2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,600 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 23 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 72 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 10mb. That’s about a picture per week.

The busiest day of the year was October 5th with 63 views.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were digg.com, slashingtongue.com, en.wordpress.com, google.co.nz, and legal5ounds.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for haemanthus, aspidistra, haemanthus coccineus, vireya rhododendron, and dwarf citrus trees nz.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Contact Us February 2010

2

Citrus Notes July 2010

3

My Favourite Plants – February – Haemanthus and Scadoxus February 2010

4

About January 2010

5

Vireyas February 2010

Keep The Aspidistra Flowering

I have been pruning back our Aspidistra plants.  These have always been very popular with our customers.  Known as the ‘cast-iron’ plant due to their indestructibility (they are almost impossible to kill!), this plant was once a very popular houseplant and still are.  However, they will grow very happily outside and as long as they are well shaded they will retain their beautiful deep green foliage colour.  They form a lovely clump with good height and look very sub-tropical. 

They are also very popular with florists and flower arrangers.  Sometimes you will get a lovely white stripe through the leaves which looks great.  Known mainly for their leaves many people are surprised to know that they are flowering at this time of the year.  “My Aspidistra never has never flowered” is a common response.  This is because their flowers are found on the top of the soil and if the leaves are dense then they are very hard to spot.  

This is why I like to cut them back at this time of the year.  The flowers become visible and the new leaves will grow back thick and lush. 

Aspidistra with flowers at base

Close-up of flowers

What’s New in the Nursery This Week

Just thought it would be a good idea to post when we have new stock available in the nursery so that everyone gets an idea of our range.  We always have new stock maturing in the greenhouse or coming in from our suppliers.

Michelia “Bubbles” and “Touch of Pink” – 1-2 metre trees, Port Wine Magnolia,  Buddhist Pine, Pinus Pinea (Pine Nut), Camelia “Nicci Crisp” and “Wirlinga Bride”, Sophora microphylla (Kowhai),  Sophora “Dragon’s Gold” (Kowhai), Eugenia hedging.

My Favourite Plants – Peruvian Lily

Scilla Peruviana

 

The Peruvian Lily is also known as the Caribbean or Cuban Lily, but it is in fact from the western Mediterranean region; Portugal, Spain, southern Italy and northern parts of Africa.  The mistake arose when samples were delivered to Carl Linneas, having been labelled in the name of the ship that had delivered them, “The Peru“. 

Here in Northland they grow very easily and at this time of the year the flowers are just beginning to rise from the bulb.  Grows easily in pots or in the garden in well-drained soil.  They have a short dormant period over the summer months which is when you would move or divide them.  They do form a large clump quite readily so only plant in the ground if you want a patch of them.  A flowering group looks quite spectacular with the flower heads lasting a month or more.

Citrus Notes

At this time of the year, citrus trees are our biggest selling item by far.  We have been fortunate over the last few years to be able to stock Flying Dragon and Flaming Dragon citrus.  This refers to the type of Poncirus trifoliata root-stock that the plants are grafted onto, with Flaming being the regular sized trees and Flying the dwarf.  Dwarf trees are really popular, especially for potted citrus plants or for those with a limited planting space.  They grow up to half the size of the regular trees (if planted in the ground, less in pots,) but can produce almost the same amount of fruit.  Amazing.

Here’s a list of what we still have in stock.  Each tree is $17.50 except for Ponderosa Lemon and Limequats which are $20.00.

Lemon Trees

Meyer – Easy to grow, this medium-sized tree  will reach approximately metres x 1.5 metres in around 3-4 years.  Reliably produces a good crop of sweet, less acidic  fruit.

Lisbon – Grows into a large tree.  More acid in the fruit gives it a tartness that is fantastic for savoury cooking.

Yen Ben –  A sport from the Lisbon, this is the main commercial variety that you can buy in New Zealand stores.  Juicy, small fruit with good tartness.  A smaller tree than the Lisbon.

Ponderosa – This is one BIG lemon and it grows on a large tree that can reach 5 or 6 metres when mature.  A tangy and very juicy fruit perfect for anyone that uses a lot of lemon juice.  Fruit can be left mature on the tree for months, handy for when other types are not producing. A spectacular looking tree often grown also as an ornamental.  

Lime Trees

Tahiti Lime – Also known as Persian or Bearss Lime, this sweet, seedless lime is usually picked or purchased green, although it turns yellow as it reaches maturity.  A perfect all-purpose variety.

Kaffir Lime – The leaves and the rind of this variety provides the aromatic, tart flavour found in dishes from South-east Asia, which is where it comes from.  The juice is more acidic than that of the Tahiti Lime.  One of our most popular plants. 

Limequat – New to us this year, this cross between a key lime and a kumquat is perfect for those who make marmalade.  Fruits copiously from a young age and remains a small tree.  Very juicy, can be eaten whole or use as you would any lime.

Mandarin Trees

With 3 or 4 different varieties of Mandarins you can enjoy this fruit nearly all year round.  We have stocked many different varieties over the years and have found the following to be the most popular.

Encore – Very sweet and juicy, easy to peel thin skin.  Quick growing tree that produces plenty of fruit November to February.

Clementine Corsica – Always a favourite, clementines now have very few pips and are easier to peel.  Lovely round fruit that starts ripening in July.  Fruit not picked will stay ripe on the trees for months.

Burgess Scarlet – Produces beautiful tasting fruit, with loads of flavour.  Ripens in September to October.  Only available on dwarf stock.

Satsuma – Very popular, well-known Satsuma are large, sweet and easy to peel.  Ripens from June to July.

Orange Trees

Blood Orange – Delicious medium-sized fruit that ripens July to August.  Richly coloured juice with good flavour.

