The Star: April 05, 2018

The Star 27
Gardening
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Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday April 5 2018
Natives will grow well in a small plot
Fire rages, homes at risk
• By Henri Ham
NOW’S THE time to plant
natives.
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 are very hardy, it’s
good to get them in the ground
and established before the frosts
kick in.
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.
HIDING PLACE: CarexGreen is
a great ground cover – and a
welcoming place for your cat
to play.
Perfect perpetual spinach
• By Henri Ham
DID YOU know perpetual spinach isn’t
even spinach?
In fact, it’s actually related to silver beet
and is sometimes also called ‘leaf beet’.
Though if I had to describe how it tastes,
I’d say it tastes similar to spinach but with
a slightly milder, more bitter taste.
But the main reasons I think perpetual
spinach is a perfect plant to have in the
vegetable garden, are because it grows
quickly, it doesn’t take up much space,
it’s full of vitamins (like its namesake and
relative) and it’s very easy
care.
If you’re planting
members of the brassica
family this autumn – like
cabbage, cauliflower or
broccoli – your perpetual
spinach seedlings could
be planted around 20cm
apart from each other in the rows in
between.
Because they don’t take up much space
and mature quickly, you’ll have eaten them
before your slow-developing brassicas
need the room.
Regardless of where you plant them, it
pays to mix in some general fertiliser and/
or compost into the soil first to give them
a good kick start and ensure the soil is
well-drained. If you don’t have much space
you can easily grow it in pots – just put in
some fresh potting mix before planting.
In around four to six weeks the leaves
on your perpetual spinach will be large
enough to harvest. I recommend picking
the outer leaves first, leaving the inner
leaves intact so the plant keeps producing.
I like to use the small leaves in salads
and use the larger leaves (with a slightly
more bitter taste) like I would spinach or
silver beet.
EASY CARE: Perpetual spinach grows
quickly and tastes great in salads.
SALE SALE SALE
EXTENSIVE RANGE
T OPIARY & H EDING PLANTS
Portuguese
LAUREL
0.9m - $45 $35
1.6m - $85 $70
1.9m - $95 $85
$65 $85
$49 $65
Spiral
BAY
standard
1.0m - $55 $45
1.3m - $65 $55
1.6m - $75 $65
1.8m - $95 $85
BUXUS
SPHERE
20cm $39
Griselinia
30cm $59
15cm $7.50 $4.90
viburnum
40cm $95 standard
60cm $15 $9.50 50cm $210 $45 $29
Flowering
NOW !!!
WWW. ArtisticPlants.co.nz
187 Halswell rd . 322 8518 . open 7 days 9-6
PETITE:
Hibiscus
is a pretty
native
which
is low HARDY: Get your natives in the ground now before the frosts
growing. kick in.
grow
lawns
healthy ,
lush