Wintery spring tough on plants
What glorious summer weather we are having! Frost, rain, hailstorms and gale force winds! Our gardens haven't had much chance to show their best. The only things" doing very nicely in our g arden are the weeds. We had a lovely little Euonymus variegata which I had grown from a cutting. It had grown into a nice little shrub until my cat decided to fight the furry lady from next door right in the middle of it. We now have half a Euonymus. The ground is drying out very quickly with the warm wind and it will be necessary to ensure that it gets an adequate supply o f moisture if the plants .are to recover from the damage they have already suffered. Watch for aphids and other sucking insects which love this weather. Spray roses and other ornamentals likely to be infested. Roses should be sprayed fortnightly to protect the new growth from these pests and to ensure a good crop of flowers later on. Feed with a balanced rose food every three to four weeks. It seems a long time in advance to be planning for next season, but if you are thinking of planting more trees, magnolias, fruiting
trees etc., it is a good idea to give some thought now to which varieties you may require. Garden centres and plant retailers have to put in their orders for next season's trees early in January and can order for you if you let them know your requirements. Some quite exciting varieties are available but stocks are taken up quickly and it is not always possible to get them later on. Fagus sylvatica purpurea pendula is the lovely dark copper weeping beech which will eventually weep to the ground. This tree although quite expensive is usually in fairly short supply. Populus hiltenbury weeping is the graceful weeping poplar originally introduced from England. With rich green foliage and silver reverse it is quite a striking tree. One of the smaller weeping trees very useful where space is limited is Salix caprea pendula. It boasts masses of fluffy catkins in the spring. Any of the maples will really grace a garden but don't try the very fine leafed varieties unless you can provide adequate shelter from the wind. The fine foliage will burn and shrivel right away. With adequate shelter Acer palmatum dissectum
viridis, the weeping green maple, is a beautiful small tree. Its fine fernlike foliage gives lovely autumn colour in orange, yellows and gold. Its burgundy coloured counterpart Acer palmatum dissectum rubrafolium is quite outstanding in colour and a good foil for other foliage. Flowering cherries and crab apples are always popular and there is a great variety to choose from. Prunus serrulata Tai Huku' - the Great White Cherry, is quite an outstanding tree with large single pure white flowers intermingled with the young shoots of coppery red. It grows to 8 metres with a 6 metre spread. A smaller tree is Prunus persica pollardii the flowering almond. It has very large rich pink flowers in early spring. A vigorous grower, this variety is immune to the leaf curl which affects some prunus. If space is really a problem try Prunus incisa 'May Pink' - the fugi cherry. A bushy variety with pale pink flowers and small incisely toothed leaves which colours well in autumn. It grows to only two metres high with a spread of 1.5 metres. I wonder if I can find space for one more tree in my garden.
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Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 28, 8 December 1987, Page 9
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587Wintery spring tough on plants Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 28, 8 December 1987, Page 9
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