A planting dream at Te Kano

The vision is that one day people will one day look up from the edge of Lake Dunstan and see a cloak of flowering kōwhai across the schist face of the hillside and know it must be Te Kano, says estate operations manager Mark Naismith.

That’s no easy task, with the exposed and arid hillside a tough start for small trees, many of which are grown from locally sourced seed – some of it from “old man kōwhai” – and raised in propagation beds on the property. They’re clearing more than 50 hectares of invasive plant species on the 102ha property, which has 40ha of vines, in an ongoing battle to suppress the likes of rosehip. The challenges are exacerbated by pressure from pigs, deer and rabbits, and they use rabbit and deer fencing, as well as a specialist to shoot rabbits.

There are 5,000 to 6,000 trees already established, including 900 kōwhai, along with good performers like Cromwell broom, Hall’s tōtara, ribbonwood, cabbage tree and flax. The Te Kano nursery has more than 1,500 plants growing, with
500 of them ready for plant this winter, with plans to target sheltered pockets, Mark says.

It’s hard work, with plenty of failures, but driving up off the main road, he is “immediately struck” by the corridors of green, with native bird life starting to build as well. “Imagine, in 10 years’ time we could walk into this property on a typical 35-degree Central Otago summer day, and have a selection of cool green places to seek a bit of refuge.”