Curator Update
August 2010
Wow a week of fine weather!!! Maybe spring is not too far off after all! Although it hasn't been cold, July has followed the lead from May and June with lots of wet weather, including a nice heavy downpour at the beginning of the month where we received 139mm of rain over two days. The road into town was flooded for a short time and plenty of slips on the surrounding farmland. We lost a few trees due to such saturated soils but overall we have come through so far with little damage.
A few more trees are flowering now, the Taiwan cherry and cherry plum, Prunus campanulata and Prunus cerasifera are prominent now with flocks of tui and koromako (bellbird) cruising about the arboretum, happy to have such a source of food this time of the year. Buds on many of the Magnolia are swelling in anticipation of warming days with the Magnolia doltsopa (syn Michelia doltsopa) outside the Visitor Centre already in full bloom. The Camellia family also continues to give good splashes of colour around the Homestead Garden and arboretum.
This is not to say winter is over and done with. We still have the threat of frosts till early October so I am hoping the Magnolia especially are a bit more patient about coming out, because with such fleshy leaves frosts can do some major damage. Still it is good to get outside in amongst the trees once again.
Paul
Plant of the Month
The wheel tree or Trochodendron aralioides is an evergreen tree from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and is the sole living tree of this genus which includes a number of extinct species. Another singular unusual tree Tetracentron sinensis now also belongs in this family. Both trees are quite stunning and unusual with the wheel tree having its lovely glossy leather like leaves arranged in tight spirals at the end of the branches. Tetracentron sinense has what I think is one of the beautifulest spring foliage, with the delicate serrated leaf margins tinged a lovely red.
Trochodendron aralioides
Tetracentron sinense
