When to plant manuka trees

If you've been busy making manuka seedlings, you might have something that looks like this in your backyard.

I did too, but that was last year, and now mine are a lot bigger, and suffering a bit, as I discussed in this blog post.

So if you are wondering when is the right time to plant them, I think the answer might be now.

Normally I'd have said wait a bit. Still lots of the summer to go, and it can be hot and dry for a good couple of months more.

But this year? It's not looking at all like being consistently hot and dry. If it does stay cool-ish and moist-ish the trees will love it - so much time to put down roots before next summer.

And the bees have packed up shop mostly, and I'd say they know a thing or 2 about the weather. Just don't quote me to the weather department.

If you haven't started on your seeds yet, and would like to know how, check out this free Pictorial Guide to Growing Manuka from Seeds.

And if you'd like to know where to plant your trees, Module 3: Choosing your Forestry Spot will tell you what you need to know.

What do the bees eat when the manuka is finished?

This has been a terrible year for manuka. All over NZ it seems, the manuka flowering never really got going. And just like that - a whole honey season is done!

So, what do bees eat when the manuka is finished?

Well, it turns out that even though manuka honey is the prized honey, the bees are just so-so about manuka nectar. They'll go to manuka if they have to, but given the choice they'll go somewhere else first.

Good beekeepers have a few tricks up their sleeves to encourage bees to go to manuka flowers. If you'd like to learn what these are, check out Module 5: A Good Apiary Site, which will show you the secret tricks to placing your hives, as well as all the things you need to know to ensure your hives are healthy.

But back to the question: What do the bees eat next?

One of the big food sources right now is clover. And the bees just love clover.

Clover is one of the legume family. It has nodules that fix nitrogen in the soil. And nitrogen is an important fertiliser. So getting your clover to produce well is a very cheap form of natural fertiliser.

Clover is an important food crop for grazing animals - think cows and beef. And the big benefit of bees on clover is that they pollinate the flowers. So the next year the clover reseeds more abundantly.

So here we have it - a win win - the bees love clover, and the clover loves bees.

Clover honey is not a pricey as manuka honey, but the bees need to stay alive too. Ready for next season.

6 Mistakes I've made with my manuka seedlings (and are you making them too?)

I've made about 2000 manuka seedlings in the last couple of years. Purely in the interests of science and experimentation of course. I don't actually have anywhere to plant them.

And they have been growing pretty well too. But 2 years on, some of them are taller than me.

And the flaws in the system are starting to show.

So, what mistakes have I made? (and are you making these mistakes too?). Here they are:

1. I put all the plant bags straight on the bare earth

So all the roots have gone out the bottom of the bags and into the earth. And when I go to pot them up, it's quite a mission.

Such a mission, that some of them do not like their roots being disturbed, and they keel over. They are firmly attached to the soil underneath, and won't let go, and I end up breaking their long tap roots.

2. I haven't potted up soon enough

This is partly the reason for issue number 1. These trees are getting quite big, and should really have been potted up much earlier.

3. I've not been that diligent with weeding

So all the couch grass and convolvulus have grown over the pots.

Sometimes the grass grows up through the bags, and when I lift them the plants definitely do not like it.

4. I've not been diligent enough with watering

Eek! This is the hospital quarters. NOT ENOUGH WATER!

Also, problem 1, their roots were disturbed when I potted them up, and they never really recovered.

But some water might have saved the day.

There's not all that many, compared to the 2000 originals, but these are the big ones, and every death is traumatic.

5. Too much hot sun

I'm a bit short of space in my backyard, so these ones at the front (which are the tall ones) get all the hot hot sun.

Which contributes to problem 4, and means I need to water them every day.

6. Seedlings under dense tree cover

And just to show you can't win either way, some of the seedlings behind these tall ones, are under a big dense magnolia tree. Lots of shade, but they weren't getting wet when it rained.

Which would have been alright if I had watered them, right?

All of these problems really come down to one thing - I should have planted them out when they were no more than a year old. Sure, some would have died out in the field, but they would all have had a much better chance at surviving than left to my neglect.

