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Header image: Kawarau Gecko, Woodworthia "Cromwell", found during ecological survey in the Springburn/Annie catchment. Photo by conservation scientist and critter expert Samuel Purdie |
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News from the nursery and summer outlook |
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Following NZ’s warmest spring on record (Earth Sciences NZ), which bought us very active and changing weather influenced by the Sudden Stratospheric Warming event above the South Pole, and despite an early summer period of cool temperatures and frequent light rains, it seems the weather patterns may now be settling and it is forecast to be likely that we will experience above average temperatures and below average rainfall for the next 3 months (NIWA Seasonal Climate Outlook). |
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Above: Sam and Big Boy Roy, our Plymouth Rock rooster, who we caught in order to administer a treatment for scaly leg mites. Roy has successfully defended his flock for many years against cats, ferrets, falcons and other predators, but he is getting old - a spring chicken no longer. |
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We’ve been keeping busy at the nursery with regular spring potting, sending out orders, and recently conditions have been right to create a huge flush of weeds for us to deal with (maybe caused by the delay in heat). |
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Above: a van load of lavender headed out to a customer |
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We’re often asked, “how far apart should we plant our plants?”. While it’s easy enough to give some quick guidelines, and this is usually enough to get the job done, a comprehensive answer will require consideration of a number of factors, some of which we explore below.
Plant size and health If you are not hedging, plant spacing should mostly be determined by eventual plant size, in order to maximise plant health, growth speed and quality. Most of our plant descriptions will mention the eventual plant width. For a cohesive planting, space plants closer than the eventual width. The opposite is true for giving space around the plant to appreciate its form.
Close spacing reduces airflow and increases the prevalence of pests and diseases. It naturally increases competition for sunlight, and other potentially limited resources such as soil and moisture.
Plants that are planted too densely can shade out other plants that were maybe growing less vigorously or combine to make an unintentional thicket. In this case plants will need to be cut back. For less ongoing labour, the choice can be made to remove selected plants or let the less vigorous plants succumb, as they would in nature.
On the flip side, growing a group of plants together and near mature plants can be more successful than a single exposed plant. This is the nurse crop effect - using the neighbours as shelter and shade, reducing negative environmental effects until the plants are established. Mycorrhizae and other subsurface microbes can also play a role.
Plants grown with less water available or very free draining soil may struggle to ever reach their potential width. Drought tolerant plants used in a difficult site can be planted closer together as a result. |
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Above: Photinia ‘Red Robin’ planted at 1m spacing for a more suburban quick hedge, much more mature plants at 2-3m spacing giving a similar effect, and a mature specimen standing alone |
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Hedging and growth rates When hedging, you are not letting plants grow to their natural size and shape, so plant spacing is mostly concerned with getting the plants close enough to knit together relatively quickly. For hedges that are around 2m high, plants are generally spaced between 0.45 and 1 m. For slower growing, smaller hedges like Buxus, plants should be planted closer together, between 20 and 45 cm. The larger the plant when you plant it, the quicker it will start touching its neighbour.
It is vital that plants are matched to their growing conditions or provided the conditions they need to survive. It is very common to see a dead plant in a line of hedging. Yellowing leaves and a lack of new growth on hedging plants is a sure sign that investigation is needed.
Each species has a different growth rate. Faster growing plants can be spaced further apart in a cohesive design as they will knit together quicker. They also may out compete their neighbours - for example Lonicera nitida can grow 30 - 60cm in one season whereas Buxus sempervirens may only grow 10 - 15cm. If you planted both at 1 m spacing it would take one season or less for the leaves of the Lonicera to start touching but 5 years for the Buxus to start touching. At a 40cm spacing the Buxus would be near touching within a year.
Many common hedging plants have medium water requirements and can be slow growing once planted if enough water is not available. It can take two to three years for plants to get established and start growing at a good rate. Due to the close proximity of plants in hedging it is advised that soil is improved, mulch added and irrigation is available to improve growth rates on poor soils and dry areas.
Often the biggest determinant for the initial size, spacing and quantity of plants is budget. The budget may determine less plants/more distant spacing and maybe a smaller grade of plants to begin with. The drawback to this will be that it will take longer for a hedge to knit together. To save money you can save the bigger plants and closer spacing for areas near the house where you want privacy screening quicker.
Naturalistic planting In the wild, there is increased competition between individuals, interspecific competition, predation, etc and thus spacing is radically different than a planting. If you want to create a more naturalistic effect in your planting, vary your planting distances and think groups of the same types of plants together with a few dotted further apart. Spacing plants repeatedly at exactly the same distances will create an unnatural looking planting. The opposite would be a more ‘modern’ planting, which could use symmetry, topiary etc to deliberately create an ordered, unnatural effect which may combine well with manmade structures.
Cohesion You can plant closer together to achieve a cohesive look. Planting grasses/tussocks close together will create one large grassy area with individual plants being hard to pick out. This is also useful for creating a mat with groundcovers. Plants can be spaced wider apart if you want to see the forms of the plants, such as a tussock field where individuals can still be seen. Some plants are statement pieces and you may want to see the complete outline of the plant. A tree spaced apart from others looks much more stately than one growing into a miniature woodland. |
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Olearia (recently changed to Shawia, but this is going to take a bit of getting used to) species are underutilized in our area. There are many species that are drought, frost and exposure hardy. They have attractive daisy flowers that will be abuzz with insects including native bees. Their leaves come in many different forms and shades of green grey. Some may be too large for the average garden but Olearia x haastii doesn’t have this complaint. Growing to 2.5m high by 2.5m wide it could fit in all but the smallest garden. If it does get too big it has been proven to be very receptive to being pruned, successfully regrowing from bare wood.
