"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

I left a pot of fresh seed in the coldframe over winter, and a dozen
germinated in May. All of them have very tiny leaves indeed (some of
them have 6 leaves now). Is this normal for baby metrosideros? Other
than being minute they look healthy, and because they are so tiny they
aren't crowded for light and space yet.

I'm not sure how tough they are; whether to leave well alone and
wait for them to grow, give them a dilute liquid feed, or prick them out
into fresh compost.

Any tips?

Janet.

--
Isle of Arran Open Gardens weekend 21,22,23 July 2006
5 UKP three-day adult ticket (funds go to island charities) buys entry
to 26 private gardens

Having ascertained that there really is a plant with this name --well you
must admit it does sound just a bit of a p take, I had a Google and no Joy.
Resorted to the old text books which say it will withstand the odd spells
below
zero. That's as much as I can glean.
How about trying all the methods you were querying as you have enough
seedlings to murder a few.
My individual preference would be to pot into a free draining seed compost
and give frost protection this coming winter.

"Rupert (W.Yorkshire)" wrote
"Janet Baraclough" wrote
I left a pot of fresh seed in the coldframe over winter, and a dozen
germinated in May. All of them have very tiny leaves indeed (some of
them have 6 leaves now). Is this normal for baby metrosideros? Other
than being minute they look healthy, and because they are so tiny they
aren't crowded for light and space yet.

I'm not sure how tough they are; whether to leave well alone and
wait for them to grow, give them a dilute liquid feed, or prick them out
into fresh compost.
Any tips?
Janet.

Having ascertained that there really is a plant with this name --well you
must admit it does sound just a bit of a p take, I had a Google and no
Joy.

No joy ?? 15.000 hits :~))
http://www.google.nl/search?hl=en&lr...ta&sa=N&tab=iw

Jenny

Janet

When raising from seed, Metrosideros umbellata is more or less the same
as the other species in basic growing requirements. A mildly acidic
compost that's not too high in phosphates suits it well, so A.B.
Ericaceous more or less fits the bill. When the seedlings are large
enough to handle, prick them out into small pots adding a small amount
of extra grit/sand/perlite to guarantee good porosity. Keep the
seedlings in good light and pot-on as necessary. As they develop
stronger roots, you can improve the compost mixture by mixing the AB
with equal parts, good quality JI No2.

Young Metrosideros should not be allowed to become too dry if they are
to maintain a good growth rate so keep them moist at all times. Try to
maintain winter temperatures above 5C. for the first few years. When
planting out (at about 3 - 4 years - 1m. high), plant them in the
sunniest, most wind-sheltered spot you can provide and protect them
during frosty weather. First flowering can be as early as 3 years, but
generally plants won't be really getting into their stride until they
are 5 or 6 years old. Well worth the effort, its a very fine species.

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"Rupert (W.Yorkshire)" wrote
"Janet Baraclough" wrote
I left a pot of fresh seed in the coldframe over winter, and a dozen
germinated in May. All of them have very tiny leaves indeed (some of
them have 6 leaves now). Is this normal for baby metrosideros? Other
than being minute they look healthy, and because they are so tiny they
aren't crowded for light and space yet.

I'm not sure how tough they are; whether to leave well alone and
wait for them to grow, give them a dilute liquid feed, or prick them out
into fresh compost.
Any tips?
Janet.

Having ascertained that there really is a plant with this name --well you
must admit it does sound just a bit of a p take, I had a Google and no
Joy.

No joy ?? 15.000 hits :~))
http://www.google.nl/search?hl=en&lr...ta&sa=N&tab=iw

Jenny

No joy with getting any relevant info to answer Janet's questions. I only
looked at the first 9000:-)
Quite certain Janet had already had a look and also did not get the info she
needed.

I think M. umbellata can be much hardier than people familiar with the much more commonly cultivated M. excelsa may realise, maybe it depends on provenance of the seeds. M. umbellata grow at 1000m above sea-level in the southern alps of New Zealand, for example in Arthurs Pass national park, where I think they have real winter conditions. I have had one for over three years in a large pot in my front garden, exposed to easterly winds on the Chiltern plateau, and it gets through the winter fine, even last winter, when most of the upper growth of my Callistemon was killed. The pot does sit on a sewage inspection cover, which might protect the pot from freezing too badly, but I don't think that would protect the upper part of the plant.

It was about 60cm when I got it from Trevena Cross garden centre, and is now about a metre, and looks like a big lollipop, or child's drawing of a tree. No sign of it flowering yet though. I have heard that it can take 20 years in the wild, though maybe in less trying conditions than I give it, it would flower sooner.

I have been advised to prune it "after flowering", which I presume means about August if it doesn't actually flower.

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 23:54:24 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from "Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)" contains these words:



Having ascertained that there really is a plant with this name --well you
must admit it does sound just a bit of a p take, I had a Google and no Joy.

Did you try google images? It's an NZ native, where its local name is rata.

You've probably found this but this gives a little bit of info and
confirms, in broad terms, what others have said.

http://www.trevenacross.co.uk/shop/page8.htm

and page down to the appropriate entry.
--
Paul C

echinosum wrote:

I think M. umbellata can be much hardier than people familiar with the
much more commonly cultivated M. excelsa may realise, maybe it depends
on provenance of the seeds. M. umbellata grow at 1000m above sea-level
in the southern alps of New Zealand, for example in Arthurs Pass
national park, where I think they have real winter conditions.

They also grow in lowland regions, where the climate approximates that
of the warmest parts of the UK. As you say, it is down to provenance,
but better to be safe etc. etc. Winters can be very cold in the
southern parts of South Island, but even there the growing season is
somewhat longer than in many parts of the UK. Where plant hardiness is
concerned, tolerance of winter cold is only one aspect - duration of
exposure to sub-zero temperatures, length of winter, length of summer,
light intensities, rainfall patterns etc. are all factors that have to
be taken into account. There are numerous plants that withstand far
colder winters than we ever experience here, but are not hardy because
of those other factors coming into play.

It was about 60cm when I got it from Trevena Cross garden centre, and
is now about a metre, and looks like a big lollipop, or child's drawing
of a tree. No sign of it flowering yet though. I have heard that it can
take 20 years in the wild, though maybe in less trying conditions than I
give it, it would flower sooner.

Well tended, it can flower at a considerably younger age. When I lived
in the Midlands some years ago, I was given a seedling of this species
raised from some pods of seeds collected from around Dunedin. My plant
spent its first 3 years under glass, which was unheated except for
keeping frost-free in winter. It was then planted out in a sunny,
sheltered corner with plenty of peat and leaf mould and kept
continuously moist. In winter it was protected with a rokolene (green
plastic mesh) tent and heavily mulched to keep the roots from freezing.
Growth was quite rapid and flowers appeared a few years later. The
raiser of the seedlings had several flower young as well and one that
took 11 years to reveal it was the less common white form.

I have been advised to prune it "after flowering", which I presume
means about August if it doesn't actually flower.

No, I would prune in late spring if it doesn't flower ... except that I
wouldn't prune unless shoots were becoming very 'leggy'. This way it
has a whole summer and early autum for new shoots to mature (and
hopefully flower the following year).