4 Tips to avoid manuka seedling deaths

So, if you think you are in danger of doing some of these things, here are some tips:

• Plant manuka seedlings within a year of sowing, before they get too big
• Put your seedling bags out on cardboard, not the bare earth
• Water! water water water
• Pot them up sooner

If you are only in the 'thinking about getting started' stage with your manuka seedlings, and wondering how to sow them from seeds, get your free Pictorial Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from Seeds here.

And if you'd like more information on all aspects of growing and planting manuka trees, check out the DIY Manuka Forestry Courses.

How to grow manuka from cuttings v2

Last week's cuttings didn't do so well now did they? Drat!

So I had a bit of a think about what went wrong. And did some research.

And here is what I remembered, and discovered:

Spring cuttings

Spring v Autumn

There is quite a difference in technique in making cuttings in spring and in making cuttings in summer and autumn.

In spring the trees are just starting to grow. The new tips are soft and tender and small.

In summer and autumn the tips are much hardier. The wood is harder, the tips are longer between the leaves (called nodes).

Both times are good, as the tree is still growing, but a different method of making cuttings is required. And last week's experiment was the autumn way. In spring.

So, how did I do it this time round?

Spring Cuttings

The trick with cuttings is to make them about 3-4 nodes long. Now the problem with this is that manuka has tiny leaves. So 3-4 nodes is tiny also. And in spring the growth is REALLY close together.

In the end, I made mine about 3cm (1 inch) long. Still more than 4 nodes, but about the size my fingers could cope with.

tiny spring cuttings of manuka

And guess what? It worked! They all look pretty much the same, a week later, as the top picture when I had just planted them.

Next up, I'll let them grow until they start producing roots, then let you know just when to pot them up, how to tell, and what to do next.

In the meantime, if you want a bit more in depth information, and more pictures check out the full post in Business of Bees.

And don't forget to sign up for your free Step by step guide to growing manuka from seeds.

Spring's a great time of year to grow manuka from seed!

Growing Manuka Trees from Cuttings

Spring growth manuka

It's spring. Our big manuka trees are shooting forth, creating new leaves on their tips. It must be time to take cuttings.

The first batch of cuttings we did are doing amazingly well. They are 18 months old, over a metre tall, and flowering. Already!

Flowering manuka

So I thought I would make some more. We've done a lot from seeds, but if cuttings grow faster, then that would be a good thing to do too.

Softwood v Semi-hardwood cuttings

At this time of year the manuka trees are just starting to grow and produce new growth tips. Cuttings taken from brand new tips are called softwood cuttings. Because the wood is 'soft' I guess.

The last lot of cuttings I took, in autumn, were from semi-hardwood cuttings - so the wood is firmer and the new shoots are tougher.

The other type of cuttings that you can take are hardwood cuttings, which are taken in late autumn and winter, and when the plants are dormant. This type is usually used for deciduous trees, so not appropriate here.

Both softwood and semi-hardwood are supposed to be good for manuka.

Taking manuka cuttings

How to take cuttings

1. Cut off a tip from a branch.

2. Strip off the bottom leaves.

3. Dip in root-forming hormone.

4. Put into a pot of potting mix and firm down.

5. Water lightly.

Newly potted manuka cuttings

And here they are. Looking good!

But a week later, this is what they look like:

Eek! Not so good huh?

So, what went wrong?

There are 3 things that might have gone wrong.

1. Cuttings need to be fresh off the tree

With these ones the trees were far away from my potting station. It took a couple of hours before I got to turning them into proper cuttings and planting them.

2. Cuttings in autumn are best

These were very soft wood cuttings. The manuka trees I took these from were only just beginning to grow for the season.

I think that spring is best for planting seeds, and autumn is best for making cuttings. The ones I did in autumn were just so much more robust, not all flimsy and floppy and soft.

3. Do not over-water

Its possible they have had too much water. 

It would be ideal to mist them until they strike. But the Department of Weather has not obliged, and it has been raining. Not intensively, but not a fine mist either.

