Weather- September 2010

[cohan]

  they consistently fail to mention these huge chunks of land that wrap around and conjoin Maine along the Atlantic Coast, namely New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada... it's as if they don't exist and have no name. 

this makes me think of a cartoon i saw in a collection of 'banned'/no longer circulated looney tunes cartoons,  a few years ago--it was quite a wonder of twisted geography--no doubt some for fun and some out of ignorance? it involved a ship sailing north from new york into 'uncharted waters' (err, canada??) en route to alaska! where there were polar bears, figure skating eskimos, and--penguins!!
we wont talk about another cartoon that showed a journey to  africa

[Kees Green]

Lesley I was playing golf in that wind, was fantastic-hit a good straight drive to see the wind catch it and throw it up and over the road, still 91 for first game in 4 years was not bad

[David Lyttle]

Where were you Kees that you were able to stand up? I had to hang on to the fence at the height of the gale.

I stay indoors during these winds. Here is why. A pine branch embedded in the ground!

Large Olearia traversii taken out - they were rather rotten at the base so their time was up.

However Coprosma virescens survived unscathed and shows its colours on a drizzly day

[Lesley Cox]

The divaricating plants like many coprosmas seem able to absorb strong winds without damage. Perhaps that's WHY they have evolved to be divaricating. That is great winter colour David.

[cohan]

david, that coprosma is wonderful--i don't know these, but its a very cool fuzzy thing the view of the hill beyond is very nice too--is this a side view of your garden?

[David Lyttle]

Cohan,

The view is looking down my driveway. I have a border on the other side of the Coprosma hedge with Rhododendrons Hellebores etc. It is a bit untamed at the moment so I am not taking photos.

Coprosma virescens is a shrub/small tree found on dry hillsides. It is semi-deciduous and in winter the branches are exposed giving various shades of red through to orange on different plants. It looks its best in light rain or drizzle. It is a marvellous shrub; it does not require trimming and as an added bonus bears a heavy crop of small berries which keep the birds from starving during the winter. If you don't want the heavy crop of seedlings that result you can grow only male plants. I doubt if it is in cultivation much outside New Zealand though some one may tell me otherwise. New Zealand has about 60 species of Coprosma. Some have large normal leaves but many are small-leaved divaricating shrubs and some are prostrate mat-forming alpines.  Many other New Zealand genera also contain small-leaved divaricating shrubs eg  Melicytus, Melicope, Myrsine, Raukaua, Pittosporum, Olearia, Sophora. Many of them have spectacular growth forms. Pittosporum obcodatum forms a tall columnar shrub that would make a splendid garden specimen. Myrsine divaricata has a dramatic weeping form with decurved branches. The pictures were taken a couple of days ago on the margin of a small forest remnant south of Dunedin at Akatore showing typical habitat for these divaricating shrubs.

[Brian Ellis]

Out of interest David I had a look at one nursery in England, they sell the following
COPROSMA acerosa 'Red Rocks' 
COPROSMA 'Beatson's Gold' 
COPROSMA brunnea 'Hawera' 
COPROSMA 'Cappuccino' 
COPROSMA 'County Park Plum' 
COPROSMA 'Fireburst' 
COPROSMA 'Karo Red' 
COPROSMA x kirkii 'Variegata' 
COPROSMA 'Pina Colada' 
COPROSMA repens 
COPROSMA repens 'Marble Queen'
COPROSMA repens 'Painters Palette' 
COPROSMA repens 'Pink Splendour'
COPROSMA robusta

So perhaps a little more grown than you thought.

[David Lyttle]

Thanks for the information Brian.

I see we have given that horticultural abomination Coprosma repens 'Painters Palette'  to the world. The species itself is an environmental weed in this part of the country being outside its natural range here.

[cohan]

Cohan,

The view is looking down my driveway. I have a border on the other side of the Coprosma hedge with Rhododendrons Hellebores etc. It is a bit untamed at the moment so I am not taking photos.

Coprosma virescens is a shrub/small tree found on dry hillsides. It is semi-deciduous and in winter the branches are exposed giving various shades of red through to orange on different plants. It looks its best in light rain or drizzle. It is a marvellous shrub; it does not require trimming and as an added bonus bears a heavy crop of small berries which keep the birds from starving during the winter. If you don't want the heavy crop of seedlings that result you can grow only male plants. I doubt if it is in cultivation much outside New Zealand though some one may tell me otherwise. New Zealand has about 60 species of Coprosma. Some have large normal leaves but many are small-leaved divaricating shrubs and some are prostrate mat-forming alpines.  Many other New Zealand genera also contain small-leaved divaricating shrubs eg  Melicytus, Melicope, Myrsine, Raukaua, Pittosporum, Olearia, Sophora. Many of them have spectacular growth forms. Pittosporum obcodatum forms a tall columnar shrub that would make a splendid garden specimen. Myrsine divaricata has a dramatic weeping form with decurved branches. The pictures were taken a couple of days ago on the margin of a small forest remnant south of Dunedin at Akatore showing typical habitat for these divaricating shrubs.

thanks for the added info, david--interesting plants, for sure.. makes the native shrubs here look positively sparse by comparison!

[Brian Ellis]

I see we have given that horticultural abomination Coprosma repens 'Painters Palette'  to the world.

I must agree to thinking much the same about houttuynia cordata 'chameleon'

[angie]

Pouring of rain here today, got up really early thought today would be sunny so I would get a good day in the garden but no so heading of to the greenhouse, somewhere to garden without getting soaked.

Angie

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Don't want to to make you envious Angie : 23°C here and wall to wall sunshine.
After the 45 liters/m2 of rain we had last tuesday and wednesday the warmth is making the weeds pop up like mad !!   

[angie]

Don't want to to make you envious Angie : 23°C here and wall to wall sunshine.
After the 45 liters/m2 of rain we had last tuesday and wednesday the warmth is making the weeds pop up like mad !!   

23 c  it did stop raining and the sun came out so it was warm for a wee while.
Hope you enjoyed your sunny day Luc.

Angie

[Lesley Cox]

I see we have given that horticultural abomination Coprosma repens 'Painters Palette'  to the world.

I must agree to thinking much the same about houttuynia cordata 'chameleon'

I don't know this particular Coprosma (and probably don't want to by the sound of it, but I'm delighted to have been able to replace Tovaria (Persicaria) 'Painter's Palette' from a recent Chch plant catalogue. Lost it in one of many droughts. The nursery though, has been hit by the 'quake and is well late in getting orders out.

My favourite Coprosma at present is a Tasmanian endemic called C. moorei. I hope to have fruit soon, small berries of a brilliant, rich blue. Unlike ours, it has fruit on a single plant, doesn't need another of opposite sex. 

[David Lyttle]

Ski weekend at Invercargill -16cm of wet snow to sea level and more forecasted. The roof of the Invercargill stadium has collasped as well as the roofs of some other commercial buildings.  Usual pictures on TV of frozen lambs though wet cold weather is more lethal to them than snow. We have had some snow showers from the same storm here in Dunedin yesterday but it did not lie in the city. There is snow all round on the hills.
Here are a few pictures

1 Sunset last night

2 Similar view this morning

3 -8 Views to south with southerly squalls passing out to sea.

I am pleased to report that through all the inclement weather our newly-installed solar hot water kept operating over 70 degrees C at the collector at times!