RE: Hebes
- To: "m*@ucdavis.edu"
- Subject: RE: Hebes
- From: T* D*
- Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 22:19:39 +1300
Tim Longville said:
>I wouldn't have thought these were naturally suited to a real
>Mediterranean environment. They come, after all, from NZ - which,
>though parts of it are Mediterranean in some senses, doesn't anywhere
>(does it? Moira? Tim?) have the characteristic extended hot dry summer
>of a true Med climate.
Actually Tim, some parts of New Zealand do have extended hot dry summers,
although people outside New Zealand don't seem to know about it. As our
prevailing wind is Westerly, it really depends on which side of the
mountain ranges you are. On the west you get a lot of rain (extreme is
Milford Sound with over 6 metres per year) and on the east it is dry,
sometimes very dry. Central Otago in the South Island gets very little rain
all year, especially in the summer and gets very hot too. Parts of the
Wairarapa region and Hawke's Bay in the North Island get very dry in summer
and many days over 30 C. We live on the south-west side of a small mountain
range, and we get about 2000mm of rain on average per year. Just 30 minutes
drive from here, on the other side of the range, lies Martinborough, an
area renowned for its world class Sauvignon Blanc wines, which is very much
drier. In mid summer our grass is still green, whilst over there the fields
are brown and parched.
As for Hebes (which I am very fond of) different species can be found in
all sorts of conditions all over the country, many coming from subalpine
areas. There are about 80 species endemic to New Zealand. Obviously with
the rainfall that I get here I am unable to advise on those that would suit
Medit gardens based on my own experience. If I was only allowed one, it
would have to be H. topiaria, a smaller-leaved species with blue-grey
foliage that always looks neat, doesn't get leggy for many years, unlike so
many other species do, and can be smothered in a profusion of white flowers
in late spring or early summer. I'd grow it even if it didn't flower at
all. It can grow to about 1 metre tall and across.
Tim Dutton
"Raindrops", Main Road North, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
(Latitude 41? 5' South, Longitude 175? 10' East)
-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Longville [SMTP:tim@eddy.u-net.com]
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2000 6:14 AM
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Hebes
I wouldn't have thought these were naturally suited to a real
Mediterranean environment. They come, after all, from NZ - which,
though parts of it are Mediterranean in some senses, doesn't anywhere
(does it? Moira? Tim?) have the characteristic extended hot dry summer
of a true Med climate. Ideally, they seem to flourish best with
relatively cool moist summers and mild moist winters - almost the
reverse of your hot dry summer and quite cold winter. So it's
difficult to be encouraging. Pity, because I think they're splendid
and undervalued plants.
Gardeners in the milder parts of the UK, certainly, tend to be a bit
sniffy about them. It's an absurd form of 'specialists' snobbery' or
'horto-masochism,' IMO. Because in such areas they thrive so well,
need so little care, flower so profusely and for so long (six months
non stop is nothing unusual), suffer no pests or diseases worth
mentioning, root as cuttings in a matter of moments, self-seed with
(generally!) tactful enthusiasm, 'serious' gardeners look down their
noses at them. Silly, really, isn't it?
Perhaps Moira or Tim will be able to suggest species or cultivars
which are more adapted than most to drier summers and colder winters:
here's hoping!
Tim Longville
