It’s billed as a Giant Plant Sale, but don’t expect too many 2 metre-tall shrubs at Cromwell’s annual green-fingered event.

The ‘giant’ refers to the large range on offer at Otago Polytechnic’s Labour weekend plant sale, with preparation work keeping the Horticulture and Nursery teams busy at the Central Campus.

The sale will offer a wide variety of good value flower and vegetable punnets, lavenders, natives, tomatoes, and grasses.  Drought-loving plants suited to the Central Otago climate are a particular speciality of the annual event.

The popular sale has been running for more than 30 years and has become a must-do on the local events calendar.

More than 800 people are expected through the gates over Labour weekend.

Along with the main Saturday morning sale, a pre-sale on Friday for over 65s and local garden club members helps control the crowds and gives older members of the community a chance to buy plants in a more relaxed environment.

All of the plants have been propagated and grown by our fulltime ākonga (students) studying the NZ Certificate in Horticulture (Nursery Production and Fruit Production) levels 3 and 4, along with our part-time learners who study Propagation on campus each Thursday.

Students have been busy over the last few months, sowing seeds and ‘pricking out’ (transferring) vegetable and flower seedlings, and will be helping sell those plants on the day.

Nursery manager and Horticulture teaching assistant Kathryn Sutherland says it’s a great opportunity for the students to engage with local gardeners, offering help and advice to members of the community and getting to chat about their passion.

“This experience helps their understanding of the nursery business and the movement from propagation to readying the plants for sale,” she says.

Staff look after the plants for the students while they’re busy on their courses and help with the propagation during the year.

Kathryn says the courses benefit from the great facilities at the Bannockburn site, including a potting and teaching shed, mist house, hardening house, large greenhouse, and a retail nursery area used for teaching days.

“Learning to grow plants is all about practising propagating different plants by different methods in different environments,” Kathryn says.

“Our students learn so much more in this practical environment compared to an online-only programme which will only give theoretical knowledge,” she says.

Members of the public are encouraged to bring their own boxes and bags to the sale to make it easier to transport the young plants, with the Cromwell campus team looking forward to “a blooming good day”.

• WHAT: Central Campus Giant Plant Sale
• WHEN: Saturday, 25 October 2025, 9:30am - 12:00pm
• WHERE: 11 Bannockburn Rd, Cromwell (Parking available - follow the signs)