Tag Archives: gardening

Plant Collector: the cream poinsettia

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Christmas is over and my time is running out. But having featured the traditional red Christmas poinsettia in Plant Collector in December, I could not resist sharing this variation. This is the cream poinsettia, spotted outside a Sydney florist. Before you get too excited at this novelty, I must tell you that the photo is flattering. The reality was that the plants appeared somewhat murky in colour and insipid to boot. Not chic.

A net search tells me that this is just another form of Euphorbia pulcherrima from Mexico and is but one of many variations of this species. The poinsettia market may be predominantly – almost solely, even – disposable house plants but it is clearly huge. Any such market has a taste for novelties and new releases. Who knew that there were poinsettias that resembled curly kale? Nasty variegations that could pass for coleus? All manner of colours and combinations are attainable for the poinsettia. To be honest, merely being a somewhat insipid and off-colour cream is the least of the transgressions.

Keep to the red Christmas poinsettia is my advice. While not original and arguably lacking in sophisticated allure, it is at least a handsome plant of merit in its place and time.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Garden Lore

“Hollyhocks are very aspiring Flowers.”
The Flower Garden by John Lawrence (1726)

Clivia seeds and blooms

Clivia seeds and blooms

In the world of wonderfully random bits of gardening information, I thought I would demonstrate to you that red and orange clivias have red seeds while yellow clivias produce yellow seeds. Is that not an interesting fact? These seed are from last year’s blooms. They take a long time to mature. While you can, as we often do, leave them to seed down naturally where they are, picking them and sowing them in trays in more controlled conditions will usually give you a higher percentage.

The reason why clivia plants are often expensive has nothing to do with their being difficult to grow or propagate. It has to do with the time it takes for them to grow and reach flowering size. In this age of instant gratification, people want to buy big plants which will fill a space now and flower beautifully but all for $15, thank you. That is fine if it only takes three months to produce the plant but when it may be four years, you have to be prepared to either pay more or to buy small and be patient. If you have access to an established clump, these are not difficult plants to dig and divide.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Garden Lore – witches’ broom

Indubitably witches' broom, not two trees

Indubitably witches’ broom, not two trees

I came across this fine example of witches’ broom in a roadside tree planting of Prunus Awanui. That particular flowering cherry is known to be vulnerable to witches’ broom. It is the green section coming into dense leaf earlier than the rest of the tree and without flowers. Left to its own devices, over time the witches’ broom will take over the tree and you will no longer see much in the way of spring flowering. If you leave it for a few seasons, it also becomes harder to remove the affected sections without destroying the shape and structure of the tree.

Basically, witches’ broom is a mutation within the tree – possibly similar to an immune disorder in humans – which causes dense, twiggy growth in that section. It does not appear to heal itself and it does not grow out of it the following year. There are multiple causes but no general treatment beyond surgery – removal of all affected parts of the plant. Cherry trees are particularly prone to it, although you won’t find them in the campanulatas or Taiwanese cherries. Generally it is seen in the Japanese cherries and the hybrids. If you spot it now, mark it because it is harder to identify later in the summer when all the branches are in leaf. Spray on paint is handy for this, or a tie. Pruning cherry trees in high summer is recommended to reduce disease getting in.

On the bright side, witches’ broom mutations are what have given us many of the dwarf conifers so they are not all bad.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Points of interest

In an otherwise undistinguished garden in Giverny village, these clipped hummocks gave real impact.

In an otherwise undistinguished garden in Giverny village, these clipped hummocks gave real impact.

Punctuation points. That is what clipped shrubs can be. Very effective punctuation points, at that.

Formal gardens will often have pretty much everything clipped. If you have ever been to many Italian gardens, you may have noted the inclination to clip everything – at times to within an inch of its life. It photographs well. In fact we have often found that the photograph can be better than the real thing when you get to see it.

The modern New Zealand garden is characterised by clipped hedging, often carried out with military precision whether 30cm or 200 cm high.

But if you don’t want a formal garden or clipped hedging, there is a middle path. Punctuation marks.

Clipped accent plants give form in this garden which has predominantly loose herbaceous plantings and grassy meadows. Pettifers near Stratford on Avon.

