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Friday 27th July, 2018
Hi
Four days till spring ... only if you are a plantophile
Have you noticed... the slowly but surely lengthening of the day light, or how that grass has been suddenly growing in the past few days.... The leaf buds on the trees and plants are suddenly looking nice and plump as they begin to swell. Flower buds on the trees have suddenly doubled in size. Snowdrops, paper whites and even some really early daffs have popped some colour, all saying that the silly season of plant sex is on its way.
I know that technically we have another month of winter and, to be fair, this can often be the coldest of this period....but as I look around I am seeing the very definite signs of spring. There was a Tui sitting in our campanulata cherry Felix Jury looking like it was waiting for the blossoms to open. I looked closely and I have to say they didn't look that far away either as it is one of the earliest to flower.
I guess I have lived my life being so in tune with plants and the seasons that you see all the small signs that herald that spring is on its way even though we call August winter.. To that end if you haven't pruned your roses and fruit trees then now is the time to definitely book it in and get onto the job as you do want to have this task done prior to bud burst.
You need to have a lovely fine day to do this task as wet damp and or foggy days allow the spores of the fungal infection silver to travel and potentially infect new pruning wounds. Fine days when you are off work can be a tad tricky here in the Waikato as its often foggy damp or just plain raining.
Sharp secateurs and a pruning saw are always good to have on hand, we use the ARS brand here in the nursery as we find them amazing to use and they seem to be Always Really Sharp.
I don't think that I have done a piece on pruning this year so for those that want a quick refresh its all pretty simple and the basic principles apply to any pruning. Everyone seems to get hung up on it, but as an old colleague wrote once, Feel the fear and do it any way. Not many plants die from bad pruning except of the hardest kind.
For established plants
Remove all dead and diseased wood
Remove branches or stems that cross over or through the plant
Prune to promote flowering or fruiting wood
Prune for an open bush that allows air movement
Lets look at say pruning a rose bush, then we are basically removing the flowered stems back to say 4 or 5 buds (7 to 10 cm) from where it starts at the main framework of the bush, potentially to outward facing bud. Occasionally you may have a space for a flower stem to shoot internally. I always used to say, look down on your pruned rose bush and imagine that its like your shower nozzle with each stream of water with its own space to flow.
You want to have lots of new fresh pieces of stem that are about small finger thick to have heaps of flowers, if every bud produce a cluster of flowers then you will have masses of bloom.
Look at the framework or the structural stems and remove any that perhaps have flowered for too many years, particularly if there are some new fresh canes that can take their place. It will probably stand to reason that young and fresh is always best.... well maybe LOL
If you have a new bush that needs pruning then bear in mind that it is young and that you need to develop the framework and that it usually take approx 3 seasons/years for a rose bush to mature into that feature plant that you want and you have to prune to encourage this to happen. Don't be too hard on a young bush as then it may not have enough leaves to photosynthesis or make food to grow. I know that some like to cut out all the cross overs and little wood in a new seasons rose and leave it with little and I always feel that this can be a tad harsh. Get this right in its second and third year when it has a bit more to come and go on.
Not all roses are equal and many, like the Austins, are shrub roses and will be more shrubby like than say a hybrid tea or florabunda. Remember that once only flowering roses flower on previous seasons wood and so should be pruned after flowering and not in the winter.
Its all kind of the same for fruit trees as well, that is the principles It will take 3 to 4 years to establish a frame work which should then be in full production.
Remember that apples and pears fruit on spurs and whips that will fruit for many years and that others like plums and peaches fruit on previous seasons wood and older.
It's still a little bit Winter because the ornamental quince are blooming.
Chaenomeles Yokuku
I was down the back of the nursery the other day turned around and looked at all the mini standards of the ornamental quince and thought they were all looking just stunning.. I love the way that they flower mid winter on bare branches and Yokuku is just gorgeous with pristine white flowers. An easy plant to grow and will suit most sunny positions. Great for floral work if you leave it to grow in a large bush that you can cut stems from. If I recollect the fruit can be used to help jam set.
Witch hazel or Hamamelis is another shrub that flowers in the cold months and has the most unusual spidery flowers. There are a few cultivars of this Hamamelis cross and we currently have Jelena, Arnold Promise, and Diane. This grows into quite a large shrub and so give it plenty of space in a border garden or mixed shrubbery.
Corylopsis spicata is definitely spring flowering but worth mentioning here as it is early to flower and they are just gorgeous as they hang from this gorgeous shrub, lime yellow and hanging like hop flowers I always think it well deserves a place in the shrub garden
Daphne. I'm thinking that these are the best plants that we have had for years, big and bushy and looking great. Both the classic pink and white varieties and we have some in standard form as well. They do best in a dappled light position or where they get the morning sun, like their roots to be moist, but not wet or too dry. You may think that they are fussy, well they are, but oh so worth the effort when you bring bunches inside of those delightful fragrant flowers as we do.
Book yours today and don't miss out
Asparagus crowns are in limited numbers this year. According to Ang and the grower these are a superior variety. We know them as European Male Asparagus, they are the chosen variety of our grower as they are reported to produce more spears per crown. Get your name on the bac korder list quickly if you are wanting these as we don't have many coming in. Remember that they need a dedicated bed to grow and will provide spears once they get going for some 20 to 30 years ... I'm wishing I had put a bed in when I started this nursery lol... though maybe I would need to be replacing them now... I just adore asparagus.
It is planting time for potatoes now and Ang has made sure we have a good large range for you to choose from. We have everything from early to late varieties and a good range of the Maori potatoes as well. From the look at the figures the Maori potatoes are running hot this season. If you aren't sure what varieties to choose, you can check out our selection guide on the How To Page, click the bold words for a link to more information.
Start planning all the garden tasks, pruning, feeding.
Get into that garden... I'm telling you spring is on its way! We have mostly finished potting and the team will be getting ours sorted and there is a bit to do!!! Last of the autumn leaves to be tidied, roses and fruit trees to prune, not to mention all the hydrangeas need doing (pruning )and they can't wait, weeds to be dealt too. Mulching and of course there are always gaps to fill with new plants. The list grows exponentially at this time of year but all well worth it come spring.
Next on the agenda will be to feed our entire garden especially all the new roses that we planted last year.
You don't build a house without a plan!
There is nothing like a bit of planning and we are in the process of getting a new shed built as storage for boxes etc has reached a point where we are just out of space. I had the dilemma that we needed to reconfigure the entrance to the shed and realign fences and the like and also upgrade the small cattle yard that was there before I get the guys out to do the work.
Luckily we just happen to have designer working right here in house, I thought let him solve the drive entrance , cattle yard layout and new paddock configuration. When its on paper you can see how its going to work.
Anthony from Garden Graphix helped sort the sheds position and has drafted a concept layout of the new configuration of the cattle yard, entrance to the shed and how it all merges into the existing landscape. It has taken all the stress away from having to think it all through and we can see that it will work, unlike when it is just in our head. And of course what's in my head it isn't always the same as what's in Harry or Anthony's head so this has us all agreeing to the same plan... its all on paper now so I can just hand the plan to the bob cat man and the fencer and the awesome part is that its going to be the best plan going forward.
The garden looked fabulous for our surprise 80th birthday party last week, food was great and a good time was had by all, even the weather played nice and was warm enough to eat outside, my favourite place to eat.
Yep another weekend and the last of the nurseryman's winter LOL I move into spring mode next week. Get out in the garden people time is going fast!
Have a fabulous weekend and a productive week.
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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Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: