FRANCESCA RUDKIN: Movies

At the NZIFF - Spookers is a documentary by one of my favourite NZ filmmakers Florian Habicht - Francesca's verdict 4.5 out of 5

War for the Planet of the Apes starring Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Judy Greer - Francesca's verdict: 4 out of 5

NICI WICKES: Food

It's time to celebrate citrus season with an insanely silky lemon tart! You can find the recipe, audio and tips on our page and for more inspiration visit niciwickes.com or her Facebook page.

RUUD KLEINPASTE: Gardening
There are heaps of plants that will grow from cuttings; Roses, Hydrangeas, wisteria, grapes, Brugmansias and Daturas

Best illustration is to grab some cuttings of roses;

A cutting is simply a piece of branch that you put into the soil in anticipation that it will grow its own roots and a new plant. They are (more or less) without leaves at this time of the year, so the latent (sleeping) buds are easy to find on the stems; and that’s important, because the new roots will grow from those latent buds. Seeing we usually prune the roses at this time of the year, we often have plenty of cut branch material to work with too!

Choose a strong stem – a stem that had flowers on it is usually the best. Cut it with sharp secateurs or sharp knife/blade. Discard the top nodes of the cut stem – that material is too young/thin/soft. You'd like to end up with a piece four nodes long (a node is between two latent buds). Take off any leaves that might be on it, to avoid water loss from the cutting. I put them in coarse sand, mixed with some potting mix; well-drained and still holding some moisture.

Pre-poke the holes with a pencil, to avoid ripping the cambium at the bottom of the cutting. You can dip in fresh rooting hormone, but some scientists think this has no benefit – I feel it works better. I use pots, because I can place those in a clear plastic bag (higher humidity – in spring). You'll find that when the cuttings take, new leaves will sprout from the top buds, giving a good indication that the roots will have sprouted from the bottom buds, under the soil mix.
No fertiliser. Mist or water every now and then.

My wife Julie has green thumbs - she just cuts the rose branches and sticks them anywhere in the garden straight into the soil, so stop cats peeing and pooing everywhere (sharp thorns work miraculously!) The damn things sprout well for her! Hydrangeas are similar; they simply can’t help sprouting from cuttings: Use the strongest stems with the fattest buds in winter. Great species to train with when it comes to the art of taking cuttings!

MIKE YARDLEY: Travel
Visiting Hiroshima - for more insights, Mike's article is on our website.

CATHERINE RAYNES: Books
The Force by Don Winslow, HarperCollins $37
But Seriously by John McEnroe, Hachette $38

ANDREW DICKENS: Music

Calvin Harris: Funk Wave Bounces - Volume 1. Andrew's verdict: 7/10

Like Mark Ronson on tranquillisers. Like Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories but not quite as good. This is a sun-saturated groove. Calvin says it's not a feel good album but a feel INCREDIBLE album. Perfectly pleasant, well made and quite groovy.