manuka and kanuka for my permaculture hedgerow

[synergy]

I am obtaining manuka and kanuka seeds to try to germinate for incorporation into my perimeter hedgerow /shelterbelt . I would appreciate anyones comment with any insight or experience with these plants . I am seeking to incorporate them for medicinal influence to my bees honey production , perhaps use as fuel, And after some discussion with deeper ecologists than I , the idea of increasing and spreading biodiversity to keep ahead of other negative environmental impacts as trees do not spread naturally fast enough to adapt, and are so manipulated through tissue culture silvaculture and GMO proprietorship in forestry that there is some risk to our forests being destroyed faster than they can adapt . Well this is making me think introducing these on a small scale on my suburban 4 acres might not be a bad thing.

[raymondo]

The first is well known under its botanical name in the nursery trade here as there are many decorative cultivars around. Bees love tea tree flowers as they are rich with nectar. I don't know the second.

[rowan]

Although Manuka refers to the species Leptospermum scoparium, all leptospermum (tea trees) give similar health benefits to honey, it is just that a company put up the money to do the studies and have Manuky officionally recognised as having those benefits.

What I am saying is that it would look great and attract lots of bees to plant a variety of tea trees for display and bee attracting. This would also help with making sure that at least some will be adapted to your soil and climate. Many tea trees love wet and many others prefer dry conditions, for example.

As for Kanuka, it is just a marketing ploy again as there are many more NZ and Aus trees and shrubs with the same health benefits. Don't get carried away with the hype.

Just plant what you like in the families and the honey will still have health benefits, actually it has most of these benefits no matter what flowers it comes from.

For fuel production I would go with tea trees but they are both easy to grow and will put up with varied climates.

[oxbowfarm]

Are they cold hardy enough for British Columbia?

[mountaindweller]

There are a lot of different tea trees just look it up in the Oz pages. But what do you want with all these? IMO there are more usefull plants around. At least they are undestructable and you can send an 8 year old to plant them and they'll survive that. There are some seed companies selling native seeds. I had a lemon scented tea tree in Brisbane the tea was nice but I prefer black tea.

[synergy]

These seed are being collected from the north east coast bush of New Zealand and I am told such plants will survive in the snow in their south island . So I am in a southern coastal zone of British Columbia to thought to give them a try. I will be adding lots of differing things I come across in time to fill in around the perimeter but I thought they might have properties that would help my honey bees .

[raymondo]

Leptospermum scoparium, the manuka tea tree, has a wide range, from coastal hills to alpine scrub. Don't be surprised though if it turns out that seed collected from coastal plants is less adapted to cold than that of the alpine stands.
Tea trees are mostly multi-stemmed shrubs. If cut back to ground level they will regenerate quite quickly. They would be excellent producers of kindling. The leaves contain oils that are useful as an antiseptic, so there's another use for them.
What temperatures do you get in winter synergy?

[synergy]

Our winter lows can dip down to isolated nights in winter to minus 10 c .

[templeton]

One relative that should grow is the delightful alpine kunzea, Kunzea muelleri, I've seen it growing round granite boulders in the snowgum zone - high sub alpine if not truly alpine. Burgan, Kunzea ericoides also has an incredibly wide climatic range. Kunzeas are closely allied to the Leptos. Not sure if they carry the same volatiles, tho.
What about the Melaleucas?

[templeton]

Ahh, just googled it, and Kanuka is what those funny Kiwis in their quaint way call Kunzea ericoides. This used to be included in the Leptospermums.

I haven't tried to grow either of these, but have had a go at some of the Melaleucas and other Leptos. The seed is very fine, orange-tan and elongated. I've had success with the bog method - potting mix, light sprinkle of seed, stand punnet in tray of water to keep it moist.
Wrigley and Fagg, or Murray Ralph's book (http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/3719.htm) should have more info. No doubt there are good online resources as well.

[richardw]

There is a slight difference between Mānuka and kānuka as ive always thought that kānuka had larger seed pods,also i coped and paste this from Wikipedia - Mānuka and kānuka are superficially similar species and are often confused with one another. The easiest way to tell the difference between them is to feel the foliage, kānuka leaves being soft, while mānuka leaves are prickly.
Six years i started off a few Mānuka seedlings from some local bushes ,the first 3 years the winter knocked back there growth to ground level only to regrow again each spring but the last 3 years they seem to have hardened off and are now over a meter tall.
synergy if your frosts are not as hard as mine they should do ok,frosts here would get down to -9deg every winter,last winter we had a -14Cdeg but they were covered by snow.Also something i noticed 13 years ago when we had a 12 day run of hard frosts that all Mānuka that were growing on the shady sides of the hills died because they remained frozen for that period where the one facing the sun were ok.

One of my 6 year old bushes

[synergy]

Our winters usually hover around 0 c at night and highs in the day maybe average around 6 - 9 c as we are near the ocean and have a south facing slope for more sun in the northern hemisphere . But we do have freezing spells for about a week or two at a time and I think it hit minus 16 c as a record low years back and killed a number of things like my flax and rosemary bush. I hope I get some bushes for my efforts , Wow everything is such long term projects. I hope my kids keep this property and appreciate what has been put lovingly into it , crazy thought, but it seems like a lot of work to just be bulldozed to build an estate home by strangers who might not even know what might be lost .

[richardw]

They should handle a temp of -16Cdeg once they are a established and as long as they can thaw out in the day,its those first few years they you may have to throw a cover over them some nights.

[mountaindweller]

If they are excellent for kindling that means they are hazardous in a bush fire.

[raymondo]

Feb 3, 2013 20:18:12 GMT -5 mountaindweller said:

If they are excellent for kindling that means they are hazardous in a bush fire.

No more than any other shrub I think. They are useful because they are multi-stemmed and regrow readily after being cut. You have to make the kindling. They don't do it by themselves.