Olearia x haastii is a natural hybrid stumbled upon by the eminent geologist and explorer Julius von Haast. It is rare in the wild originally found near Lake Ohau above 1200m asl. Believed to be a hybrid of O. avicenniifolia and O. moschata. Natural hybrids can vary greatly between plants so therefore can be difficult to identify making identification of natural hybrids rarer. It was one of a handful of NZ Olearia to be exported overseas and since 1858 it has found a home in many UK gardens making it fully garden tested. It has been proven to be frost hardy to at least -10C, tolerant of drought and windy maritime conditions. This could be attributed to its waxy grey leaves that are covered in down on the underside which reduces moisture loss. |
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Above: Olearia x haastii in our nursery, and flowers being pollinated by various flying insects |
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In January and February it is covered in white daisy flowers which have a sweet aroma that delicately fragrances the air. The daisy flowers are very attractive to native solitary bees with some bees choosing these flowers over other flowers (Lim, Z., Lord, J., & Johnson, S. 2025). It is known that moths also frequent many Olearia species, fragrant plants are often fragrant as a way to attract moths for pollination. Olearia x haastii requires well draining soils and full sun. They may become bare lower down after many years, if this is undesirable they respond well to pruning which can be done in spring or after flowering in early autumn. |
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You’ve probably heard of Bird of the Year, but have you heard of Bug of the Year? At the start of each year New Zealanders get the chance to vote for their favourite miniature beasties. With an estimated 20,000 insect species, that could be difficult, but somehow that gets whittled down to 21 nominated insects to vote for. With their tiny size it's forgivable to overlook them but we think they’re awesome. The following are some of our top picks. |
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Blue damselfly, Austrolestes colensonis We frequently see this damselfly around our dam, so this one is a personal favourite. It is the largest damselfly species and the only blue species of the dragonfly/damselfly order in New Zealand. Colour intensity is influenced by temperature. They can look dull on a cool morning and become more vivid as the day warms up. |
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Above: Blue damselfly perched on a Juncus stem in our nursery dam |
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Kahuwai/Black tunnel web spider, Porrhothele antipodiana This is a spider that looks like it would be at home across the ditch in Australia, but looks can be deceiving. The whole genus of this species is endemic to New Zealand it is also not venomous but can defend itself if provoked. They can be found in Otago gardens making tunnels in logs and hollows waiting for unsuspecting prey, notably the introduced garden snail and the introduced german wasp. Perhaps they are waiting for a small hobbit as the black tunnel web spider was used as inspiration by Peter Jackson for Shelob in the Return of the King.
Otago Alpine Cockroach, Celatoblatta quinquemaculata Cockroaches may not have the best reputation but this one is almost as far as you can get from a kitchen counter encounter. The Otago Alpine Cockroach lives in the Old Man Range between 1300m and 1400m. It can survive being frozen solid living under rocks feeding on and breaking up organic matter making it an important part of an alpine ecosystem.
Avatar Moth, Arctesthes avatar This little day flying moth lives only on the Denniston Plateau, a site rich in endemic species. This moth and other species are under threat of eradication from Bathurst resources which has applied for fast track consent for a coal mine in the Denniston Plateau, likely to result in devastation for this unique ecosystem. The Avatar moth is named as a reference to the movie Avatar where an indigenous people and ecosystem are under threat from a mining company. |
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Above: Images of our other 3 picks, sourced from Creative Commons |
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Veronica ‘Snowdrift’, formerly Hebe, is a cultivar created from a mix of other Veronica species. This mix has resulted in a dependable low maintenance plant that flowers prolifically. Veronica ‘Snowdrift’ is a neat round evergreen shrub that grows to 1.5m high by 1.5m wide. Its long thin bright green leaves sets it apart from small leafed Veronica, resembling V. salicifolia or V. stricta. It also has similar flowers but they are slightly smaller however the plant makes up significantly in producing many more and for longer. The small white flowers are on a long flower spike making the plant look like it's covered in small white tails. Insects also enjoy the flowers of Veronica. We have witnessed the plants swarming with little stingless native bees. |
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Above: Veronica ‘Snowdrift’ flowering in our nursery |
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We have found Veronica ‘Snowdrift’ to be a tough and well performing plant. It is drought tolerant and happy in full sun to part shade. It grows compactly, especially compared to the larger growing V. salicifolia. If shaping is need, trim lightly after flowering. Do not prune into branches with no leaves. It is frost hardy, getting to -10C without signs of damage. With relatively good soil and moisture levels it is also fast growing. |
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As always if you are planning any plantings or big jobs for next autumn or spring let us know and we will prepare a quote. The more lead time you can give us, the better we can meet your needs.
Check out our Catalogue for more information or feel free to flick us an email or a call.
As always, if you want a quick overview of what we have immediately available in stock, you can check our order page. |
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