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Friday 28th February, 2020

Hi

Oh for a drop,  just a drop...

Funny thing, but the other day I happened to be in Tauranga having a beer (as you do) in this trendy joint that was surrounded by Buxus hedging in container planting. You know the type, clipped too look cool and give a sense of space ... room and so on. My problem is that my eyes are never off duty when it comes to looking at plants. Beer or no beer and my eyes couldn't un-see the fact the the Buxus leaves had changed colour to a shade that if they went without water one more day they would be past the point of no return.
I did politely suggest that the plants were in need of water today and got reassured that they would receive that necessary drink... and I'm sure that they did, but the next time I was in town, I went past and decided that watering wasn't a priority as they looked a little worse for wear. 
It's not even a dramatic change of colour (Not sure that change of colour is the best way to describe the look) and I guess that most would not even see the difference but to me it was the last sign of excessive dehydration.  Not all the containers were at the same point but I daresay that the whole lot needed a good deep watering until the water ran out the bottom of the containers.

I thought this to be quite a relevant subject considering  our current weather patterns...  and I guess that one has to teach oneself to be observant of plants needs and to look for the signs that show how the plant is doing. 
Plants in pots are totally dependent on their owners for all of lifes requirements of food and water.. and with pots there is no buffer as that which plants in the ground enjoy... it's that simple. But here is the catch, plants in Winter that are dormant, say like a rose bush have very little or low water (and food ) requirements and you may not need to water at all as the rain will take care of it all. Come the summer months when they are in full swing of leaves and flowers... well its a different story all round. Watering until the water runs out of the pot may be a daily requirement or even twice daily. I can tell you that roses generally wilt when they are caught short and yellow leaves in  the centre of the plant is a dead giveaway that they went without water even for just one day.
Now here is why you have to look... a new plant in a large container will not need as much water as a more root bound older plant. Different plants all have differing water needs to boot... You can't over water a rose in summer but you could a plant that likes to be kept on the drier side, for example Acacia fettuccine. 
When planted in the garden there is usually much more of a moisture buffer but this year it has been really dry and as I look around the Waikato I do see many signs of stress by plants, and even trees, that look as if they are prematurely defoliating due to lack of that wet stuff.  Dropping their leaves is natures way of protecting them as the trees won't transpire as much water... I even spied some Claret Ash yesterday that had already coloured to their Autumn tones of burgundy red ... maybe we will see an early Autumn!

I have seen plants in road plantings that are stressed to the point of that change in their leaves where, what I call, emergency watering will save the day. I know in the gardens here we have winter roses that have collapsed badly but the guys have watered them just enough to save them as we don't water the gardens much... The nursery must come first... I keep thinking that this is an exceptional year, especially when the ground loses its water buffer.
If you can water then water directly to where it will be most needed and therefore have the most effect, it will be the latest planting that will seem to be affected first as they will have the least established root system.  An upside down funnel made out of a reused bottle with the bottom taken out will  seep water directly.  Soak hoses are awesome for direct and economical watering but leave them running for a decent length of time.. use what grey water you can..sometimes water just has to be enough to get by.
Just arrived
Trachelium caeruleum or for the want of an easier to remember common name Throatwort, these perennials belong to Campanula family and native to areas in the Mediterranean... Morocco, Spain, Portugal and Sicily and so I am assuming that they like a nice, hot, warm summer. In a temperate climate they are described as half hardy but in the right spot will perform pretty well as they are technically a woody stemmed herbaceous perennial . The plants I got in yesterday were in full flower looking pretty amazing with their cushion like flower.. Choose from either the traditional violet form or the stunning white ones. 
Firewheel tree or Stenocarpus sinuatus... I'm a sucker to get some different things and this one is for the collecters or plants nuts like me..  Australian rain forest tree so its going to grow into a tree with some pretty spectacular fiery flowers. This handsome tree belongs to the Protea family as does our native Rewarewa or honeysuckle tree (Knightia excelsa) which I also think has pretty handsome flowers. Thinking that the firewheel tree may need a warmer position, well until it at least gets a bit bigger but its interesting what you can grow where. You never know until you give it a go. If you asked me a few years back if we could grow Pohutakawa here I would have said no. I'm sure that the pavement in the carpark at Rototuna has made a micro climate and well we have some pretty amazing specimans of our Christmas tree doing well.
Callicarpa dichotoma.. Chinese beauty berry .. those that do floral art just love these and, for all of us, make a very pretty shrub in the garden. They should be in flower right now with very pretty delicate cluster of mauve...ish tiny blooms. These masses of tiny flowers will transform into being spectacular, clusters of bright purple berries which appear all the way up the stem of this handsome shrub... these are so cool its a wonder that you don't see them everywhere.
Angels fishing rod, being Dierama pulcherrimum. These are new to us and I often get asked for them but usually don't see them for sale but this pendulum pink variety was on offer so I snaffled them up... I did notice that they were not hanging round long so if you want one you might want to get an order in.

