Blog
News and views from Charles Reitz, arboriculturalist.
Read up on the latest news and views from Charles Reitz, Plettenberg Bay’s leading arboriculturalist.
Mulch: A wonderful natural gift from trees to trees
Many materials are used as mulch, in order to reintroduce this vital natural layer used to retain soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, suppress competitive weed growth, support beneficial detritivores, and for aesthetic appeal. It is applied to the soil surface...
A great Spring Day at Ouland!
Ouland Royale and Ouland Nursery hosted a special Spring Day on 1 September 2016, featuring one of Ouland Royale’s delicious lunches and an informative gardening talk by Charles Reitz, well-known horticulturist and arborist at Reitz Tree Care.
Restio pruning by Charles
Charles Reitz Being a plant lover, I am disturbed to see the escalation of poor pruning of certain plant groups by garden services. The ‘neat and tidy’ idea of gardening often leads to a misperception of what is a beautiful. Restios, for example, have graceful,...
My first time on a big tree planting site
The three trees have to be located in exactly the right positions. I am on a big landscaping site overlooking Robberg Beach in Plettenberg Bay.
The amazing candlewood tree
Charles was once consulted about seven candlewood trees on a plot in Nature’s Valley where the owner was about to build an eco-home, but in the modern style of using “maximum footprint” by building over the largest possible portion of the stand, presumably for maximum...
Garden talks popular with groups
Among Charles Reitz’s many activities, he does talks for interested groups such as the Formosa Garden Club at the Ouland Royale venue at Ouland Farm. Charles quickly had his audience engrossed as he imparted some of his knowledge about trees and gardening in general,...
Know your trees – Milkwood preservation
The coast red milkwood (Mimusops caffra) is a coastal species which plays an important role in consolidating sand dunes. They are sometimes known as “walking trees” because, growing in sand, when they are blown over by strong winds the branches often take root where...