Tuesday 5th August, 2014
Goblet, Cup and Saucer or Starry Eyed ?
Hi
Magnolias are just gorgeous, they would have to be one of my favourite trees with those huge flowers that seem to smother a naked tree. They have started their fabulous display already in our garden with
Denudata Alba LOL flowering nude but did you know that
Magnolia flowers are not what they seem.
Botanically they belong to their own family, The Magnoliaceae and have proper bisexual flowers but not with petals. Those huge almost leathery like flowers are made up of up to 18 of what are to known to plant people as Tepals. These are fused sepals (usually the green outer on other flowers) and petals and in my book tend to form either goblet, cup and saucer or parrot shaped blooms and I had better not forget to include the starry flower form of the
stellatas. Now a classic example of each would be
San Jose for a goblet,
Liliflora for a parrot shape,
Iolanthe is just stunning with a cup and saucer shape and finally
Stellata King Rose with its starry like flowers.
Here in NZ, we are really fortunate to have so many fabulous
Magnolias that are the result of years of breeding work by the Jury family. I did a little research and found that Felix Jury introduced 8 selections and his son Mark has released 4. Of all flowering trees,
deciduous magnolias rank amongst the aristocrats. Felix Jury began hybridising with
magnolias in the early 1960s. His quest was to create
campbellii type cultivars which would flower at a far younger age and without the potentially overwhelming size of
campbellii. He was also keen to bring in more colour intensity which he achieved with his Magnolia
Vulcan.
We have most of the Jury Magnolias in stock and I have to say that they are just amazing. Harry and I have Iolanthe in the nursery and its truly spectacular in flower. I look at the pictures of the others and just think to myself that there is room here for a few more.. sigh!! The white ones do it for me.!!!
Check out these Jury Hybrid Magnolias by clicking on the links below
Know your Mildews, Downy and Powdery
Powdery mildew is like its namesake and is like a powder on the upper leaf surface and usually is a problem in summer often affecting plants like pumpkins at the end of the summer but can affect
roses occasionally. Downy mildew is usually symptom less and perhaps its called downy as it causes the leaves to fall off at this time of years and man is it ever a sneaky disease. The the weather that we are having at the moment is just perfect for it to infect new
roses. You have to watch really carefully as sometimes the new buds just don't seem to open or if you have new leaves then you may just see a purple hint that is downy. Downy will even cause purple marking on the rose stems and this mildew can cause a
rose to die. So why is this weather just perfect? It's because generally in the Waikato, its warm and growth happens early, then we get those wicked frosts that damage the leaf surface, next we have those cold showers and its the rain that spreads the disease.
Once a rose is infected, the leaves fall off and then we get more rain, the spores reinfect the next set of leaves by the splashing effect from the soil and the cycle continues.
Why new roses.... established roses know the seasons better and don't leaf so early usually and because they are established they have access to more nutrients and are just in a state that handles infections better.
How to help prevent..... Spray new
roses and
Bravo is a great help as a protectant on the leaves. Watch the weather patterns and spray accordingly. For example spray after any frost to help the leave protect itself and spray prior to any low or rain coming and again after the rain. If you have Downy then do two close sprays or even 3 of
Bravo, 2 days apart to break the downy cycle and then follow the weather patterns as above. Once we get past this time of year it won't be such a problem.
More tips... spray the ground under your
roses to get the spores on the ground and pick up and put any fallen leaves in the rubbish to remove the reinfected material.
The Promised Lime Marmalade Recipe (courtesy of Taste...via Google)
I tried to con the old boy into typing the recipe in for me but at best I got a copy written in the neatest of handwriting. If you click the link it will take you to the recipe but while on the subject Ngaire writes in with her twist on making marmalade..
Just to let you know that we also have a lot of limes and made marmalade with them but then I added a twist by putting an orange in with one lot and with the other I added a grapefruit and this has given it a different flavour and colour also, very nice !! Cheers Ngaire
New In This Week
We have these lovely little bronze coloured bird houses, that are just so cute! They are the perfect size for hanging from a tree. Great for adding some interest to your garden and attracting the birds into it. They would also make a great gift for someone. These bird houses are a great price at $34.99.
Asparagus Jersey Giant, plant these crowns now..these are available as a packet of five crowns for $14.99. This variety produces giant juicy stems of asparagus and is highly productive. These established 1 year old crown will produce really well in the home vege garden.
Asparagus plants are perennials and will last a long time in the garden. Plant in a sunny spot in the garden in well drained soil. Plant about 7-8 cm deep and place the crowns 45 cm apart with the roots well spread out.
We've also got an unexpected and really stunning grade of
Lomandra Lime Tuff available at the nursery now. The plants are just huge. These plants are a luscious bright lime green colour, they are perennial and look great mass planted. Will look great in the garden all year round. Little stems of yellow fragrant flowers appear in summer. They will tolerate poor soil but prefer good drainage. Hardy and easy to grow.
We've got a really nice fresh grade of
Photinia Red Robin too, priced at $14.99 each. Bred in NZ, this popular hedging plant has deep red new growth for long periods in spring. The leaves gradually turn a deep glossy green. Tough and easy to grow. Perfect as a background plant as well as a hedge. Evergreen.
We've got some magnificent
Rimu (Dacrydium Cupressinum) trees in, they are really impressive to look at and nice and tall at about 3 metres high. Plant a few of these in your garden and you'll have an instant native forest in your backyard, lol! Such a bargain and should be $89.99 now just $59.99.
Lepto's or tea trees. Great plants pretty flowers and great for attracting the bees into you garden and there is a few different cultivars to choose from.
Spring is just around the corner, all pruning needs to be done and its time to be feeding the whole garden, Hopefully we will be in ours next week. What ever your plans have a great weekend.
Have a great weekend!
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend where even GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag.