So many new plants in this week, too many to write about but here are some you might be interested in... Clianthus puniceus and Albus (that's the red and white forms of Kakabeak), Escallonia Pink Elle makes a great low hedge, Origanum Bellissimo is heat hardy and full of colour all summer long. Cranesbill geraniums are always in hot demand and love the hot spots in the garden, check out Rozanne, Tiny Monster and Bertie Crug, they are loving this dry period.
Summer colour 
Don't forget about the Tibouchinas or as us oldies will remember the name Lasiandra. These are fab shrubs and provide the garden with bright purple flowers over the summer months. They do come in a range of sizes and variations of purple to almost lilac ... we do have a few of these on offer right now Blaze of Glory, Groovy Baby, Carolyn and Blue Moon yet to arrive. Blaze of Glory is a relatively new cultivar and is super special in that it has variegated foliage and lovely purple flowers. Groovy is also a tad different in that its a true dwarf or mini only reaching around 45cm tall.
Crepe myrtle or Lagerstroemia indica and the one just arrived is Bergerac with bright pink crepe like flowers.  Crepe myrtles are summer flowering trees which is great for colour at this time of year. There is more to this tree than just its pretty summer flower as usually the leaves colour well in the Autumn... but wait there is more, the bark on the trunk of the tree is silky smooth and well, you just want to touch, or rather stroke it.. when you grow one of these you will know just what I mean. Potentially an awesome smaller specimen tree that can easily be kept small by cutting the flowered stems back to a structure or frame work.
Something different
Justicia Carnea Aurea... Brazilian plume flower and of course the aurea tacked onto its name means that this is the gold flowered form, which I don't think I have seen actually in flower but I imagine to be way cool... well suited to that sub tropical look garden with maybe Vireyas  and other broad leaf foliage plants like Cannas and a fav the Ligularia reniformis - the tractor seat plant... more suited to a warmer or more sheltered disposition but hey we all have micro-climates in our garden spaces!
Dry pack Peonies will be starting to arrive next week ...Have you ordered yours? 
New release roses are getting closer, coming June 20... check them out and secure the new ones for your garden. We have a blue climber coming called Azubis which has a delightful fragrance and good disease resistance. This is our only blue climber expected this season so don't wait if you are wanting blue for your pergola or trellis.

Its going to be a one in four year event this weekend, not that we gain an extra day off, but rather we have an extra day in the year as suddenly we have a Feb 29th, yes it's leap year! Know anyone getting married or having a birthday? I know a couple of good roses you could present them with! Happy Birthday and Kiss the Bride are a couple of strong, fragrant, fabulous floribundas with names not easy to forget and certainly appropriate for gift giving. 
Keep up with whatever watering you are able/allowed, remember long and deep if possible try to avoid to many shallow waterings, but of course if that's all you can do then it is better than no water. Emergency watering should probably save the day.  Start planning for that all important Autumn planting time.
Have an awesome weekend 
Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.

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Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: