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Northland - Regional Information from Trees That Count
Northland - Regional Information from Trees That Count
Updated over a month ago

Meet your technical advisor

Paul Quinlan

Paul is a rural landscape architect experienced in developing native planting and vegetation management plans. He has expertise in native forestry, particularly with tōtara, from planting and silviculture through to sustainable harvesting, but also purely for conservation values.

Northland

From sublime beaches to bush- covered backdrops, Northland’s climate is well-suited to growing trees – it’s what much of the land wants to do naturally. There are many good reasons to plant more native trees and new native forests can bring many values and play many roles here.

That’s why Trees That Count want to help you to weave more native forest into Northland’s landscape and for those plantings to be as good as they can be – creating a legacy to be proud of.

So, whether you are a private landowner, farmer, forester, trust, community group, or local body, get in touch for chat about your trees.

Choosing the right trees

Commonly used coloniser tree species for the region:

Shrubs

  • Mānuka (Leptospemum scoparium)

  • Kānuka (Kunzea ericoides)

  • Karamū (Coprosma robusta)

  • Tī Kōuka (Cordyline australis)

  • Koromiko (Hebe stricta)

Canopy tree species

  • Tōtara (Podocarpus tōtara)

  • Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydiodes)

But every site will have its own requirements: this is where Paul can assist with site-specific recommendations. Plan well in advance and mark each plant with a bamboo stake so you can find them easily for releasing later.

Sourcing your trees

Contact local nurseries at least a year ahead of planting, even if just to express your interest, assess the quality of their stock, confirm species selection and, hopefully, to place an order.

Trees That Count supports eco- sourcing: plants should be grown from seeds collected from naturally occurring vegetation close to where they are to be planted. Not only does this help maintain the natural uniqueness of your special area, but the plants will be suited to local conditions and more likely to survive.

Contact Paul for a list of local nurseries in your area who can help with eco-sourced plants.

Preparing your site for planting

Every site is unique. Some may require several years of weed control prior to planting and others may only need pre-plant grazing, spot spraying, or clearance with hand tools.

There’s plenty of expertise on hand to help you deal with weeds before and after planting.

Pest control is also an issue across all regions. Take a look at PredatorFree’s excellent resources.

Handy resources

If you’d like to review further information, the following guides might be useful to you:

And, if you are in the Kaipara Harbour catchment, then look up the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group.

Get in touch

Give Paul a call for a chat about your site, or to set up a site visit.

Mobile 021 1478 279

He can provide:

  • site-specific advice to help refine your planting plan including scale, staging and time-frames – i.e. ‘to get the big picture right first’.

  • help identifying solutions for weed/ pest control and maintenance.

  • connections with relevant agencies, nurseries, contractors, suppliers and information sources.

  • post-planting site visits to assess and monitor performance and advice on any necessary maintenance.

  • advice for any supplementary planting, once your nurse-cover is successfully established to ‘add the gems’, such as rare plants, special features and increased biodiversity.

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