Buy native plants

Nurseries, garden centres, and plant shops supply a good range of native plants but we cannot guarantee that all plant suppliers will have all of the plants recommended in this guide. Some suppliers may order plants in for you. A few nurseries specialise in native plants and some even use eco-sourced stock.

For professional advice on all aspects of growing native plants call Wellington City Council’s Otari/Wilton’s Bush Native Botanic Garden (04) 475 3245 or email otari@wcc.govt.nz. Otari have an open day and plant sale each winter. The WCC Berhampore nursery (04) 389 9729 has an open day and plant sale each May. In the Wairarapa, Greater Wellington's Akura Conservation Centre, in Akura Road, Masterton can help with plant queries (06 370 5614). It is open from June to September.

Some planning tips…

Get to know your garden and its characteristics - where the moist places are, where wind is a factor, and how much sunlight do different parts get. Knowing these sorts of things will help you select the plants most suited to your garden's conditions.

If you're putting in lots of plants, draw up a planting plan. Part of the planning includes thinking about the right time of year to plant, and, if the plants are difficult to obtain, ordering them well in advance.

If you plan to plant trees site them away from any underground utilities such as drains and cables. This also applies to pathways, fences and neighbouring properties.

…planting tips…

You will need to prepare the planting site by removing weeds and clearing vegetation for about a metre around the planting position. Avoid digging except where necessary, it exposes dormant weed seeds which will then germinateIf you have a big area to plant consider putting your plants close together. Dense planting to begin with helps provide cool cover for tender roots and also keeps weeds down. Mulching is a good idea- a 10-15 cm layer will suppress weeds and reduce the need for watering.

…and aftercare

Keep your new plants weeded and watered until they are established. Water them early or late in the day when it is cooler, and water around the roots rather than over the leaves.