The best way to do cuttings at home

So the best way to do cuttings in your backyard is to do them in autumn. Leave the tricky aspects of cuttings in spring to the commercials. Instead, spring is a great time to sow seeds.

Always something to do...

To get a free pictorial step-by-step guide to Growing Manuka from Seeds, sign up here. And check out Business of Bees for in-depth downloadable courses on establishing your manuka plantation with bees in mind.

Post script:

I tried again, after a bit or research and remembering, and it worked much better. Just needs a 'spring way'. Check out the post here

Growing Manuka from Seeds - Free Information

There is a honey rush on!

Do you want to be part of it?

Better plant some manuka trees then.

Download your free Pictorial Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from Seeds. Free!

And there is lots more information on Business of Bees, including comprehensive e-courses in planning, growing and planting manuka trees for honey production.

Spring pollen for bees from gorse

Gorse in bloom

The bees are up and about now the weather has warmed up. And the queen is awake and started laying eggs again. These eggs will grow into brood, or bee babies, and then hatch out as bees.

But the nurse bees need to keep feeding the brood for them to keep on growing. So the foraging bees need to start hustling.

There isn't much to eat at this time of year though, most plants have not started flowering yet. Luckily we have gorse, that invasive introduced pest plant, that flowers bang on now.

Basically bees collect 2 types of things. Nectar is carbs, and is used to create wax and honey. Pollen is protein and essential nutrients and is required to feed the brood. Gorse produces excellent pollen.

So all these lovely gorse bushes that we chopped down so heartily pre-bees are going to be excellent food for our newly emerging bees. Although when I took this picture I didn't see a single bee visiting. I'm wondering if the flowers weren't quite open enough. I might need to revisit, test out that theory.

For more of the science-y bits around this check out Business of Bees blog post.

And sign up to collect your free downloadable Pictorial Step by Step Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from Seeds. Free! Did I say?

Leave me a comment too, below.

Planting manuka trees time

OK, so we know that the best time to plant manuka trees is autumn and winter. Then they have a good chance of establishing roots and getting lots of water before they start growing like crazy in spring.

And now its one week off September, and then officially spring. Eek. And yippee.

Our bees have certainly figured out it's spring, last weekend they were out in force.



But, its been raining and raining all winter. And raining, did I say? Not such great weather for the humans planting the trees. And on a lazy Sunday, get all rugged up in the gumboots and coat? Nah. But no worries, we planted some last weekend. Still winter, right?



Here you go:
1. Dig hole
2. Add compost
3. Bung in tree
4. Press down a bit.



Some of our new trees even have flowers. I would be picking these are the ones that we made from cuttings, which helps them reach maturity a lot earlier.

For more pictures (and words) check out Business of Bees Blog.

And, from the hot-of-the-press department, the new Pictorial Guide to Growing Manuka from Seeds (FREE!) is now available. So go on, go and download it and enjoy!

Don't forget to share it with your friends too. And add your comments below.

Collecting Manuka Seeds

When is the right time to collect manuka seeds for planting?

We've been collecting manuka seeds. These ones are from the trees that we found in near the Kai Iwi lakes, but I have also picked some from our own trees in our back yard.

So, when is the right time to collect manuka seeds?

You want to pick them when they are ripe. And ripe means they are starting to open. But on any branch there are ripe ones and not so ripe ones, so my rule of thumb is: if some have already opened then they are ready. If none are open yet, then try a different branch or a different tree. Each tree will be slightly different.

And, what does ripe look like? If you go back a couple of posts you'll see a close up of a seed pod that is just about to burst open. That's ripe. The ones that have already opened won't have any seeds in, they'll just be empty pods. So you want some on the branch opened like that too.

And then what? I store them somewhere dry until I am ready to sow them. These ones in the dish will open over time and the fine seeds will all fall out to the bottom of the dish, with a bit of a shake.

Manuka flower nectar in winter

This is a manuka flower, picked this morning, in June, in winter. Which is pretty good on it's own. But look at the shiny stuff in the middle. That's nectar. And I saw a bee on it too gathering nectar.



