I'm thinking John and I have been doing a bit of walking around together lately here at Struan Farm contemplating projects, not that that's a bad thing. This time we were in the backyard near the veggie gardens, having a discussion about extending my tomato bed and building another framed fence for next season so I can rotate each year between the two. Yes, planning starts early here to get things in the work queue.
We ended up taking a major detour when I looked up into the totara trees at the edge of the bush after seeing movement, a bird, in the tree. I then noticed pale berries. Similar ones can be seen in the kahikateas at this time of year, but we have never seen them on totara before. This means they provide food for birds, and more importantly they have seeds from which we can (hopefully) grow trees!
What's interesting is that they're not on every tree, and not in large quantity, which made me wonder if there are male and female trees. Either way, additional homework was now required. We found and gathered 20 seeds, popping them into a seed tray in the glasshouse as an experiment.
I dug out "Totara: A Natural and Cultural History" by Philip Simpson. Yet another book I've given John! This is the definitive book on totara. Yes, there are male and female trees, and they have a two year pollination cycle. What isn't clear is if all females in a particular area fruit in the same year and then not the next, or if certain female trees fruit one year and others the next as an insurance policy against a bad season.
This has been an important discovery for Karen and John. We've got a small radiata pine plantation that is scheduled for harvesting in the next year or two, and are in the midst of deciding whether to replant just one type of native tree in this area or a mixture (1,000 trees or so). John is inclined toward totara because they grow quickly and are happy in the area. I'm not sure about a solid block of totara, would probably prefer a mix of some different native trees, but I am a bit more positive about totara now knowing they provide food for birds. I also know it's probably easier to plant a stand of one or two types of trees. The replacement planting is not for harvesting, rather it will be a permanent native bush area on the property. I'm not looking forward to the harvesting and associated mess of the pines, need to look past that to our ultimate objective of getting the pines out and having more native bush. (Note: the radiata pine trees were planted by my father-in-law for eventual harvest and will fall down if they're not taken down. Plantation pines are (or were) a bit of thing here in NZ.)
To finish this chapter of the totara story, Clifford and I went out for a long walk that morning, seed gathering cup in hand. I found three more female trees, one an old grandmother with larger seeds and berries than the three others. I think she is rather special. I now have planted 84 totara seeds in trays in the glasshouse. Stay tuned!
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