Eastern Wairarapa dry hill country
Tinui, Whareama, Homewood, Te Wharau, Pahaoa, Tuturumuri.
Environmental Factors: Seasonal climate - dry, windy summers, cool, moist winters. Slopes exposed to the nor- wester are prone to summer drying. Soils generally of low natural fertility.
Past Landscape: Diverse habitats: hill country, steep escarpments along incised rivers and old raised river terraces. This area was forested throughout with species tolerant of drought. Divaricating, small-leaved shrubs dominated the undergrowth. Kowhai and ngaio were dominant on the frost-free river escarpments.
Plants we recommend:
"Heritage" trees
Matai, rimu, totara, & black, hard, red & silver beech
Trees
Big (b) >15m Medium (m) = 10-15m Small (s) = <10m
Akeake (S) (green, not purple form), cabbage tree (m), kanuka (m), lacebark (s), manuka (m), marble-leaf (s), narrow-leaved lacebark (s), narrow-leaved mahoe (s), ngaio (m), Sophora microphylla (s), tawa (b), titoki (b), rohutu (s).
Shrubs
Brachyglottis greyi, Brachyglottis compacta, Coprosma propinqua, Coprosma rhamnoides, Coprosma rigida, Coprosma virescens, Helichrysum lanceolatum, corokia, poataniwha, Pomaderris phylicifolia, raukumara, Teucridium parvifolium, wild Irishman.
Climbers (c) and scramblers (s)
Fuchsia perscandens (c), small white clematis (c), leafless clematis (s) NZ jasmine ( Parsonsia capsularis) (c), Clematis foetida (c).
Ferns- including tree ferns (tf)
Silver fern (tf), rasp fern, wheki ponga (tf)
Grasses (g), sedges (s) and rushes (r)
Beddie's tussock (g), knobby clubrush (s) Longwood tussock (g), spring-flowering toetoe (g).
Look for these symbols in the main list for more plants to plant in this zone: Os, To, Co, Ab, Af.
Did you know?
Brachglottis compacta is a hardy, Castlepoint endemic. Clinging staunchly to the Castle Rock cliffs, it is a shrub daisy that grows naturally nowhere else in the world. Sometimes called “the piecrust plant” because of its crinkle-edged leaves, it has trusses of bright gold flowers in spring and summer.