Here it is a bit zoomed out. The silvery blobs are the pollen. Apparently bees go for the nectar of manuka rather than the pollen, but collect pollen through gumby-ness, crawling around in the nectar pond rubs off pollen too. Although no doubt there are some bees that target the pollen when they are foraging.

Bees go out to collect either pollen or nectar. At any one time some are on pollen patrol and some on nectar patrol. The amount of each a hive needs depends on the time of year, and the demand of bee brood - the hatching new bee babies who need pollen to create their food. Nectar is turned into honey, and also is food for adult bees.



And here is a seed pod, getting ready to burst forth. There will be zillions of seeds just in this one pod. Each seed is about 2mm long. There's one seed escaped lying on the top.

Does manuka flower in autumn?

We went for a walk around the Kai Iwi lakes a couple of weekends ago - out sideways from Dargaville in Northland. And here were flowering manuka bushes! In May.



So is this a sign of some wonderful new cultivar or breeding programme for manuka? Could be, the scientists are up to all sorts of things with manuka breeding and research at the moment.

A strange blip of nature? - although there were plenty of bushes not just the one.

Or a sign of a messed up year weather-wise?

Well, the MetService, bless their hearts, do a monthly summary. Here's what they said about May:

A look back at May

May was extremely mild across the country, due to the combination of frequent northwesterlies and warmer than usual seas around the country. The first half of the month was exceptionally warm, and even with the wintry end to the month, many new May temperature records were set. It was the warmest May on record for five of the six main centres (Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch), with Dunedin observing its third warmest May. The frequent northwesterly winds produced extreme rainfall for the West Coast of the South Island - it was the wettest May on record for Hokitika (579mm of rain observed) and Milford Sound (1338mm). It was also wet for Nelson, parts of Southland, Otago and south Canterbury, and the southwest North Island.

And here is April

Looking back at April

April was extremely sunny, very warm and rather dry for many regions of the country. The culprit was once again blocking high pressure, which has been dominant in the New Zealand region since the start of 2016. However, April was the first month in which we saw intermittent pauses in the high pressure, allowing a couple of rain makers to sneak in. However, given the time of year, these were infrequent compared to the norm. Northwesterly winds prevailed over the lower South Island. Nelson experienced its sunniest April on record, while Wellington recorded its third sunniest April (equating to one-in-thirty-year April sunshine totals). Above average temperatures throughout New Zealand were seen for the fourth month running, with temperatures typically 1.0 - 1.5C above usual. Southland was a stand-out, with temperatures 2C above the April average and the second warmest April on record for Invercargill. Most of the country recorded rainfall around half of April normal, with the exception of the southwest South Island (normal to wet) and Whitianga, which copped localised downpours on the 17th under a narrow band of rain.

So maybe it is the weather after all.
Which all begs the question, is it strange weather in part from climate change? And can we expect more of this in years to come? Probably, I'm picking.

How to grow manuka trees from seed

Our easiest-ever method to grow manuka trees

I've mentioned before about how we grew manuka trees for our bees and how we grew them from seeds when we were starting.







Now we've got our system refined, here is an update on the method we have found to be the easiest for growing them from seed:

1. Collect seeds off a variety of different manuka trees. Ours were from south Auckland and Whangarei, and I made sure I picked them from several different looking trees. That way you are more likely to have genetic diversity, and to extend the flowering season.

2. Pick the pods off when they look dry-ish. These are the bits that the flowers turn into. So sometime late summer to autumn.

3. We then dried them out, by putting them in a little dish on the kitchen window sill and leaving them till we were ready for the next bit. Months for some of them, just a month or 2 for others. Depends what else you have got going on. We just put the whole seed head in the dish, and as they dry the seeds fall out. But you can also crush them a bit and release the seeds when you are ready to plant.

4. When you feel like planting them, fill seed trays with seed raising mix, pat it down, and sprinkle the seeds over the top. They are very fine seeds so you don't need to cover them with mix. I pat them in a bit so the wind won't blow them away.

