Watch out for this pretty flower
Green thumbs are being asked to watch out for a beautiful but toxic flower that could be growing in their backyards.
What you need to know:
- Every part of the plant is poisonous, and can cause gastroenteritis, thirst, paralysis, blindness, and heart and kidney failure.
- This plant is hardy and normal pest control efforts are often not enough to eradicate.
- The cape tulip, growing up to 90cm high with one strap-like leaf, was introduced to Aotearoa in the 1940s, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ manager for pest management John Sanson said. “Cape tulips, like many of these invasive weeds, are really attractive ornamental species ...but they escape over people’s backyard fences and into pasture, as these things often do,”
- It was classified as a noxious plant in the late 1970s after they were discovered to cause harm to livestock and humans, even killing animals when too much as ingested.
- The salmon-pink flowers bloom for about two days a year between June and December, and have previously been an ornamental species for keen gardeners.
Sanson urged people who believed they had the weed growing on their property to leave it untouched and contact Biosecurity New New Zealand’s Exotic Pest and Disease on 0800 80 99 66.
Once a site was confirmed, manual removal or chemical treatment would start.
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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83.1% Yes
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14.6% No
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2.3% Other - I'll share below
🌍✈️ Why It's Plane Sense to Challenge the Flight Path ✈️🌍
Wellington Airport announced some 'Gamer Changer' information in the news. New infrastructure could mean bigger and louder planes over our suburbs, affecting more residents. Massive aircraft like the Boeing 777X and Airbus A350-900, are twice as loud as the jet flights we experience today. Using AI, we’ve created a visual comparison of these new planes—take a moment to check it out.
💡 What can we do? We need to act now to revert the flight path back over the harbour, rather than turning left after takeoff and climbing over the slopes of our peak terrain - Mount Kaukau. But to do that, we need your support.
📢 We’re raising $25K by 2025, and we could use your help to reach our goal. Help us take action.
👉 Join the Plane Sense community: planesensewellington.com
The content of this infographic, including the comparison image was produced with the support of Artificial Intelligence.
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