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Saturday 10th May, 2025

Hi

Mother's Day has been around for centuries
I couldn't let Mother's day go without a shout out for all Mothers, though it must be be said that it's not just that day that matters but rather a way of life. I was curious to find out the beginnings of this annual celebration that we have of Mothers days; to find out that it's not a new thing but has been around for centuries.
Mother's day could be dated back to pagan celebrations in ancient Greece in honour of the Mother of the gods (Rhea) and also in Rome, Cybele, mother of goddesses. These were worshiped as early as 250 BC. 
England also celebrated with a day called 'Mothering Sunday' which occurred on the fourth Sunday of Lent as early as the 17th century, which was a day where domestic servants were encouraged to go home and spend the day with their mothers. The tradition of Mother's Day was created in 1907 by an American, Ann Jarvis, who believed that children neglected their mothers until it was too late. She campaigned for national observance and finally convinced her church to celebrate Mother's day on the second Sunday in May; the second anniversary of her mother's death. 
It certainly is an important date in the NZ culture as well, where we all take the time to spend time with our mothers. Whether that be going out for lunch, having a wander in your fav garden centre or just staying at home and cooking a meal, it's all about spending time with the important women in your life.
It's that time, and in a couple of weeks we need the space, as the potting season is about to start
Roses must go as we need zero stock again for the year and to make space for the new and incoming. To that end we have reduced these even further from the $30 to just $20...they are such good buying.

  
Vireya Rhodos all 10% off, great plants for the semi shade and away from direct frost... great for shade houses, under trees in dappled light and in pots.

 
Assorted fruit trees down the hill in our specials area and all just reduced to $40. We have taken these out of stock and so you need to come out and have a wander through them.
A pretty view on my way home looking through the Himalayan birches overlooking a small pond surrounded with maples and various trees all with Autumn tones. Quite an easy piece of garden that mostly looks after itself... 
Betula dazzler  Normally $54.99 now just $40.00. This 'dazzling' Himalayan birch has gorgeous pure white, peeling bark and large (for a birch) green leaves that turn a lovely shade of gold in Autumn. Beautiful planted as a glade or as an avenue down a driveway.
Olive trees and Hemerocallis aka day lilies are all still 20% discounted.
What's happening on the rose front in your garden? 
Hopefully you will all have stopped dead heading some weeks ago and let your roses set hips. I know that they start to look manky, but it's that time of year and it's best not to cut them but rather let them finish off for the season. Don't be tempted to cut them back and tidy them up as at this time of year, this will just encourage them to regrow and that's not what your rose plants need. 
Rather leave them as they are and encourage them to defoliate by spraying them with Lime sulphur which will make their leaves fall off rather quickly. Lime sulphur is quite a harsh spray so make sure you wash your tank out afterwards. It also stains and smells, so be careful where you apply as it will stain fences and other objects, but it is very effective at cleaning up overwintering fungal spores and insect eggs. If you are not into Lime sulphur, then use Copper oxychloride and Conqueror oil which will essentially do the same task but perhaps do three or four sprays through the winter. If you are really keen and like to do both lime sulphur and copper then do leave some weeks between these two sprays as they are incompatible.

 
The pruning deal, well in the Waikato, this is best left as late as possible being mid to late August or just before they are about to burst into life again for the spring. Pruning early in our warm winter climate will just promote growth at a time when you want them to rest. In a cold climate you could probably entertain pruning late June and July because it's too cold for the roses to regrow.
On the pruning front the Waikato rose society have very kindly offered to have some demos here at the nursery though not just pruning but rather these experts will answer any question that you may have. These quys have all the answers as they are totally passionate about growing the perfect bloom or just having amazing roses in their garden and it's not all that complicated.
Dates for your calendar are as follows: Wednesday 9th July 10.30am to 12.30pm; Saturday the 19th July 1pm to 3 pm; and Sunday the 27th July 11 am to 1pm.