5. Gently water so they are moist.

6. Depending on what time of year you have sprinkled them, will depend how much of an eye you need to keep on them, to keep them moist but not soggy.

Now the magic bit is, that it doesn't really seem to matter what time you sprinkle them around. We did some in autumn, some in winter, and some in spring. They all basically got growing in spring. The autumn ones did a bit of a spurt before winter, so this would be my preferred time, to get a head start.

But it all depends what else you have on your plate. It's better to do them in winter and actually get it done than to leave it till spring and find you are spending all your time out with the bees and not get it done at all. In my opinion.

And the whole thing is pretty flexible, when you pick the seeds, how long you dry them, and when you plant them. They just keep on going. It does affect the speed that they grow at though, and whether you can gain a year in the cycle. Remember that nature takes it course, there ain't no rushing it.

To get your free copy of the Pictorial Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from seed click here

For more information sign up to collect your free downloadable Pictorial Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from Seeds. Free! And there is lots more information on Business of Bees including downloadable comprehensive courses on all aspects of planning and growing a manuka plantation specifically for bees.

NZ Native Trees For Bees

I've been experimenting with native trees that have flowers that the bees will like. I've written before about manukas, but there are others that will round out the season. So these are the ones that I have planted so far. 

Towai, weinmannia silvicola - will grow into a biggish tree. Flowers in spring.

Rewarewa, knightia excelsia, a forest giant, flowers in spring.

 

A Pittosporum Tenuifolium, that ubiquitous hedge plant from a while back, a medium sized tree, flowers from October - November. Makes a good wind break too.

  And a Five finger, pseudopanax arboreus,  has big leaves with 5 leaf bits per stem (surprise!), also a wind break type. Flowers June to August, so only for those hardy bees still out in the north.

A different type of pittosporum - tawhirikaro, quite small. 

And this, which is hard to see because it has tiny leaves, but it is a Putaputaweta, carpodetus serratus, also a medium sized tree, flowers spring to summer.

Ngaio, Myoporum laetum, 5m high.

Lacebark, Hoheria populnea, 5m high, flowers in autumn.

Lemonwood, Tarata, pittosporum eugenioides, flowers in spring, grows tall. There are several types of trees called Lemonwood, so check for the right one.

Kowhai, sophora tetraptera, spring flowering.

Pohutukawa, the bees were all over this, flowers bang on Christmas (well, my one does).

I've also planted a whole lot of hebes, because I like them. Different types flower at different times, which is a bonus. Small and shrubby.

All these trees have flowers that the birds and bees enjoy. And they all grow quickly, or quickly-ish, for trees. I also had a native fuscia, but it died (not enough watering), but I think would do well too. I can't report back on whether they work yet though, they aren't big enough to flower.

If you want to see how they looked a year ago when I planted them, check out my blog here and here.

For more information sign up to collect your free downloadable Pictorial Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from Seeds. Free! And there is lots more information on Business of Bees including a Manuka Farm Consulting Service which also covers other trees (if you live in NZ)

Manuka Trees for Bees

We've been experimenting a lot this year with growing food trees for the bees. The most obvious plant to grow, in NZ anyway, is manuka - Leptospermum scoparium. Manuka honey has many healing and health benefits, is the most delicious I think, and also is highly sought after (so sells for a premium).

I've posted before about our efforts Growing Manuka Trees from seeds and cuttings  but here is an update with what we have learned since then.

1. Cuttings go much faster than seeds

2. Cuttings are best in spring to get maximum growth in one seasonal cycle, although our autumn ones worked pretty well - they're the big ones at the back (conveniently obscured by the nikau frond)

3. Cuttings take a bit of effort at the beginning

4. Seeds are really easy to begin

5. Seeds need warm for them to germinate

6. Seeds are more effort in the long run because you have to pot up a few times, and a bit annoying (yaarrrrgh!) when there are differing sizes of seedlings in the seed trays. Thanks to Bee Grandad for his patience with all the big and little ones.

