The Growing Edge – December 2015

This Month's Featured Trees

Today we are looking into two types of Ash tree. These are both well known Aussie favorites, great as specimens, features, shade and paddock trees that have a wide range of tolerances and brilliant complimentary autumn colour.

Fraxinus angustifolia raywoodii

Claret Ash

The Claret Ash is a fabulous shade tree with a lovely shape and beautiful autumn foliage. It is suitable for medium sized urban gardens, parks and street plantings and has been a very popular landscape tree in Australia for many years.
It reaches a mature height of 8 – 10 metres and a width of 7- 10 metres. The Claret Ash has a moderate to fast growth rate.
The Claret Ash grows into a rounded shape when mature with a narrow, upright when young.
The Claret Ash has dark green, pinnate leaves and is names for it's autumn foliage that is a rich claret-red to plum-purple.
The Claret Ash Tree is adaptable to a wide range of soil and site conditions, but performs best in moist, well drained soils in full sun. It is reasonably drought tolerant and not suited to very wet sites.

Fraxinus excelsior aurea

Golden Ash
This tree makes a lovely shade tree in any garden and is well suited to lining drive ways and avenues. The autumn foliage and distinctive yellow bark on young branches of the Golden Ash helps to provide year round interest.
It reaches a mature height and width of 7 metres with a moderate growth rate.The Golden Ash is rounded, developing into a medium sized, spreading, multi-branched tree.
Spring bears leaves which are pale lemon colour becoming very pale green in summer, and finally turning brilliant gold in early autumn. Young branches are yellow with distinctive black winter buds. The Golden Ash is best planted in moist, deep soil in cooler areas but tolerates both wet and relatively dry conditions. It has a reasonable tolerance to heat and low levels of drought.
The Golden Ash is suitable as a shade or specimen tree or for lining a driveway. 

Container Gardening – Not just for flowers

Container gardening is especially suited to people who live in apartments, home units or renters. They are also a great way to grow fruit trees and keep them at an easily maintainable size.
To successfully grow trees in containers, you must choose the right pot, and species as well as follow some basic rules.

Potting Mix
Always use a good quality potting mix in your containers. Quality potting mixes have good drainage and good water holding capability. Using cheap potting mix will adversely effect your trees for long term plantings.

Size of Container
Potted specimens dry out much more readily than those planted in the soil. The larger the pot, the easier it will be to maintain. Large pots retain moisture over longer periods, however, you don't want to have a plant on display in a pot disproportionate to it's size.

Type of Container

Terracotta: They are attractive and fairly expensive. They’re porous so they lose moisture from the sides but do keep the roots cool.

Plastic: Lightweight, cheap, and in a huge variety of colours. BUnlike terracotta, their non-porous sides help retain moisture in the potting mix. Black plastic pots can raise the temperature of the mix making them less suitable for full sun positions.

Glazed Pots: Ceramic Pots are waterproofed with a clear glaze coating. Depending on the size, they can be very expensive, but are the most effective and long lasting of any pots.

Watering
Use a nozzle on your hose that breaks up the water so that the potting mix is not blasted away from the surface roots. Ensure that the potting mix never completely dries out, just remain damp. 

Fertilising
Most high end potting mixes come with a pre-mixed fertiliser. Make sure that any potting mix you purchase has a suitable fertiliser eg. suitable for natives. Again, depending on the provided fertiliser, you will need to top it up regularly. Tree roots do not have access to the soil to search out nutrients so you need to provide them with everything they need in the pot.

What's Been Happening On The Farm

We are now stocking pre-cut Christmas Trees supplied by our local Rotary Club in Warragul. These are available for pick up 7 days a week between 11am and 3pm up to Christmas Eve.
We also have smaller potted live Christmas trees and live gifts available in the nursery.

Stuck for a Chistmas Present?  

Why not give a gift voucher for trees or accommodation?

These can be organised over the phone: 0356281507 and emailed to your inbox