 
If you want to buy new season's roses, then now is the time to get them on to your waitlist (if you haven't already). Demand sometimes exceeds supply for popular and/or new varieties, and it is 'first in, best dressed'.
Diospyros kaki, Persimmon, Fruit of the gods
Diospyros kaki could translate into 'fruit of the gods' and we are writing about the Persimmon fruit that are just coming ripe right now.  I really rate a persimmon trees for the garden as they not only have those delicious fruit but they are also quite decorative as small ornamental trees. In spring they leaf up with the most pretty soft lime green leaves which can turn scarlet red as it gets cold in the Autumn. The tree itself has masses of attractive bright orange fruits that sometimes hang on a naked tree, particularly if we get that cold spell that makes the leaves suddenly drop.
I know that the fruit in the pic most likely don't look like the polished ones in the supermarket but they sure do taste good... let's just say that they are mostly organically grown and from the tree that takes centre stage in the display garden. As the fruit ripen the birds are all into them, especially those bossy Tui.
Now, there are a couple points worth knowing. Persimmons come as astringent and those that are non-astringent. The astringent kind are also stunning as a small tree, particularly in the Autumn, but you have to wait until their fruit are over ripe; otherwise they are too astringent and bitter. It is the non astringent cultivars that we sell and you can eat these crunchy like an apple and they have quite a sweet taste. 
What wood do persimmons fruit on? How do I prune a persimmon tree? Know this and then you can manage the size of your tree or do something fancy like espalier !!
Fruit are borne on new wood which is only formed on the terminal buds of last year's growth. To ensure fruiting wood remains, prune half of the tree back hard in winter, leaving some of last season's growth. 
The persimmon trees have just arrived in and they are fab plants and this year not only do we have Fuyu but also Matsumoto Wase Fuyu.

 
Rowan Bishop has a persimmon date and tamarind chutney recipe that is quite the favourite with Tony and myself. I make quite a few different ones from her book but this one is up there and it's on my weekend agenda to make a batch. I found a link that has this recipe so if you have some fruit, you can also make a batch  Persimmon, Tamarind and Date chutney
It's been a week of arrivals as the nursery fills up for another year
Smoke bush or Cotinus It's been a while since we have had such a good range of these.
Cotinus Coggygria is the main ornamental species that I have always known with green leaves that colour brilliantly in the Autumn and has the namesake smoke-like-plumes one calls flowers in the spring. Generally an easy to grow shrub of largish proportions of around 2 to 3 metres. 
There are also some pretty nice clones like Grace. A beautiful foliage shrub with new spring leaves emerging with crimson purple tones aging to green with a purple tinge as summer progresses and once again deepening in tone prior to leaf fall. The frothy cloud of pink flowers appears in summer. 
Purpurea is a selected form with stunning wine-purple coloured foliage. This lovely colour is retained until the autumn then it turns to shades of orange and scarlet. Plumes of pinky grey flowers appear mid summer. Royal purple has gorgeous rounded purple red foliage that looks fabulous when the sun shines through the leaves. Strong tones of red and orange in Autumn.

 
Stachyurus Praecox which is what I know this shrub by rather than its common name of Early Spiketail. It's another oldie but a goodie to have in the garden. Again a largish shrub 2 to 3 metres with green leaves through the summer that turn into amazing Autumn colours but its the hanging lily-of-the-valley-like bell flowers  that adorn the branches. Very attractive and would look amazing in floral work.
Chaenomeles or ornamental/flowering quince is yet another oldie but a star in the Winter world of flowers as this one flowers on bare stems. The florists love this one for the angular branches and the pretty simple flowers for artistic creations. A pretty easy and tolerant shrub to grow and a range of colours: Alarm being red, Yokuku is white, Early Orange speaks for itself. Green Ice is very nice, Mrs Murphy is a double red.

 
New season's Wisteria are just in and who doesn't love this rather rampant climber that puts on the most stunning spring display. Like all plants, it can be kept where you want it with a little discipline. I have mine in the display garden that have been trained as trees and maintained as such but if you want to grow Wisteria along a fence or under a verandah, over a pergola the same rules apply. Just remember that they flower on the same ends each season, create a structure and then remove all the runners in the summer and make sure that you got them all in the winter. A big range to choose from!!

 
Ang said to mention the Finger lime standards that she managed to find, green, brown and yellow which we haven't had before, well the brown and yellow that is. I did spy some fruit on the green and yellow plants, though these were still green.

 
Those weekends rock up pretty fast and another one is on our doorstep though this one is a special one in that it's our annual celebrations of all mothers.
Mother's day is a great excuse to do something with Mum or that special person who could be Mum, be it having her over to dinner, going out for lunch or, as many do, come for a browse in our garden centre. The garden is looking pretty stunning at the moment and then there is also the new board walk to take in. There are several good eating places out our way and so you could make an afternoon of it.
Have a fabulous weekend and Mother's day.
All the very best from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.

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Last 25 Newsletters...

..... Mothers Day this Sunday

Rhodos and the like (3rd May, 2025)

Anzac planting (25th April, 2025)

Autumn colours are in (17th April, 2025)

Acidic persuasion (12th April, 2025)

Sasanqua Time (5th April, 2025)

Roses on sale (29th March, 2025)

Something Citrus (22nd March, 2025)

Autumn equinox (15th March, 2025)

Big Trees (8th March, 2025)

Natives (1st March, 2025)

Hot and dry loving plants (22nd February, 2025)

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Back into it (1st February, 2025)

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