7. We've moved our baby plants to a semi shaded area - previously they were in full sun, and they started getting a bit stressed as summer progressed. They're doing much better now.

8. You don't want to put them in too big a pot, we've gone up to PB2s as ideal, before you plant - too big a hole to dig then

9. When planting we think we will dig a small but deep hole using a auger. Note I haven't tried this yet, and its looking like this first experimental batch will be about 3000 seedlings, so it might get old really quickly. Dipping boxes might seem like a walk in the park compared to this! Also, exactly WHERE is a moot point at this time, 3000 trees needs some serious real estate. Might have to jam them in to Bee Man's already full bush. Don't really want to leave the big ones another year because then they will be stressed. Or me, one or the other...

10. Planting really needs to happen as soon as it starts to be consistently wet in autumn I think, which will give them maybe 9 months before they hit the hot summer. Typically you would be planting somewhere where there is no watering supply.

Manuka is well adapted to being off on its own, colonising the bare and barren soil, it is a classic nursery crop - nursery for all those other baby trees that happen afterwards I guess. But in the wild the plants start as seed then the tiniest seedlings, so sticking plants straight in needs some strategising. Their lovely fine needle leaves fall on the ground and create excellent mulch, so they enrich the soil for the next generation of forest giants that come along naturally. Or so I read, and it seems plausible.

Clevedon Markets and flowers for bees

The Clevedon Markets is always a good Sunday morning out. One of my favourite stalls is this plant stall. And now they have a specific 'Plants for Bees' section, so no thinking required either.

This week I bought some summer savory for all my broad beans, and a lavender bush. Both of which will have lovely flowers, and taste and smell good too. Plenty of other plants to tempt me next Sunday too. 

I think bees like just about any pollen or nectar producing plant, which covers quite a range. I was admiring a busy bee just loaded down with pollen today, rummaging around in a few roses in someone's front garden. Its amazing just how much they can carry on their legs, and still fly.

Lots of other great things to indulge in, at the markets too, this week we had a fabulous homemade iceblock. Along with the usual coffee and breakfast.

Growing Manuka Trees from Seed and Cuttings

We've been experimenting with growing plants for bees. There are plenty of plants that have flowers that bees love. And lots of lists of good ones too. But we need ones that will produce excellent honey, as well as thrive in our country and climate. And then there is the need to grow quickly enough to make it all worthwhile. Some forest giants produce excellent bee flowers but you need to wait for so long for them to get going (although I do wonder how high a bee likes to fly to get to the flowers - might need to research this too).

The big honey-producing flowering plants in NZ is manuka and kanuka. So this is our first plant experiment.

Here they are in autumn at the beginning of the year. These ones (microscopic) are from seeds that we collected from manuka and kanuka trees. These little plastic trays are not that great, they all blow around in the winter winds, and break apart from each other. Probably they are best to save if you have a glasshouse operation.

No glasshouses here though, the outdoor dining table and chairs are covered in potted up seedlings. These ones are from cuttings, they seem to get more growth on than the seeds, but are more time intensive making the cuttings, and there is an amount that conk out before they get to this stage.

Potting, potting, potting. You do need to continually be on to the potting up - moving them into bigger and bigger pots, before they become too root bound. Good thing it is immensely satisfying then.

When we got over the little pots (the first pic) we tried out seed trays. These do work better, but you do need to be vigilant to potting up as their roots all start to get inter-tangled.

Look at this - babies not so long ago, they've got spring-powered rocket juice under them now! Some of them are lovely and bushy too. These are the cuttings (I think, but they have been moved around so much the system has rather lost the history of each plant, so an inconclusive experiment then...)

Isn't this just the most satisfying sight? Growing something from nothing (except quite a lot of sweat). Still got to dig the holes to plant them though, might be busy that day!

For more information sign up to collect your free downloadable Pictorial Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Manuka Trees from Seeds. Free! And there is lots more information on Business of Bees including downloadable courses on all aspects of growing and planning manuka plantations for bees.