At the botanic garden propagation building over the past few years there’s been some amazing work by propagators Kat Lord, Alice Lloyd-Fitt and their trainees.
The garden has been part of a Department of Conservation-led project to grow the critically threatened plant Craspedia argentea for bolstering the last known wild population near Cromwell.
This year saw the first reintroduction of plants to the wild, and we were thrilled to take part. My colleague Jess Freeman and I joined a lively crew of plant experts who had spent months to years looking after the woollyhead species, including dryland botanist Geoffrey Rogers, project leader Richard Ewans, Dhana Pillai, a dryland plant specialist from near Alexandra, and Kelli Gerritsen from Doc in Wānaka.
Perimeter fencing was established to define the first planting area and protect the plants from curious browsers. Planting was made easier with Geoff’s genius suggestion to use a small auger, which allowed uniform small planting holes to be drilled into the coarse gravels without disrupting the surrounding terrace gravel and the native plants naturally occurring on them.
As work got under way, Dhana and Geoff also set to with the initial planting, Richard helped them and also kept a record. The rest of us got on with finishing the fence. Plants grown by both Dhana and the botanic garden had been hardened off at Dhana’s nursery before planting and we were all keen to get them in the ground.
It was great to see the healthy roots of many plants as we took them out of their pots. Earlier propagation work by Kat and Alice had already addressed one of the critical risks for establishment: poor root development. By selecting growing methods to minimise root-binding and choosing a potting mix to prepare the plants for the gravel terraces, they helped prepare plants to be planted with minimal disturbance and stress.
The plants were firmed in the ground with gravel to preserve the natural surface. Watering was kept light and selective, reflecting the importance of matching plants to the environment.
Over the following days, we planted 240 Craspedia argentea into two different reserves. The plants will be carefully watched over winter and the project plans for more planting over the next few years to boost the wild population.
Seed was also sown into prepared gravel between plant groups to test for wild germination as seedlings have not been seen here for many years.
