Saturday 27th February, 2021
Hi
Follow up
Many thanks to all those that wrote in reminding me that Agapanthus orientalis is a noxious weed and shouldn't be sold or planted as its does seed prolifically. Needless to say we don't carry Agapanthus orientalis (large leaved and flowered form) in stock nor do we promote this species to be used. However I also do believe that we all have a personal responsibility to remove the spent flowers before they dry and become viable and dispose of them so as not to carry it's cycle on.
Many of todays Agapanthus cultivars are either partially or fully sterile and do make for very useful landscape plants for all of the attributes that we mentioned in last weeks email.. They cope with more extreme conditions that other plants don't and their foliage always looks fabulous and not munched on by various molluscs and beetles. Personally I always take the view of maintaining my garden and our environs to the best standard that we can and that means when plants have finished flowering we remove the spent flowers so the place still looks fab. I also don't want to risk any seedlings because nature has a habit of procreating even when it's not meant to.
I also mentioned that a weed is a plant that is not in a desirable place and we maintain Wairere and its gardens with that in mind as many plants and trees set prolific amounts of seed and not always where you need them.
Whats looking cool out there in the Nursery
Pristine in white
Mandevillea Laxa... this one is very pretty and fragrant with tubular white flowers... a climber that needs a warm spot and whilst could be described as frost tender will grow quite happily here in the Tron.. If the spot is too cool will defoliate in the winter but usually comes away quite happily in the spring..
Anenome Snow queen... one of the perennials that start to strut their stuff as we go into the Autumn, single pure white flowers that look just amazing in a mass planting..
Anenomes are such easy ones to grow and will grow just about anywhere though is listed as a woodland plant.
Leucanthemum Daisy May or
Shasta Daisy as I recall as its a bit of an oldie and a goodie.. simplicity and typical of a daisy flower, these are true perennials which die down to a base rosette of leaves... pretty easy to grow, loves full sun and rich soil will always give the best results.
Autumn Crocus which we talked about last week but this is worth chatting about again this week too.. Up there with my favs and provides pristine white crocus like flowers in the Autumn.. Pretty easy to grow and as we have said flowers in response to the Autumn rains or maybe just Autumn...
Nerium Madonna Good ole
Oleander creates a fab shrub and Madonna has stunning pure white flowers. A tough plant that will tolerate quite extreme soils as long as its in the full hot baking sun.. I have seen Oleanders grown in the centre of the motorways in the northern hemisphere, which they must machine prune to keep hedge like.
Parahebe Snowcaps, basically a lax Hebe that is quite perennial in form low growing almost groundcover like but not and masses of small white flowers even though there is a pink centre ring that is not so noticeable except in a pic of this sweetie.
Hibiscus Snowdrift stds.. Pure white single typical hibiscus like flower grace this deciduous shrub. These ones have been trained as standards and would suit being a statement or feature in the garden or even a very small tree. Check out all the Hibiscus that we have here.
Click
Hazy days of summer move '" Officially" into Autumn
Just a couple of days of summer left, well officially anyways and just where did that time go... as we roll quietly into the Autumn... The signs of Autumn are already here as I look around at the trees with their aged population of leaves looking tired and weather worn and feeling the stress of the summer heat.. The avenue of the cherry Awanui that we have here in the garden centre leaves have already gone from green to almost brown green.. In time they will go and age to some pretty orange shades but that is a few weeks away yet..
I always get clients bringing in leaves on their trees at this time of year with leaves that are looking either a tad past their best, browning on the edges, holes and just damaged but these will soon form an abscission layer with the tree, colour and then fall and finally the naked season of winter.
On that note of Autumn I have all of the garden team back from summer hols preparing all of the gardens for the Autumn flush. Hedges have been cut back into shape. Plants that have finished flowering have had their seed heads removed, including all dwarf Agapanthus, Renga renga lilies and winter roses;
Roses have all been cut back like a winter prune and their spent flowers removed, These will flush again in 7 weeks time... provided we water and feed them and I have my fingers crossed for some more rain. Just while on roses, this hot sunny period is perfect for mites so if the leaves on your roses are looking yellowish and patchy it could be this little pest. Too small for me to see now without a magnifying glass but are like little spiders running on the undersides of the leaves, sucking all the green. Conqueror oil aimed at the underside of the leaves or if you have cattle pour on drench at rate of 1 ml per litre.
Autumn is another good time to feed your garden in general, though I often suggest that one should wait for some rain to wash it in.. and hopefully by the end of March. Autumn is my favourite season and I can't wait to get back onto some of our planting projects in the nursery as I wish to restore some of the Kahikatea forest out the back that you can see from the gardens.
Perennials that have finished flowering need to be cut back especially those that will flower again like penstemons.. other that have done their dash for the season can often be tidied back but they let you know when their foliage can be removed... Example are Hostas when their leaves are tired and ready to go they come away easily but not if its too soon.
Trees around the gardens need to be lifted as every year they grow and drop back down and I like them to be the upper layer and so that you can see the layers that create the garden. For instance the trees on the roadside need to be lifted so they sit above our hedges for several reasons .. It looks better and it lets the light back onto the hedges underneath.
Top up the mulch around the gardens.. it will always improve soil structure, feeds the plants, holds more moisture and looks good and will always make for easier weeding.
Plan for your Autumn planting, its just around the corner, its one of the best seasons to plant as the ground is warm still and your new plants will make lots of all important root growth ready for the big burst the following spring.
Planting something a bit different
Disphyma australe... here is a goodie for those that want something ground covery for a hot sunny sandy spot... The is NZ version of an ice plant and would be commonly found on cliff faces, rocky out crops or sandy poor soils... so if you have a spot like that, then this is for you. Ice plant flowers that could either be pink or white as this is probably grown from seed but the foliage is cool and the flowers will be when they come.
Olearia macrodonta another NZ Native and with almost holly like foliage, donta, I guess meaning tooth like leaves.. Typical Olearia in form, leaves are grey blue and toothed but not sharply prickly so.. belonging to the daisy family in a shrub like way with typical olearia daisy like flowers.. could be cool as a hedge or equally just as a shrub in the garden.
Campanula Mystic bells... This one is a reasonably new Campanulata and is really pretty with heaps of lilac, blue, bell like flowers.. A true perennial that reduce to a basal mat of leaves in the winter.. Easily grown in most positions from sun to dappled light.
Lagerstroemia Crimson red... I adore
Crepe myrtles for the fact that they provide summer flowers when most trees have done their dash. but the bonus of this beauty is the stunning black red leaves and it also has crimson red flowers, train this one to be a small tree or a large rounded bush.
I am missing Cathie this week (on a well earned break) who helps me get this email right each week, way more techno than me with that all important ability with pics, links and the like. right down to making sure what we write sounds correct but hopefully we are on the right track... roll on Cathie being back in the hot seat as I need a refresher on those all important links and pics.
What are the plans for the last weekend in summer... going away for a beach weekend, getting the garden ready for the autumn flush, checking out the plants so that you know what to get for the autumn plantings or get pre ordering for the winter... chardonnay in hand of course.. I will be planting my winter vege crop!!!!
Whatever the plans....have a fabulous weekend
Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team
