Re-Planting slips
Landscape Designer Sue Curtling’s planting tips for restoring the slips on your property
Right plant in the right place is the key to avoid wasting time and money and to get the quickest cover of the slip.
Look around and note the native plant species that abut the slip area, in a nutshell, these are what you’re wanting to get established over time. This collection of plants will be part of a wider ecosystem that surrounds your property.
To emulate nature is the best approach so start with seeding or planting pioneer species, purchasing locally grown plants in very small grades is the ticket - you need to steer clear of digging large holes and causing any further destabilization and, most importantly, you need to avoid inadvertently bringing in plants that don’t occur naturally in the Ranges.
Pioneer species pop out of their seed pods and grow on open ground so covering seed is not a requirement, they also drop randomly, some densely packed, others blown far apart, so you’ll need to weed some of the smaller seedings out in a year or so to allow the stronger seedlings to reach adulthood and possibly fill some gaps. You’ll want to remove the airborne invasive weeds that love the open ground, these will compete for light and moisture so get them before they have a chance if access is easy.
Starting out with the correct pioneer species for your particular area, you’ll kickstart the process of natural succession and regeneration and before long you’ll be able to step back and watch nature take its course.
There are a number of references on the Council website that list suitable species for various environments from coastal dunes, clay cliffs, wetlands, estuaries, stream banks and cliff tops that are exposed to salt winds.
Below is a section of a typical sequence starting in the estuary or stream banks, climbing to the cliff tops.
You need to assess how much sunlight your slip area gets across the day, if it bakes in the afternoon sun then a tender young shade loving plant will not respond well. How much moisture the area gets is also a major factor in the success of the planting, as is the soil friability and nutrients. Again, the surrounding species will point to all of these factors and the Council downloads offer further, quite comprehensive planting guidelines and information.
From your research you should be able to decide on 5–10 species that will thrive. If this isn’t as straight forward as I’m making it sound, or it’s not your thing, then seek advice from either of our local nurseries or a member of the community that has an understanding of the bush.
Both Jeff (NZNC) and Loren (Naturescapes) have nurseries full of locally sourced plants that are inexpensive. If you contact either, and make a time to visit, they won’t be able to stop themselves giving you all the information needed to see the plants thrive, that’s serious bang for your buck. Take a pen and paper is my advice.
You may be wondering, if you have a thick swathe of seedlings growing on your property, if you could lift some gently. It’s a good idea, dig them out with care using a small trowel, don’t disturb the roots and transplant them to an area with the exact same conditions you found them growing in. Don’t remove any seedlings from the bush, there is a system at work that doesn’t want interfering with, observing is the best course of action.
Simon Fraser from Auckland Council has advised that Auckland Council Environmental Services team have revised its guidance for revegetation of landslides - here is the link
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/plants-animals/plant-for-your-ecosystem/docscoastalplantingguides/landslide-remediation-through-revegetation.pdf
Auckland Council’s Tiaki Tāmaki Makarau – Conservation Auckland website also has some great resources that might also assist, including some Health and Safety guidance for volunteers.
https://www.tiakitamakimakaurau.nz/resource-library/
Some useful numbers:
NZNC - Jeff McAuley 022 689 9021
Naturescapes - Loren Keating 021 251 4362
Garden Design - Sue Curtling 0274 848 782