Friday 7th April, 2023
Hi
One of the best.... Small multi talented specimen tree being?
If you guess all kinds of citrus you will be right on the money. Most don't think of citrus as being a specimen tree and I am not sure why? I mean what more could you want, small being around 3 to 4 metres for the average orange tree. Then many want evergreen and all citrus have really attractive dark glossy green leaves. But wait there is more, they have the most sweetly scented starry white flowers which are held against that attractive green foliage. Then if all of that isn't enough they look really attractive from around Autumn through the Winter with their yellow and orange fruits depending on cultivar, which of course are good for us to eat.
Most citrus should be pretty easy to grow, not suffering too badly in terms of pests and disease. I recommend spraying approx quarterly with conqueror oil and copper oxychloride and this usually keeps them all good from the likes of scale , sooty mold a secondary infection from scale and citrus virus.
As with most or maybe I can say all fruit trees they like lots of sunlight and plenty of air movement around them and this will keep any problems to a minimum. I have circles around the ones at home that I keep topped up with mulch, not up against the tree trunk though. This then keeps up the soil structure around the trees and helps conserve the moisture and also keeps the weeds down so they don't compete. Also the mulched area provide a space to give generic citrus and fruit tree fert to your trees drip line area, Spring and Autumn.
Citrus trees prefer good rich soil that drains well. They don't like wet feet or waterlogged soils. Most citrus do prefer a warmer climate and the Waikato is as about as cold as they tolerate. The light frosts that we get here, usually don't bother the leaves or for that matter the fruit. It takes quite a harsh frost here in the Tron to frost the fruit and the air temp has to fall below zero.
But hey where there is a will there is a way and I have a mate down the line where there can be snow and he built a special shelter so that he can have fresh lemons and limes. In fact In Europe Orangery's were built just so they could grow citrus like oranges and lemons. The citrus were grown in pots so they could be moved outdoors for the summer and back inside for the winter.
You can conclude form this that Citrus do in fact make great pot and tub culture subjects. I do admit that I like them in the classic Italian style Terra cotta flower pot shape. As in all pot plants only use quality potting mix that have been scientifically made to grow plants. Don't add anything to these growing media and plant down from the top of the pots so that there is a place to collect rain or hand watering. In pots only use a proper slow release fertiliser as these also have been formulated especially for pots with nutrient released over a period of time.
Most citrus are grafted and usually on one of two root stocks. The most common used is trifoliata on which most citrus are grafted. Trifoliata rootstock is unmistakable in that it has tri (3) leaflets and very distinctive thorns. If you see this rootstock growing then remove it. The other rootstock used is called Flying dragon and has the reputation for dwarfing the cultivar by approx one third from those grown on Trifoliata. I think that this rootstock is most useful for
oranges,
grapefruit and other citrus that naturally grow to 3 or 4 metres and space may be constrained.
Limes,
Satsuma mandarins and
Meyer Lemons are smaller growing citrus and are relatively small on trifoliata at around only 2 metres.
Tea break
Hello Cecilia here, I can see Lloyd having a cuppa of tea in the lunch room, So just passing quickly to tell you about the new season roses. All the new stock is already confirmed, so if you are looking for any specific rose, go to our website and put your name under the waitlist. Some roses have very high demand.
Arrivals of mostly the acid loving persuasion
Lily of the valley shrubs or
Pieris is up there as one of my favs as you get so much going for it. Attractive smaller leaves that contrast nicely against the size of Camellias leaves but there is more as most of these have stunning red new foliage that ages to green. Then there are the panicles of small bell like flowers usually in white, though there some quite cool pink cultivars reminiscent of their name sake convallaria (lily of the valley perennial).
Pieris come in quite a few cultivars that range in a variety of heights from approx 1m to those that grow to 3 metres. I think of them as being quite robust and whilst like dapple light I have seen doing well in quite sunny positions.
Pieris prefer or like slightly acid rich and peaty soils but will grow in most average gardens.
Rhododendrons we all know I'm sure and these stunning range of plants are a bit fussy about where they put their roots not overly like clay soils. They have delicate roots that prefer more peat or compost like soil that doesn't dry out but can't be wet either. Again a semi shade plant that does like some protection from the heat and full sun. There is a huge range of these in stock right now and the range is best right now too.
Check them out!!!
Evergreen azaleas, well really these are little
rhododendrons and most of them growing to approx one metre or thereabouts and again like a very similar position as do our larger rhodos. They do like dapple light though or semi shade but not too dark. I always think that they actually cope with more sun than we sometimes think. Keep good mulch or compost around their roods and feed with acid or Camellias fert spring and Autumn.
Pre-Orders
We are getting very close to receiving a few high demand products into the nursery so don't forget to pre-order them now while we still have some available.
Garlic, we have two varieties coming. The ever elusive
Elephant (5 pack or 10 pack) and
Printanor (available in a range of packaged weights)
Proteas, good selection coming in around the end of May, we tend to sell out of these quite quickly, check out our
website for the full range.
Looking for some talented people or someone that you may know of to help us in the nursery
We are looking for some great people who want to work with plants and currently have advertised a position in our garden centre and more specifically in our mail order and dispatch team. Its a busy place with a lot on and the position entails picking orders packaging and creating labels. Check the position out on
seek or
Trade me or send me a your CV to lloyd@wairere.co.nz
Potting season will be here before I know it and this year we are on the look out for perhaps 4 potters to help us through this busy time. The season is approx 12 weeks long. Anyways just putting it out there.
It has taken a few days for my body clock to get used to the the daylight savings change back to normal and its great that its light again in the morning. This last week the weather has been stunning and so I hope that it continues over Easter weekend and for the school holidays. Autumn has always been a favourite season sunny warms days and cool evenings.
Easter Friday we are closed but otherwise open all weekend. on that note remember we are closed for half a day on Anzac Day Tuesday 25th. If you are going away for Easter and longer then have a fabulous holiday. If you are at home then this kind of weather makes being in the garden a joy.
The garden centre is looking gorgeous and is pretty full again if you plan to be out our way then stop by and check it all out.
Otherwise all that remains is to wish you a very happy Easter and a fabulous weekend and beginning to the school holidays.
Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team
