Banana Park at Land of the Lotus

04/09/2026

The Bananas of the Land of the Lotus 304 Mangakahia Road are on the move!

Hugh and Pauline purchased the property in 2017
and developed the Lotus gardens and parkland however the lake on the western boundary remained mostly untouched owing to the sheer scale of work required.

Unfortunately after 18 months on the market no one wanted the business so the subdivided 15 acres of the banana park was sold last month as a lifestyle block.

The core business will carry on, appointment only 027 4391572 at the adjacent 45 acre property accessed via 49 Mannington Road.

The park which has been open to the public for the past nine years will over the next two seasons have thousands of stems removed and will be open for viewing by appointment. If you would like to secure any of the plants or stem material email [email protected].

Individual specimens will be transferred and planted out around the lake and may be viewed by appointment at Land of the Lotus, 49 Mannington Road.

Everything Aussie to Zebrina around 50 varieties to choose from.

Other mature fruit trees open to offers.

08/08/2026

I've not been posting much of late simply been busy! we have sold the subdivision of 15 acres and are now shifting things to the remaining 45 acres.

We will continue to be open for business supplying Bananas and accessories such as frost protection, Banana Bags etc. Water lilies and Lotus however we will no longer be open to the public except by appointment as we will be taking a long overdue holiday including buying trip. We will have a clearance sale and will keep you posted.

We are prone to frosts and the last few nights were no exception with temperatures going down to minus four degrees and thick ice on our Lotus tubs. Our Mangos and pineapples are all looking good as we used spray on frost protection however the bananas were not sprayed and are doing it hard with some in better shape than others but no worry I will leave them alone until October and then cut off the damage. no point before as it just increases the risk of fungal infection.

16/07/2026

A while ago Aaron and I obtained some Cavendish stems from a private property which we could not identify by appearance or taste, they are one of the best Cavendish we had ever eaten.

The mother plant was around 2.5m to the crown and we gave it the name of Black beauty on account of the very dark stem and sweet taste.

I planted my share in a sheltered spot and gave them plenty of mulch and fertiliser, a couple of years later as I completed our parking area and created a permaculture style banana circle with 9 different varieties one of which came from my patch of Black Beauty.

Now that patch has been a disappointment, maybe not enough sun, nearby trees? who knows the plants barely reach 2m to the crown and yet to see a decent bunch. The one in the carpark has just flowered for the first time and check the pictures. Same plant different locations. Just more proof that bananas adapt to their circumstance and can not be relied upon to stay true to type.

06/06/2026

Local Stone mason Paul who sources paddock rocks from us turned up the other day with this master piece, He was looking for a place to display his craft work and of course I said look no further.

This one is for sale at $900 including gst and can be split in two halves for transportation, it is not light!

25/05/2026

Some good fruit on offer or to be self picked from Gold or Red Tamarillo, Japanese Raisins, Red Pineapples with tops and pups and always Bananas, Guava, Citrus, Ginger, Tumeric, Yacon to name but a few as well as our subtropical range of plants.

Open officially Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday any other time it pays to ring 027 4391572 first. If the gate is open we are around but at times I close the gate if working at the back of the farm.

15/05/2026

Since our subdivision https://www.realestate.co.nz/42967346/residential/sale/304-mangakahia-road-maungatapere we have had offers that do not include our core business so have decided to short term rent the house here at the www.landofthelotus.nz (we have built our hopefully forever) new home tucked away on a basalt spur overlooking the lake. To reduce the work load so I can concentrate on our new property we will be removing approximately 300 clumps or around 2,000 various stems of Gold Finger, Mona Lisa, Bonanza, Mons Marie, Cook Island, Raja Puri, Giant Samoan, Pisang Raja, Haumoa, royal Hawaiian, Australian commercial, Lachatan, Zebrina, Velutina, Saba, Green Plantain, Blue Java, Hopa, 1890 etc. A lot of these bananas are ideal for commercial production and as I always say, plant variety and see what works.

So clumps will be removed completely using a digger September onwards, if you want to spend time and select your plants even lend a hand breaking and loading out that might get the price down further and we have a fully furnished house plus a studio unit available if required.

I will post photos of each clump and list on trademe closer to the time. First in first served and price will be at least 50% of our current price list plus gst if applicable email [email protected]. Small pups will be potted for our continued nursery business

Cheers Hugh Rose

Lifestyle Property for sale at 304 Mangakahia Road, Maungatapere, Whangarei, Northland 0179, with 4 beds, 2 baths, 4.8429ha land area. Buyer Enquiry Over $1,250,000 Plus GST (if any). View all 31 property photos and Maungatapere suburb information.

13/05/2026

Temperatures are dropping fast so today is spray day for biological frost protection. I spray my nursery banana's, pineapples, mango and other frost sensitive plants. This only needs to be done once a month and worked extremely well last year resulting in my Mango flowering and holding fruit outside.

We source our frost protection from Wally Richards wholesale and stock it here in our little shop. 1 litre $35 and 500ml $20. If you are lower North Island Freight is cheaper from Wally else collect here or we can post out.

Generally my mature plants can handle a touch of frost however to keep things looking good as we are on the market I have employed the services of Pete's airborne applications to drone spray larger areas and highly recommend his service as cost effective and accurate, he has the very latest technology!

21/04/2026

Busy this morning bagging up bananas and putting together orders.
I find it easiest to put the bag on as soon as the flower bell descends but before the fingers are exposed. I then revisit in a fortnight to adjust the bag, remove any remaining flowers from the fingers and sheaths along with the male bell.

Where to get the bags? Katikati, Whangarei and Dargaville and here of course!