Plants

The Trelissick Park Group, in conjunction with the Wellington city and regional councils, has planted thousands and thousands of plants in the park. This page records the species we have planted and our experiences with them.

Fast growing pioneer planting

When the soil is damp in the colder months and straight after removing pest weeds, we plant mixed fast-growing pioneer species, about 0.8 - 1 metre apart. The close spacing helps to shade out and suppress weed re-growth. It takes 3 - 4 years for this to take effect, when the trees are up to 2m tall, so re-visits are required to remove weeds from around the plants.

Ngaio grows fastest and tends to dominate. It sprawls and we have to prune sometimes to give neighbours a chance. It is also frost-tender, especially when young, so we prefer to plant it above the frosty valley floors or at forest margins under the shelter of taller trees. Wineberry is also a fast grower. Lemonwood seems shallow-rooted, as we have had several blown over after maturity. Koromiko is a smaller tree so is better near the edges of tracks or streams. Rabbits enjoy the coprosmas and koromiko, so we put protectors around those. Kawakawa prefers shade or semi-shade. Everything else prefers sun or semi-shade. We found all these species to be resilient.

Species planted: Ngaio (Myoporum laetum), lemonwood (Pittosporum eugenioides), wineberry (Aristotelia serrata), kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium), mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium), kānuka (Kunzea ericoides), five-finger (Pseudopanax arboreus), koromiko (Veronica stricta), karamū (Coprosma robusta), kanono (Coprosma grandifolia), broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis), māhoe (Melicytus ramiflorus), kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum), taupata (Coprosma repens), akiraho (Oleria paniculata).

Streamside species

Toetoe and cabbage tree are particularly suited to planting right next to stream banks. Their tenacious roots make them effective for erosion protection. Toetoe can grow to 2 - 3m in diameter, so can overwhelm adjacent plants. Rabbits like cabbage tree fronds. We plant flax outside of the flood zone, as it easily bowled over by flood water. Karamū helps to shade the stream.

Species planted: Toetoe (Austraderia toetoe and fulvida), cabbage tree (Cordyline australis), swamp flax (Phormium tenax), karamū (Coprosma robusta).

Large canopy species

We have been fortunate to receive these species from the WCC nurseries and in earlier days from the Forest and Bird nursery. These have been planted among the fast growing pioneer species. We prune the pioneer trees around the slow growing large canopy species to prevent them getting overwhelmed. Marking the locations of the large canopy species with stakes helps to find them again in the thickets of weeds.

The miro we planted grew over 3m tall in 13 years. Tōtara are slower growing, but do well in the park. Many of our northern rātā were received through Project Crimson. They are slower growing and we had some losses. The few rimu we planted in the early 2000s were around 2 to 3m tall after 12 years. We planted another 30 in 2017 and continue to plant more. Kahikatea grow at about the same rate. Surplus seed trays of these from WCC have been pricked out, potted-on and nurtured in our home nursery. This plentiful supply has allowed us to plant kahikatea densely, at about 1 – 1.5m spacing. There are good examples of mature stands of such dense kahikatea in damp locations throughout the country. Mataī grow at about 1m per decade, looking scraggly in the process. We have only one large mataī in the park. Pigeonwood prefers sunny locations. The other species like semi-shade.

Species planted: Rewarewa (Knightia excelsa), tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa), northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta), rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum), miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea), mataī (Prumnopitys taxifolia), tōtara (Podocarpus totara), kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides), pukatea (Laurelia novae-zelandiae), tītoki (Alectryon excelsus), hīnau (Elaeocarpus dentatus), pigeonwood (Hedycarya arborea).

Ferns

We received ferns from 2 South Island nurseries through the Greater Wellington Take Care fund and the Honda Tree Fund. Unfortunately, those proved fickle, with few surviving. Most were planted on the forest floor, in areas previously covered by tradescantia. More recently we have planted several ponga which are growing slowly, and hound's tongue fern which is doing well in several areas of the park.

