Your Guide to Native Trees for Urban Spaces
Whether you’ve got a tiny garden in town, a container garden on your balcony or the good old quarter acre section, native trees always look great and work perfectly. We have compiled a wonderful guide on the planting of native trees in urban spaces to help you pick the best ones for your home.
Choosing Native Trees for Urban Spaces
When people think of native trees, often they picture towering Kauri, sprawling Rimu or giant Pohutukawa in parks, on roadsides or at the beach. Yet native trees deserve to also be a part of our urban gardens, and not all require large planting spaces. Some in fact can even be planted in large containers, great for if you rent and want to take your trees to your next home.
As to the choosing of your urban NZ natives, we’ve arranged them in groups to help you make some decisions – buy all the trees (just kidding, not!).
- Best native trees for containers – as well as being great for planting in the garden, kauri, cabbage trees and Pohutukawa will also happily live in containers if given the right care.
- Native trees to attract birds – bring the native birds to your garden by planting rata and kowhai trees. Tuis, waxeyes and bellbirds love the nectar from our natives. Take a read of our article 5 Tips on Attracting Birds to Your Garden for more ideas!
- Natives with gorgeous foliage – need some eye candy or to hide an ugly fence, there are many natives with colourful and dramatic foliage to choose from. We’re thinking about Kanuka, hoheria and meryta in particular.
- Flowering natives – NZ natives are not often commented on for their flowers, but there are some lovely bright flowering options. Kaka beak, hebe, Kowhai and Pohutukawa are a few for you to investigate.
As to what conditions native trees require to grow well depends upon the type of tree you have chosen. Generally, natives prefer lots of mulch, moist roots and a light dose of fertiliser one or two times a year. They also like having friends, so why not plant two native trees at the same time! Trees also make fabulous gifts; so much better than being given a virtual tree you’ll never lay eyes on…
Read our next blog: 5 Tips on Attracting Birds to Your Garden