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

Making The Most of Herbs

Most of the herbs that I use on a regular basis are fast-growing and seasonal.  It simply isn’t possible to use it all, and in the winter I can’t just pop out and pick what I need, so while the plants are at full production I am starting to store them away for the winter months.   

This year I am using two main methods; drying and freezing.   Tonight I started drying my first lots for 2010, bay and basil.  I am using a dehydrator overnight and then storing in airtight jars.  I prefer a dehydrator for two reasons, first, you don’t need to pay as much attention as if you were drying them in the oven where they need to be turned now and then, and secondly many of the herbs that I use are too moist to dry by hanging, and in the humid air of the north they would just go mouldy.   

Bay Leaves in the Dehydrator

 

 If you don’t have a dehydrator and prefer to dry your herbs in the oven, simply set the oven to 100° Celcius.  If you have a fan oven this will dramatically speed up the process but you must put stems in as the fan will blow single leaves all over the place.   Turn the leaves periodically.   

For those who have a microwave, layer between two paper towels and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Check how dry they are and if not quite dry enough another minute should do it.   

Store the dried leaves and airtight jar, I leave them whole and crush into the dish when I’m cooking.   

For my parsley and chives I will chop them finely and add one tablespoon to each ice-cube compartment.  Once frozen I put them in a named freezer bag.    

You can store any herbs by freezing or drying, I’m sure they taste better than the horrible old dry leaves that you buy at the supermarket.

10 Top Water Conservation Tips for Summer/Dry Gardens

Sweet, sweet rain.  Yes it’s raining today.  This can only be a good thing as we are having one of the driest summers in our region for  a while now.   It won’t be as much rain as we need but still it’s something.  With water restrictions in place in many towns, keeping the garden looking fabulous can really be a strain.  Here are my 10 top tips for keeping that summer garden in great shape.

10 Top Water Conservation Tips for Summer/Dry Gardens

1. Keep the soil in great shape.   Adding in compost not only improves the soil structure and provides nutrients and aeration,  but increases its water retention properties. 
2. Mulch.  Mulch. Mulch.  Makes a huge difference to dry gardens.  A good layer of mulch, at least 10 cm deep will help moderate the soil temperature, keep the garden moist, control erosion and prevent weed growth.  It doesn’t matter what you choose to use; bark, woodchips, stones, even crushed shells. Whatever suits your gardens aesthetics and your budget.
3. Choose Your Plants Wisely.  By considering the environment that you live in you will save yourself money by not buying and planting things that will only become stressed and/or die.  Ask around at nurseries or garden centres and look at other local gardens.  What works for them?
4. Water Wisely.  Keep plants that have similar watering needs grouped together.  Water early in the morning (before 9am) when it is cooler to avoid unnecessary evaporation and burning of leaves.  Water on calm days to prevent wind drift and evaporation.
5. Water Where Needed.  It seems obvious, but a lot of water is wasted with incorrect placement of hoses or sprinklers, or by hose watering of the upper leaves of plants.  You will save yourself a lot of problems if you…
6. Choose Smart Irrigation.  Sprinklers waste a lot of water, By using soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems you will be watering smarter.    With sensible placement the water soaks right into the roots slowly where it is needed.  If you do not have water restrictions in your town, great, soak away.  If these do occur in your area you may need to look at…
7. Rainwater Tanks.  An extra rainwater tank for your garden is just the job when water restrictions come into place or to save money on water if your water is metered.  The amount of moisture that comes of the roof is quite amazing.   It will cost a little to get a professional tank installed but you can get that back by putting in a nice vege garden.  Otherwise do it yourself by directing your downspout into a barrel or other large container.  Protect your water with a screen to keep out leaves, insects and to keep pets and other animals safe.
8. Greywater Systems.  Laundry, kitchen and bathroom water are all wasted when they are flushed away.  You can use them safely on your garden.  Not on vegetable gardens though.  If you have the money get a greywater tank installed, they are expensive but really good for the environment so definitely worth it.  If you don’t have the funds look at getting a greywater diverter.  These attach to the outflow in your kitchen, laundry or bathroom and then use the soaker method to run through the garden.  If you do use greywater systems then please be aware of the products that you are using.  Choose garden-friendly products.  These will be low in phosphorous and salt and will be biodegradable.  In New Zealand I would check out the EcoStore range of products.  We use them at home and they’re great.   www.ecostore.co.nz  Also if you are bleaching or washing items such as nappies, turn your greywater diverter off.
9. Water Storage for Hard to Reach Areas.  For areas that are hard to reach e.g gardens down driveways, set up a rainwater storage.  At home we use some very large  round plastic tanks that we also keep our waterlily’s in.  An empty one here and there soon fills up with rainwater and we bucket it on when times are dry.
10. Limit lawn area.  A dry, patchy lawn can be quite distressing for some people.  If it is going to be wasteful or impractical to keep these areas watered in the summer months then consider lessening the area.  You are better off with a nice paved or gravelled area that requires no attention.  You can put some nice containers with plants to keep the area looking green.  Containers come into their own in summer and are easy to keep watered.  Keep a tray underneath to conserve water.

