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Tuesday 22nd November, 2016

Hi

Dust those Christmas Baubles Off

Its nearly time to dust off the bright baubles, fluff out the tinsel, find an angel or two and hang all your finest out for all to see but, LOL, on what? Are you the sort that grabs an axe and finds a nice pine tree branch to hack off  a tree growing in some friends farm lot?  Do you opt for one of those beautifully grown manicured and trimmed trees that you see growing all year to be harvested just weeks before Xmas?  

Of course for the techno ones there is always the fibre optic versions that spin around with multi coloured glowing lights that you just pull out of the closet and simply reassemble. 

For us green fingered, gardening types then a special tree growing in a pot that we bring out and dress up for the festive period may be our favoured option. Some like the classic pine tree look and so a member of the conifer family like Cedrus deodara, Picea or Pinus does the trick. The conifer family does make for good pot plants as a rule as they are more tolerant of drying out than other plants (lets face it, we all miss watering those pots from time to time). Conifers also like high light levels and so can be grown in some quite hot and sunny positions. If you are actually going to take your precious plant inside and dress it up in some traditional fare don't keep it there too long as it really is an outside plant.  Its better for the plant to have it as an outside, courtyard, porch or table top Xmas tree.  We do have a few table top choices suitable for pots at the moment...... take a look at Picea baby Blue or Picea orientalis or even Picea Sitchensis.

              

Then there are the types that like something a tad more Kiwi and what could be more so than the Pohutakawa as this magnificent tree is usually in full bloom and looking stunning over the Christmas period...... give or take a week or so depending on how hot and dry the season has been.

Pohutakawa is officially known as Metrosiderous excelsa, well the common coastal one is anyhow as there are quite a few different species and cultivars  out there. In my head not many trees could be hardier than our favourite Christmas tree. You just need to take a look at where these trees grow. Full coastal exposure which demonstrates that the can handle the wind and salt laden ones at that. You see them sprawled over rocks, cliff faces and  all of the most inhospitable places that you can imagine and they thrive. Often their roots exposed by sea washing the banks away or half the hill has slipped. which brings me to the point that our handsome hardy native Christmas tree would make for being an excellent choice for growing in a large tub to bring out each Christmas.

On this mornings walk I noticed that the yellow version of this classic red tree are all out and nearly in full bloom and looking rather lovely and the normal red version wont be too far behind them as I saw glimpses of red..... My guess is our coastal areas will be a blaze of red in just another few weeks  just in time for the big day.
            

Just we are on the subject of Pohutakawas our native Ratas are closely related  to the northern Rata being Metrosiderous robusta. Northern Rata  is kinda special as its actually starts life high in the branches of a host tree sending its roots down that girdle and straddle its host and eventually killing the same creating itself as a massive tree with usually a hollow trunk The south island Rata is Metrosiderous umbellata  liking a cooler clime and higher rainfall and starts live in a more conventional manner typical of a most trees.

Back onto the handsome Pohutakawa we have some lovely grades of Maori princess and Vibrance which are both excelsa  cultivars  and also one called Mistral which actually is a excelsa and rata cross which makes it and interesting hybrid.

 

Pot facts .... remember you are in charge!!!

-  Only ever use potting mix in pots. Potting mix is scientifically designed to grow plants in containers with correct air space and the ability to drain. Don't be tempted to add anything to it to make it go further like compost, soil or peat as you will just upset its ability to drain.

-  Only ever use pot formulated fertilser in containers and try to remember to feed at least every quarter so that your pot plant doesn't go yellowish classic signs of nitrogen deficiency.

-  Never use instant fertilser as it will go straight into solution when you water and burn the roots because of excess soluble salts  in toxic levels.

-  Every now and then water your container so that the water runs right through. This will wash out or through any excess soluble salts.

-  Always leave a space at the top of your pots  relevant to the size of the pot. This acts as a space to collect the rain water or for you to fill with your hose when watering otherwise its hard to get water into the pot as it just runs over.

-  Don't put a small  plant in a huge pot, its better to pot in an appropriate size pot and then pot up  a size as it outgrows its initial pot.

-  Sealing the inside of terracotta pots will help the life of the pot and also prevent the pot from drying out as quickly due to the porous nature of clay.

-  Choose plants suitable to your gardening style ie some plants require more attention than others.

Whats happening on the plant front

Abutilons the new dwarf range. Chinese lanterns aretypically quite rangy shrubs but these newbies on the block are compact and still with classic bell shaped flowers that they have. Choose from red, yellow, orange and white which is quite a lemon yellow that fades out to almost white.

           

Kumara, there is still time to get these in.  don't forget  to keep them moist as the new slips need water until they get established. Plant them on a mound on a firm base spacing them about 40 cm apart $9.99 for 25 slips.

Potatoes all half price to clear... still plenty of ground moisture to be planting... if this rain keeps up we all be gardening all summer,  Still plenty to choose from including old favourites like Rua and some newer varieties like Van rosa. 

Cornus   Oh My word!!   Our dogwoods on the road side are looking just gorgeous at the minute. layer upon layer of creamy white flowers. Its worth coming for a drive by just to check them out. They are quite large flowers that consist of usually four white bract joined in the centre. Once the flowers finish they will be covered in masses of red strawberry like fruits. There are many different cultivars of these handsome trees which really give you a lot of bang for you buck. Nice shaped trees that are just gorgeous in flower followed by red fruits and autumn colour to boot.

           

Hydrangeas are all coming up to flower... Easily grown shrubs, that like a dappled light position with  a reasonable amount of moisture. I think the thing that I love hydrangeas for is that the blooms last for ages and once they go past their peak of flowering the blooms age to some very attractive shades. I think that we must just about have the biggest range of these around. don't forget to keep them blue you need to apply aluminium sulphate in winter and of course lime does the reverse with keeping the pinks and reds ... well Pink.

Some ideas to get a gardening friend or partner 

Deluxe 2 piece pruners, beautifully packaged and made from stainless ideal set for dead heading, pruning and cutting bunches of blooms. An awesome deal as well being $74.99 these now just $39.99

ARS range of amazing quality secateurs, loppers, shears and pruning saws. We use this range in the nursery and they are just brilliant. I would love a gift of one of these myself.  We issue the team with a new pair of these and they last them for years with little if any work which is why we know this brand is good. A simple squeeze of the handle will open them and an easy lock to shut them.

Vouchers... don't get stuck for something, we can offer vouchers in any amounts that you would like. These are valid for one year from their purchase date. 
And of course we can't forget roses, always a gorgeous gift for Christmas. 

             

I think that this overcast or damp weekend will be perfect for planting my veggie seedling out so that's my plan. Five more days and we will be in the twelve month and it will really be count down to Christmas. I usually try to get all the gardens up to scratch in the two weeks prior. That's all the main hedges trimmed and looking neat, all the buxus hedges done and looking sharp.  I like to have all the gardens looking fab for our usual Christmas day Champagne breakfast so there is a bit on yet.

Have a great weekend and if you are out and about come on out and check the roses,  dogwoods  and of course the garden.

Ciao

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 (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 (20th October, 2016)

summer is coming (27th October, 2016)

Plants for eating (2nd November, 2016)

November 11 (10th November, 2016)

Hamilton Gardens (17th November, 2016)

..... Xmas Trees

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: