In the garden: The big beauties in autumn and winter

Author: Ruud Kleinpaste ,
Publish Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2026, 12:14pm

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We have always tried to grow some plants that end up nicely in the late autumn and wintertime. It’s really impressive when there are some eye-catching flowers or plants in great sizes and wonderful shapes.

Miscanthus

Here is a Miscanthus species, known as “Morning Light”. A silver grass that can grow up to more than a meter high with pinky-brown flowers. It waves in the wind and can grow year after year in the border. It won’t need to be cut or run over with the lawn mower. When spring is announcing itself, the Miscanthus will retreat until next autumn.

Kermadec Nikau Palm and Australian Grass Tree

Two special, large plants that create some depth for many years to come:

Rhopalostylis baueri var. cheesemanii is a “Nikau” palm from the Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand. It can slowly grow to some height, just like our local Nikau palms. The way it creates patterns with its large leaves is something that will impress.

Plant it in an area with not too much heavy sunlight during the day. Give it a small amount of liquid fertiliser in early spring and again later in autumn; not too much and not too “heavy” in the dilution (I use “Seafood Soup”).

In the foreground is Xanthorroea glauca (the Australian Grass tree). There are twenty or so different species in Australia – slow growing in terms of creating a trunk, but foliage will form quite quickly.

They’re reasonably tolerant of some frosts. No Phosphorus in fertiliser is safest – I use Blood and Bone.

Epidendrum

I am always amazed how (even in Canterbury) the Epidendrums are surviving the cooler winter conditions. No matter what colour of this orchid you grow, they’ll be as tough as they come. The colour patches are quite lovely, and the plants themselves are easy to grow.

In spring and summer, the odd spray with some liquid fertiliser will keep them creating more and more flower stalks. If some stalks break off, it’s really easy to chuck them in a pot with soil so they can keep on growing as give-away plants that are easy to enjoy in sunny spots.

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