Ruud Kleinpaste: Significant trees

<p><span>Just before we start winter (almost 12 more days to go) on 22 June at 2.57 am, it might be a nice idea to look at planting trees</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The soil is still relatively warm – and hopefully not too wet yet</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>What am I looking for there?</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Fruit trees you really like – take your favourite variety of apple or pear or an elegant, fast-growing Sanguine peach that doesn’t show a lot of brown rot or any other typical peach diseases.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Your heart goes out to spring and summer and now’s the time to plant that stuff</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Remember: if you are short of space, grab a young tree with two (or three) varieties grafted on the Main stem/Trunk;</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Have a look at the catalogues of New Zealand’s best tree Nurseries.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>As an entomologist, this is what I’d be looking for: host plants/Trees for our native insect taonga.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus) (AKA marble leaf) is one I use all the time. Tree weta love to eat it (and I use heaps of the leaves to feed my captive specimens.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Maori use the soft wood of mahoe to make fire, by rubbing it with Kaikomako (Pennantia corymbosa) a very hard wood species, endemic to NZ.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Both small-ish trees produce fruits that are devoured by some of our native bird species: the violet-blue Mahoe seeds are eaten by kereru and geckoes.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The purple berries of Kaimakomako are in demand by birds, large and small.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Plant both trees and you can make fire, boy-scout style!</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Another great example is planting a putaputaweta (Carpodetus serratus) also known as marble leaf.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Native of New Zealand and serving many creatures well.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>One of the m