Horowhenua District Council are once again making spinifex plants available to bolster the dunes. The date for planting is Saturday 28 September 2019. Last year about 40 volunteers made very short work of it. Will you come and help this year too?
Meet at 10 am at the north track to the beach off Reay Mackay Grove. Ben Wood, Parks and Property Office, Horowhenua District Council will start us off with a demo of best planting technique. Ben says:
Looking forward to it, had a great turn out last year and it appears as though weβve been highly successful too!
The PDF linked above (see page 10, in particular) says in part:
Spinifex grown in root trainers can be planted quickly in spade holes. Deep planting (sand level at least 10 cm above surface of potting mix) will maximise root contact with moist sand horizons and result in greater survival and better growth, especially under conditions of moderate sand scouring by wind. The use of plants at least 60 cm high will allow deep burial.
… Plant spacing must be related to local site factors. Dense colonies with numerous stolons spreading several metres beyond plot boundaries have developed from spacings of 50-60 cm with fertiliser treatment. Dense planting on particularly exposed sites vulnerable to wind erosion will increase the likelihood of success. In relatively sheltered sites where high survival rates and rapid growth are expected, 1 m spacing may be adequate. The aim is to achieve dense cover as rapidly as possible.
