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.
Thursday 20th October, 2016
Hi
Its amazing how dry the place gets when the rain does stop for a few days. Because all the plants in full spring flush their water requirements in pots or bags is really high but with all the regular rain we haven't needed the irrigation other than the odd manual turn on for the odd bay. Then suddenly the rain stopped for more than a few days and I had to hurriedly complete the electronic part of the irrigation system that we had just rebuilt with all new solenoids. We had got it to the stage were it all worked manually but that's no good to me when the whole cycle takes 8 to 10 hours to run and it all needed to go. I would have been up all night swapping the stations.
Its the same in the garden, we have a huge bank that was once covered in Ivy which we removed and have recently cleaned up and mass planted in winter roses. Luckily I have help in the garden in the name of Simone who did an awesome job planting and mulching this area. With those fine days the plants started to dry out especially with the wind that raced up the slope from the west. We had to get the hoses out and give the area a good drenching.
In the same area is a beautiful, secluded pond garden that hasn't had any time spent on it, but again thanks to my secret weapon "Simone", it has been edged and mulched and some additional planting has been done. The weeping maples that surround it are looking elegant as that cascade nicely downwards to the pond. Hostas have emerged with their new seasons foliage and there are a few Louisana Irises flowering away that complete the picture. Check the pics out on the Wairere Facebook page.
Maples and Hostas are two foliage plants that look particularly stunning at this time of year. Typically the weeping ones that have the very fine and dissected foliage do best out of the wind and even cope with dappled light but on the same token will do well in a sunny position if out of the wind and have well mulched roots. Its a combination of wind and summer dryness that can cause the ends of the leaves to scorch.
Weeping maples only augment in size by growing up and over and so they are very slow to grow higher but do get wider. Their growth habit is such that they cascade to the ground but I do like to see a little trunk so often get underneath and feather them upwards so they look mushroom like. There are a few different weepers but they are typically either red or green and their names give them away as to colour.... Crimson Queen, Viridis, orangeola.
The next style of maples are the vase shaped ones and they can often give a lot in the way of foliage colours by having amazing spring shades that turn to green over the summer and then fiery tones in autumn... Shindeshojo is one that has shrimp coloured spring foliage turning green and then brilliant autumn shades. Katsura is a pretty shade of limey green yellow.
Acer Aconitfolium has quite a cool green leaf but has the reputation of just oh so gorgeous autumn colours
whatever the maple I'm sure that there would be something to fit your place.
Just cause the pic is so cute
A friend of ours is waiting on a build to be completed but was really keen to plant a couple of avocados, thank goodness I suggested that she back order them as they have been in such demand this year. I do believe that we are going to get some more avos in the warmer months early in the new year. Being in a rental with several gorgeous dogs, all this wet weather and claiming to be not such a confidant gardener, these new plants were duly shipped off up northwards to a mate to be looked after till such a time as they could go into their new home.
I received this email so we know that the plants are in good hands or is that paws
"I though you might like the attached pic this is Zoe (sable) and Mandy (tricolour) who will be babysitting the avocadoes until we are ready to plant mid Nov. '
Kumara slips.... Wahoo these have now arrived,
Interesting to learn about these tubers as they actually belong to the morning glory family... yes I know, the same family as that climbing vine with the gorgeous blue flowers, which is such a weed!! So the family name is Convolvulaceae and the fancy Latin is Ipomoea batatas.
From what I have just said you can quite rightly conclude that Kumara love to grow in a long warm season. Going back a few years now, probably more than I want to recall, but my employer from my first nursery job grew these beauties in left over polythene mulch from their rose crops. I have since grown these and on the whole they should be quite an easy crop to grow, they just need some space, and for quite some time too!!
Prepare the soil with any ferts, compost prior to planting and don't feed them again otherwise they will put all their energy into growing tops and not tubers. Lime the soil at this point as well. Don't dig deep, just aerate the soil. Ideally they like to grow in a light soil with a pan or hard layer underneath so when they hit the hard spot they will start to grow tubers.
Make a mound around 20 cm high and plant them like a J in the soil, get the slip mostly all in the soil and just leave the outer leaves showing and keep them moist until they take off. Those brand new slips can run out of water if the soil surface suddenly turns dry. I have always planted mine at 40 to 50 cm spacing along a mound.
I had a quick look to see if there were any other secrets that I could find out about growing kumara and the trick that I did read was not to cut the runners back but rather keep lifting them so that the tops don't root into the ground. This will mean that they will put their energy into growing the tubers. My old boss knew a thing or two when we planted them through the polythene mulch.... the poly would have stopped the tops rooting down and kept the soil much warmer as it attracts the heat.
When the plants start to die down and the tops are going yellowish, approximately 4 to 5 months then this is the time to harvest. Take care lifting these beauties out of the soil as you want them as undamaged as you can and then dry them off in the sun for a few days and they should store for up to 5 months in a dark airy cupboard.
If you are anything like us then we are just getting into the garden now... so if its been too wet and you thought that you have missed out on named Delphiniums well there is a new batch of plants just arrived.
Anthony has created a small picking garden and right up there high on his list of favourite flowers are delphiniums.
I have to say that often you can get two flowerings out of these beauties, the first in the spring and the second in the Autumn. Keep the plants going in the garden and the clumps just get bigger and better. Slugs and snails are the worst enemies of these queens of the perennial world as they will quite literally devour decent size plants right of at ground level. Keep your slug and snail control up year round so that when it comes time for your delphiniums to arise there won't be vast number of them to dine on your beautiful delphiniums.
New to me and new to Wairere
Mimetes cucullatus is an unusual and beautiful, multi stemmed, small to medium shrub and is the best known and most widespread of the Mimetes group. It has numerous erect branches which are covered with overlapping, oblong leaves which change from green on the lower parts to yellow and bright red at the top.
Cordyline High gloss is a stunning new almost black cordyline. It would look stunning against a plain light coloured or white wall as an accent. LOL it is so new I cant post a pic yet!
OMG a long weekend, an extra day off, well for some LOL , Labour weekend is meant to be the traditional time to plant the vegetable garden but oooh I don't know that its warm enough yet to throw in those tender beans, basil tomatoes and corn. However on my way to the pools the other morning I see that the council plantings now have marigolds in which would indicate that they think that it is warm enough. Maybe the heat from the road helps but I have to say that wet ground takes longer to warm than dry soil.
If you are in the garden then enjoy it as I have been. The nursery is looking stunning so come out for a stroll around the gardens and the nursery.
Cheers
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Archived by year 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
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 (27th May, 2016)
Frosty Friday (3rd June, 2016)
Tiny Camellias (9th June, 2016)
Gorgeous Trees (24th June, 2016)
wet wet wet (1st July, 2016)
Burgundy foliage (8th July, 2016)
Fruit trees abound (15th July, 2016)
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)
Spring Shrubs 2 (7th September, 2016)
Tricky Tasks (16th September, 2016)
climbers (23rd September, 2016)
Wairere Newsletter 23 Sep (23rd September, 2016)
Beards are in vogue (23rd September, 2016)
Gin Oclock (14th October, 2016)
..... ????Kumaras are in
summer is coming (27th October, 2016)
Plants for eating (2nd November, 2016)
November 11 (10th November, 2016)
Hamilton Gardens (17th November, 2016)
Xmas Trees (22nd November, 2016)
Holly (2nd December, 2016)
Xmas Brekkie (9th December, 2016)
Merry Xmas (16th December, 2016)
HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: