5great reasons _ to plant totara

If you live north of Auckland, you might even consider tōtara a bit of a weed, popping up along fence lines and in pasture, a bit like gorse.

• There are four species of tōtara including lowland tōtara – the most common you’ll spot on farms – Hall’s tōtara, snow tōtara, needle-leaved tōtara, and a hybrid, South Westland tōtara.

• Totara– are easy to grow. “You can be sure they’re going to succeed,” says Philip. “Some natives are quite difficult to grow, but tōtara don’t mind being out in the open, they can handle the sunshine, the gangly youth seems to be pretty powerful in our current weather patterns, and they don’t seem to mind a lot of rainfall either, they can handle a wide range of conditions.

• Totara– trees make great hedges if planted around 1m apart and trimmed yearly, turning into a dense wall of foliage that’s quite prickly, making it a good security deterrent, and great habitat for birds. • Totara– are fairly immune to pests and disease. • You can get cultivars of tōtara in different colours, including gold (Aurea) and blue (Matapouri Blue).