Protect Piha Heritage folk have been out and about Piha delivering leaflets to remind property owners that they can help stop the spread of agapanthus. This African native can overtake native plants, and form large clumps that block stormwater drains, and invade inaccessible coastal cliffs and shadey forest. They tolerate most conditions – wet or  [ Read More ]

Pat La Roche, Piha Coast Care, today sent out the “how to” of getting rid of tradescantia and why. A timely reminder, here it is I got a shock when I recently visited a property that was almost free of Tradescantia (Wandering Jew) a couple of years ago.  It now has a large invasion on  [ Read More ]

Lots of beachfront owners are being troubled by the appearance of a scrambling sweet-pea like weed smotherings their gardens. It is also well entrenched on the dunes of North Piha, especially north of North Piha Surf Club, but you will also see it at Piha beach in the dunes and in gardens across the road.  [ Read More ]

African Pig’s Ear Cotyledon orbiculata If you visit Anawhata you will be struck by the silvery-grey succulent on the cliff faces. This plant was orginally planted by Sally Parker, of Keddle House, sometime in the 1930s or 1940s when Sally was a mad keen gardener. Now, 70 years later, Sally’s pretty little succulent has taken  [ Read More ]

Japanese honeysuckle lonicera japonica This prolific climber is really taking off around Piha. It grows on forest margins and disturbed areas and is hard to kill off. It can climb to about 15 metres and smothers its host and all around it. The flowers which appear September-May are superficially attractive being white, cream or yellow.  [ Read More ]

Mexican daisy Erigeron karvinskianus Mexican daisy is a Surveillance Pest Plant in the Regional Pest Management Strategy. This means they are banned for propagation, sale and distribution. It is also on the National Pest Plant Accord. If you have any on your property, please get rid of it especially if you are near native forest.  [ Read More ]

About 6 years ago, some of our phormium tenax (large flax) started to go yellow and over a period the mature plants died. At that time, Jack Craw, Biosecurity Manager in the ARC, told me it was caused by flax yellow leaf virus. This spread to neigbouring plants so that whole areas of flax yellowed  [ Read More ]