Species planted: Kiokio (Blechnum novae-zelandiae), button fern (Pellaea rotundifolia), kiwikiwi (Blechnum fluviatile), hen and chicken (Asplenium bulbiferum), shining spleenwort (Asplenium oblongifolium), gully fern (Pneumatopteris pennigera), smooth shield fern (Parapolystichum glabellum), common maidenhair (Adiantum cunninghamii), crown fern (Blechnum discolor), whekī (Dicksonia squarrosa), kātote (Cyathea smithii), whekī-ponga (Dicksonia fibrosa), ponga (Cyathea dealbata), common shield fern (Polystichum richardii), lace fern (Leptolepia novae-zelandiae), kōwaowao (hound's tongue fern, Zealandia pustulata subsp. pustulata).

Grasses, rushes and sedges

Ground-cover planting is vital to hold back tradescantia, African club moss, convolvulus, montbretia, onion weed, and so on. Gossamer grass has been a great success. It seems to grow and expand anywhere. Its density overcomes tradescantia. Bush rice grass has done well, populating forest floor areas after clearing away tradescantia. Bush rice grass and Astelia fragrans prefer full shade. Most Carex sedges, Poa anceps and Poa cita seem to prefer sunny areas, while Carex dissita is “excellent for a permanently damp situation in a shaded site but will tolerate full sun and dry conditions once established” according to the Plant Conservation Network website.

We have planted much of the native grasses, rushes and sedges in patches bordering open grassy areas and near streams. Careful maintenance is required for 3 - 4 years to prevent pasture grass taking over. We lost much of our flax to yellow leaf disease in 2010. Subsequent plantings are unaffected. We plant flax at least 1.5m from track edges to avoid people tripping over fronds.

Species planted: Carex species, rushes and sedges, bush rice grass (Microlaena avenacea), NZ blueberry (Dianella nigra), gossamer grass (Anemanthele lessoniana), Poa anceps, Poa cita, kakaha (bush lily, Astelia fragrans).

Epiphytes

Collospermum hastatum was planted in the forks of a few large trees but didn't survive.

Other plants

The park lies within the 'Nīkau Belt'. Sadly, there was only 1 nīkau left in the original forest remnant area, just over 1m high. We have optimistically planted hundreds in damp areas throughout the park over the years. Nīkau grow at a 'glacial' rate. The first one fruited in 2025. It was planted about 30 years ago next to Wightwick’s Field. Kōwhai is better planted at forest margins for the sun and floral display. It needs rabbit protection. Wharangi, poataniwha, patē, kohekohe and putaputawētā were scarce in the park, so WCC have provided these. We planted the occasional white maire, whau and kāmahi. Whau, with its attractive large leaves, is easily killed by frost, so needs a sheltered area above the valley floor. The park has only two notably large kāmahi.

Species planted: Nīkau (Rhopalostylis sapida), kōwhai (Sophora microphylla), mountain flax (Phormium cookianum), tree fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata), wharangi (Melicope ternata), poataniwha (Melicope simplex), lancewood (Pseudopanax crassifolius and ferox), patē (Schefflera digitata), māpou (Myrsine australis), black and white maire (Nestegis cunninghamii and lanceolata), rangiora (Brachyglottis repanda), whau (Entelea arborescens), akeake (Dodonaea viscosa), kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile), putaputawētā (Carpodetus serratus), kāmahi (Weinmannia racemosa), kaikōmako (Pennantia corymbosa), Fuchsia perscandens, lacebark (Hoheria populnea and angustifolia).

Restoration planting notes

The Trelissick Park Group has advice on planting in:

• Adopt-a-spot guidelines (PDF, 137KB)
• Plants to suit various environments (PDF, 111KB)

The Wellington Botanical Society compiled the following 2 lists from a walk through the park on 6 May 2023. They provide some interesting restoration history.

• Vascular native plant list (May 2023)
• Trelissick Park restoration notes (May 2023)

Jonathan Anderson reported on podocarp trees in the park in 2023. See pages 5-6 of:

• Gorge Gazette October 2023 (PDF, 1.2MB)

Sources of native plants for Trelissick Park

Main sources:

• WCC (Berhampore)
• WCC (Ōtari Wilton's Bush)
• Forest and Bird nursery
• Seed gathering (WCC Permit)
• Suburban gardens - must be endemic

Past sources include Project Crimson Trust from Plantwise Nursery (Lower Hutt) for northern rātā; Taupō Native Plant Nursery (Wellington seed); Wairarapa Native Nursery; Moores Valley Plants; Kiwi Plants (Stokes Valley); Fern Factor NZ (Christchurch); Fernz (Westport); Manawa Karioi Society nursery.