Seville Orange  – Beautiful large tree with dark green foliage, this is a very bitter, old-variety orange used for marmalade.

Navelina – Good all-purpose eating orange.  Nice size with good flavour.  Ripens in June/July.

Grapefruit Trees

Cutlers Red – Rich red skin colour. Good taste and size.  Ripens  July to August.

Golden Special – Our most popular grapefruit, this produces lots of large, juicy fruit.  Easy to peel and great for marmalade and juice.

Tangelo Seminole – Has a beautiful taste and very juicy fruit.  Great for the kids.  Ripens from August to October.

Uglifruit – Great to eat, these are currenly experiencing a resurgence in popularity.  Large tree and large fruit, these have thick skins but are very easy to peel and their orange flesh has a lovely taste.  Ripens September to October.

 

Trees For Tomorrow all go!

What a lot of changes in such a short time. We are now officially www.treesfortomorrow.co.nz, business cards should be coming this week and advertising in our local paper starts this Thursday.  Well done us. 

We are only going to be open to the public on three days each week, Fri-Sun, but hopefully the customers will be rolling in once word spreads about our beautiful plants and great prices.

I want to let New Zealand readers know about a really handy site that I use – www.gardengrow.co.nz.  You can go onto their site and register for a planting reminder.  You choose what planting zone you live in and the frequency of reminders and you will receive in your email a list of all of  things that you can plant at that time, how to sow and when you will reap the harvesting rewards.   I find it really handy, and with the list often I see something that I hadn’ t thought about putting it until then.  Well worth checking them out.

Big plans for this weekend.  As well as getting the nursery ready for visitors, I have lots of lovely photos to share.  Also I want to get some notes written on this site about Citrus plants, right now is the ideal time to get them in.

Back To Blogging

Well, shame on me, I have been a bad blogger, not posting for many a month.  With changes afoot in the nursery I feel my energy renewed.   This blog will be moving to our own domain name: www.treesfortomorrow.co.nz.  Hopefully, this will give us a more professional image.  We are going to be opening the nursery to the public for three days each week, beginning next weekend. 

More soon…

How To Grow…Vireyas

Vireya Rhododendrons are not difficult to grow, especially in the more temperate areas of New Zealand where they may be freely grown outside in garden beds.  For cooler parts of the country they may be kept in pots and moved to a more protected spot indoors over winter.  They do not like frost or extended periods of very cold weather.

Growing Mediums – In their natural environment they are epiphytic, growing in the crooks and branches of trees, or if growing on the ground they cling to the cracks and crevices of slopes and banks.  They do not like their roots to be deeply covered in thick soil, instead preferring a light, free-draining mixture.  We plant our outdoor plants into ordinary bark mulch and our potted plants into a bark, peat and pumice mix.  They seem to respond well to both of these.

Water Needs – Over the drier summer periods water thoroughly, ensuring that the water drains away.  Let the plants dry out to the point that the soil around them is barely moist and then water again.  Over winter they do not require much watering as the ground is generally moist anyway.

Feeding – Do not overfeed your plants.  Give them a regular, low-dosage of fertiliser, and an occasional foliar feed.

Growing Position – Some Vireyas will take more sun than others and some become more tolerant of the sun as the plants mature.  Morning sun is fine as long as the plants are protected from strong, full afternoon sun.  We grow most of ours in filtered light.

Pruning and Shaping – Vireyas have a reputation for becoming leggy.  Avoid this by pinching out the tips of younger plants to encourage bushiness.  Keeping them low encourages new shoots to come up from the bottom of the stems.  If your Vireya has already become leggy then prune it back hard after flowering.  It, also will eventually shoot up from the bottom.

Planters and Baskets – Some Vireyas have a  drooping habit.  Take advantage of this and plant them in planters and baskets.  Many of the smaller leaved varieties such as Silver Thimbles or Tom Thumb look great treated in this way.

Vireya Rhododendrons

We love Vireyas.  They are brightly coloured, have beautiful foliage ranging from dark to light green through to reds and purples.  They are small shrubs, reaching around 1.2 metres at most.  They look fantastic when they are mass planted and once established won’t give you much trouble.

I have posted a new page showing the varieties that we currently have for sale, obviously this will change often.  We only have a few of each variety at any one time as we only choose the strongest of those propagated. 

Anatta Gold

Cherry Liqueur

Dawn Chorus

Haloed Gold

Highland White Jade

Just Peachy

Lemon Lovely

Scented Sun

Shantung Pink

Simbu Sunset

Star Posy

Sweet Wendy

Tropic Fanfare

Yellow Bunny

Unusual Plants – Orbea variegata

Who would want to buy a plant when the flower smells like rotting meat?  Well, you would be surprised!  What if that plant had a beautiful and very unusual, almost alien flower?  

Orbea variegata

This plant is called Orbea variegata and is a member of the Stapeliad (Stapeliae) tribe.   They are sometimes commonly referred to as ‘carrion flowers’ and they emit the smell so that they can use flies as pollinators.  Not all of them use this method and some are more ‘aromatic’ than others which will instead attract beetles and other sorts of insects. Sometimes mistaken for cactus, they are in fact a succulent.  Many of the varieties can be rather tricky to grow however the lepida gives us no problems at all.  Joyfully, it is also one of the less pungent varieties, although we are lucky in that we have a big, airy greenhouse to keep them in. 

Close up

There are many glorious Stapeliads and I am adding to my collection this year.  The plants are naturally found in parts of Asia, southern and north-east Africa, as well as across the Arabian peninsula. 

I am very much a novice when it comes to these fascinating plants so for more information I highly recommend this site www.stapeliads.info For a look at the different plants and amazing starfish-like flowers click on the SI Database.