For most of the 60 plus years we’ve been growing plants at Awapuni Nurseries, we’ve been growing herbs, vegetables and flowers. But a few years ago we started growing native New Zealand plants.
We partnered up with Groundtruth to develop a growing and planting system that would make regeneration of native forests easier and much more economical. And recently we’ve been getting native plant orders from regional councils wanting to convert their waste land back to forest.
Some of our native plants on those blocks of land are already above head height. It’s pretty exciting and great seeing the birds and bees come back to the area.
Many people think natives can only be grown when you have lots of space. But there are lots of low growing native plants that look lovely in a smaller garden – like pūrei (carex), hibiscus and hebe. Other native plants like kōhūhū (pittosporum tenuifoliam) and akeake can make lovely shelter belts or hedges.
And I’ve even planted a couple of tī kouka (cabbage tree) and kānuka plants into pots and placed them at the entrance of my house. The pots have restricted the roots of the trees and in a way created a ‘bonsai’ effect so they don’t grow very tall. They’re about 1.8m tall at the moment. The bees love the kānuka, which is great for pollinating my nearby vegetable garden!
If you’re thinking about planting natives, or adding to your existing native garden, I suggest getting on to it now. We’re officially into autumn and the weather has cooled off but isn’t too wet, which makes it the perfect time to plant trees and shrubs. And while most of the natives we sell at Awapuni are very hardy, it’s good to get them in the ground and established before the frosts kick in.
You can order a variety of natives from here. If you order nine, we’ll even deliver for FREE to a non-rural address or for just $4 to a rural address.
Once you’ve got your plants, dig a hole and bury each plant to the top of its root ball. Then water in gently. If you don’t get any rain after planting, I suggest watering every two or three days.
It’s also a good idea to keep the immediate area surrounding the plants weed free for a while as the plants won’t be able to outgrow any weeds at this early stage of their life.
Natives are a long-term investment in your garden and depending on the variety you grow could take between months and years to become fully grown. But they’re well worth the wait.