Download this information as a pdf: 10_Top_Water_Conservation_Tips_for_Summer

 I hope that these tips are found to be useful.  I would love any feedback or tips and stories about how you have solved your own dry gardening problems.

The Temptation of Tomatoes

I’m sure that I am not alone in my love for a fresh, ripe and best of all, homegrown tomato.  Last summer was the first that I had tried to grow them and I was delighted with the results.  Someone gave me some seedlings, we didn’t know what variety they were but they were all delicious.  The only trouble was there just wasn’t enough of them. 

So this year I planted twice as many; 3 different heritage varieties – Brandywine Pink, Delicious and a great little cherry variety, Ladybug, as well as some different random seedlings that we were given.   The output this year has been much improved, although still not quite enough!   Luckily it’s lovely and warm in this part of the country so it’s not too late for a second crop to go in which I will do this week so that I can freeze enough to keep us going through the winter months. 

This is my favourite recipe for tomato chutney.  I make just a small batch at a time and then use the frozen stock if I need to make some more. 

Tomato Chutney 

2 kilos tomatoes 

6 onions 

500 ml malt vinegar 

500 grams white sugar 

1 ½ tablespoons mustard powder 

2 teaspoons ginger powder (optional) 

6 dried chillies or 2 teaspoons chilli flakes 

1 tablespoon curry powder 

1 tablespoon salt 

Skin tomatoes by placing in hot water for a few minutes.  Chop these roughly.  Chop the onions and put all ingredients together into a big pot.  Bring to boil and then turn down to a simmer until the mixture becomes quite thick.  This can be as quick as one hour or as long as two hours, depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes.  Store in steralised jars. 

Tomato Chutney made January 2010

Hoya cinnamomifolia

In my opinion this is one of our most beautiful hoyas. The plant itself is nothing really special, it has very large, widely spaced leaves with only one leaf on each of the nodes. But the flower is absolutely stunning.  This hoya flowered in early December and is now having a second wind with dozens of flowers coming on the plants.   Originally this particular hoya originated in Java.

Hoya cinnamomifolia

Sunday, Sunday

Ah, Sunday.  A day for sorting out taxes, mowing the lawn and making chicken curry.  The summer has finally returned with toasty warm air and literally not a cloud in the sky.  Good times. 

I’ve been going through the photographs of the hoyas and resizing them to put in the blog.  They are still flowering away in the greenhouse, with so many varieties there is a long period that something is in flower.  The fungii start first and the season finishes with the australis which haven’t even begun to come out yet. 

Hoya arnottiana

  Following on from yesterdays photo, here a couple more of the Hoya pubicalyx cultivars that we have. 

Hoya pubicalyx c.v. Red Buttons

Hoya pubicalyx c.v. Jungle Gardens

They are all very beautiful.  Hope to add some more photographs and information tomorrow.  It’s not all about hoyas though and usually we are doing lots of jobs in the nursery as well.  Off to the hospital tomorrow in Whangarei so probably won’t get much done then either.