming and Im sure that a bag of seed potatoes or even a beautiful tree will go down a treat, I have even had some one ask for a kumquat and I guess, so that Dad will make the marmalade. Whatever you have planned for the weekend have fun.

Cheers

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