Clipped accent plants give form in this garden which has predominantly loose herbaceous plantings and grassy meadows. Pettifers near Stratford on Avon.

It is the English gardeners who can lay claim to the mix of formality and informality. At one level, it is that act of taking hard edged design and softening it with froth as the proponents of the Arts and Crafts garden movement did.

It is a technique that you can transfer to many situations. At its simplest level, a tightly clipped shrub gives a focal point of order in a casual or chaotic environment. If your garden looks an unkempt mess, try it. You may be surprised at how a formal shape can make the disorganised areas alongside look as if they are intentional.

A sequence of clipped punctuation points gives coherence or visual order to an otherwise disorganised space. Sometimes it is a deliberate design feature, other times it may be closer to an act of trickery by a laissez faire gardener.

While the topiary bird At Gresgarth may be beyond the amateur, the sharp lines give contrast to the informal plantings and design.

While the topiary bird at Gresgarth may be beyond the amateur, the sharp lines give contrast to the informal plantings and design.

As you progress up the status ladder, a clipped shrub can become a deliberate focus to act as counterpoint to more informal plantings. It is then filling the role that others may choose to try and fill with manmade objects – a bird bath, a seat, maybe a sculpture – but there is a logical orderliness to a well tended shrub that those other objects may lack.
Pyramids on stilts give an accent point, a breathing space between two very different gardens at Bury Court.

Pyramids on stilts give an accent point, a breathing space between two very different gardens at Bury Court.


I have also seen small groupings of clipped shrubs used as a breathing space, a quiet linking device between two very busy but different areas of a garden.
Various shrubs can be clipped effectively. There are the tried and true hedging plants of buxus, lonicera and teucrium. Yew is a classic clipping candidate.
Often referred to as “pudding trees”, these Chamaecyparis give structure in the otherwise informal cottage garden made by Margery Fish at East Lambrook Manor

Often referred to as “pudding trees”, these Chamaecyparis give structure in the otherwise informal cottage garden made by Margery Fish at East Lambrook Manor


Camellias clip well. If you can cope with the prickles, so do hollies. Choysia ternata takes clipping. Evergreen azaleas take clipping and shaping well. So indeed do our native totara and matai. Some conifers can be clipped, some cannot. The mark of one that does not take clipping is a failure to sprout afresh from bare wood (in other words, where you have cut below the external leaf cover). It can be terribly blotchy and twiggy on conifers, if not terminal. Do some research first before you try this on your prized specimen.

The more you clip, the denser the new growth becomes so the tighter shape you get as a result. But if you are considering a first hard clip to establish a shape, do it right now. This very weekend is good. That is because at the end of the day, most plants are on the cusp of breaking into fresh spring growth (spot my political allusion). The aim is to clip before that happens, stimulating the plant to make fresh new growths at the point where you have cut it back. You will generally have to follow up with a tidy-up trim of long new growths a bit further down the season, but the first clip is the most radical shaping. Once established, you can often get away with just once a year.

Or clip on special occasions when you want your garden to look sharp, cared for or creative.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Plant Collector: Romneya coulteri

Romneya coulteri - the Californian tree poppy

Romneya coulteri – the Californian tree poppy

I wish I could tell you I photographed this splendid Californian poppy in our garden here. We tried, we tried hard to get it established here but failed. That is because it grows in Californian desert and coastal conditions and we can not emulate those in lush dairy farm country. It is the dry open situation that is most important, summer heat less so. Good drainage and light soils are key. Readers in coastal areas might find it viable but be warned that it needs space. It is a giant poppy and the plant will reach around that 2m mark in height and a good 1.5m in width. It grows from seed but the plant develops rhizomes and will be perennial in the right conditions, spreading ever wider.

Look at that flower. It is just a typical poppy with six petals and golden stamens, but looking like tissue paper or crinkle fabric, each flower about 10cm across. It is the sort of plant that will stop you in your tracks. You will sometimes find it offered for sale in this country but probably only from specialist nurseries.

The coulteri in the name is a tribute to an Irishman, not a Californian celebrity. Thomas Coulter was a botanist and explorer who served as a physician to the armed forces around the Californian and Mexican area in the early 1800s. Apparently he botanised in his time off which seems a constructive activity.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.