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Friday 27th May, 2016
Hi
If you come to the nursery I'm sure that you will hear the potting team well before you see them.... well perhaps one of them any ways ... the one that calls me 'Lloydie Babe'. My mother would just cringe if she could hear... all that aside I must be pretty special as our roses are getting potted over a trip away to Melbourne. Its quite the job and it takes a team of at least 6 to 8 as we go through the process.
Bev was just saying to me the other day that her roses were looking scruffy and how much she hates it when they are in this state, and I'm sure that many of you out there will agree as, most roses look the same now especially if you resisted the temptation to dead head the flowers back in April... and don't cut them back now either.. this will just say to rose that its Ok to flower again.
Its quite hard in our warm climate to force roses into winter rest time and the trick is to stop dead heading or trimming them way back from late March early April. This will mean that once the last flowers have finished your rose bushes should be setting some hips and the leaves should start to fall right now. The result is that in between seasons look of scruffy roses.
Now to really make roses think that its winter spray them with lime sulphur as this will really make the last of the leaves fall and will go a long way into telling the rose that its winter time. Do not prune your roses early, like now, to tidy them as this will just make them think that they need to grow again and Spring is still some way off yet.
Wait until the last minute and if it stays as warm as its been this winter then pruning time could be as late as August and just before they start to move into spring growth. Now if we get some frost and the weather really chills down enough and I mean enough that its cold enough to stop growth then perhaps we could get in a prune a bit earlier like say July. In the Waikato this rarely happens and it usually stays warm enough for some growth to happen. Down in colder areas of NZ then pruning could happen in June or July.
Spraying in winter is a great time to clean up both Fungal spores and insect eggs that are overwintering
I wholeheartedly believe in Winter spraying as it can potentially minimise spraying through the spring and you are using sprays that in the most part are quite safe to the user.
Lime sulphur is the strongest spray and perhaps does the best job of eliminating spores and overwintering eggs. It certainly gets rid of the remaining leaves and a couple of applications two or three weeks apart could be a good scheme. When using Lime Sulphur remember that it can burn leaves on other plants that may be in contact when you spray with Lime Sulphur and there is quite a short term lingering of its very distinctive smell. Lime Sulphur can also be harsh on your spray gear so clean it well after using this product.
Some prefer to use Copper Oxychloride and Conqueror oil and these two will do the same trick but are not quite as strong acting and so you would do two or three or even 4 applications through the winter prior to pruning and then one after.
Now I know that some of those Rosarian Buffs will use both Lime Sulphur and the Copper combination starting with one Lime Sulphur and the waiting a couple of weeks before moving onto Copper and oil. Its important to wait those couple of weeks between the two different sprays as Lime Sulphur is incompatible with the Copper and oil.
The same programme can be used to spray all your fruit trees... well the ones that lose their leaves and if I think about it, pip and stone fruit all belong to the rose family. Lime Sulphur should clean up woolly aphids, mealy bugs and fungal spores that seem to attack our home orchards and give you a clean start to next spring
Sort your Pruning Kit..
Its not pruning time yet but go and find your gear and make sure that its all sharp and ready to go. I grabbed 4 new pairs of ARS secateurs for the root pruning gang so that we all had nice new sharp gear. They get a lot of work for their first 8 or 9 weeks by pruning roots 8 hours a day.
Now I know that Ang got us in some small sharpening stones that will help keep that extra sharp edge of the ARS brand but I have found that the ARS brand really keep their edge for ages without any extra sharpening.
While on tools in the same range there are some really nice pruning saws that are super sharp and have the tooth design which gives them the ability to cut super fast and with as little effort as possible needed (turbo cut)which I have always used for crown lifting my trees and they would be suitable for pruning old roses and fruit trees.
What's Hot , What's in, What's a deal
Lily of the Valley ... the real McCoy... Convallaria Majalus and also the pink form Rosea... That beautiful old fashioned perennial with its perfume. These are pips or a small shoot that have been potted. I would recommend that you sprout these in the pot that they are in or get several and upgrade them to a larger pot until you get them away as they would easily get lost in the garden. They do also make for a cool pot plant and once they're away could be split and then naturalised in the garden.
Euoynmus hedging a large or instant small hedge grade normally 12.99 these are going out at 6.50. These are great bushy plants that need planting as they have yellowed a little. Planting them will give them the feed that they need a great score for some one that wants an instant small internal hedge. Plant at three per metre. first in first served and when they are gone that's it !!!
New Season Roses are rolling in bare rooted from our different suppliers and we are in the process of potting them. We pot them in alphabetical order as a rule and we have only potted to the letter D so far but I think that we'll be onto H, I and J by the end of the day and maybe L and M tomorrow. Another week of potting should sort the rest of the Alphabet. If you have orders in for these roses you will get an email letting you know when your plants are available. Some varieties we have very limited numbers of due to their popularity so people who have made orders will be given priority. Another good reason to order your roses is the reduced price of the roses over the current period but this reduction will only continue until the end of August.
Gumballs are a unique form of Liquidambar with a dense, shrubby, rounded habit that is grafted atop a quirky cork like trunk. The autumn leaf colours of orange, red, wine and purple remain on these trees well into winter. We are excited to say we have managed to source a very small number of these hard to get trees so be in quick if you are wanting these.
Citrus plants of all types and sizes have been arriving through the week and more are expected shortly. Don't let your citrus plants sit in water but do ensure they have regular water while setting their flowers and fruit to ensure a good crop. Citrus are heavy feeders so keep them fed with citrus fert as it has the extra magnesium and trace elements required for citrus feeding. We have a wide range of citrus for you to choose from and as a rule citrus are easy to grow fruit trees which you should enjoy a good harvest from. They perform well in containers as well making them versatile must haves for your garden or courtyard.
Camellias are looking stunning at the moment with a large majority of them in flower now. We have an extensive range of camellias and I know I speak of the sasanqua camellias often as these are superb as hedging plants which is a staple requirement of most gardens but there are many other camellias that are just gorgeous as standalone bushes as well and some of the stand outs for me are pictured below. We have some pre espaliered plants available which are stunning when in bloom.
Grevillea are wonderful for colour in the garden during the autumn winter period with many flowering through from autumn to spring. Nancy Otzen and Mt. Tamboritha all in full bud now with some plants already flowering. Grevillea come in a diverse range of texture, form, size and flower colour. These are hardy plants which are very tolerant of poor soils and dryness. Originating in Australia these plants prefer soils that are low in phosphorus so it is best not to feed these with a fertiliser unless it is low phosphorus such as blood and bone.
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
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2016 Newsletters...
Picnic....ing in the shade (28th January, 2016)
Wairere Newsletter 5th feb (3rd February, 2016)
To Run or Not to Run... (19th February, 2016)
Wairere Newsletter 02 Mar (1st March, 2016)
Camellia time (11th March, 2016)
Magnolia or Michelia (17th March, 2016)
Easter weekend (24th March, 2016)
HW or LW Trees (3rd April, 2016)
Evergreen Trees (13th May, 2016)
All about shrubs (20th May, 2016)
..... Rose Time
Frosty Friday (3rd June, 2016)
Tiny Camellias (9th June, 2016)
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Fruit Tree Pruning and Flowering Cherries (21st July, 2016)
Cider apples (29th July, 2016)
August already (4th August, 2016)
wood pigeons (7th August, 2016)
Feed Time (19th August, 2016)
Magnolia's and Cider Apples (20th August, 2016)
its Official (2nd September, 2016)
Spring shrubs (7th September, 2016)
Spring Shrubs2 (7th September, 2016)
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Wairere Newsletter 23 Sep (23rd September, 2016)
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HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: