Australian Plants Society South East NSW Group
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Australian Plants Society South East NSW Group Newsletter 126 February 2017 Corymbia maculata Spotted Gum and Macrozamia communis Burrawang Contacts: President, John Knight, [email protected] Secretary, Michele Pymble, [email protected] Newsletter editor, John Knight, [email protected] Next Meeting Everything you want to know, and maybe something you didn’t even know you knew about successfully growing Australian plants Venue Jenny and Pete Johns, Narooma (see map on page 10 ) Saturday March 4th 2017 Meeting at 10.30am This meeting was held over from June last year when the weather intervened, and heavy rain precluded members arriving at the destination. That is except for 2 intrepid travellers who made a determined effort to be there ! Questions and answers: At this meeting all members attending will be encouraged to : discuss their successes in growing Australian plants, divulge special tips and tricks they have learned over the years, ask the difficult questions about why certain plants just don’t do what they are supposed, and maybe find a solution to a problem which continues to defy best efforts. Pests and diseases might also warrant discussion, but anyone who wishes to bring a live specimen of such, is asked to ensure it is well contained within a plastic bag. Jenny and Pete have enough of their own, and would not appreciate adding to their collection of problems. All members attending are welcome to bring along some plant specimens for discussion. Join in the fun of learning !, Australian Plant Society South East NSW Newsletter 126 March 2017 Page 1 In My Garden As the long, hot Summer drags on, we have been blessed with a few spots of rain. In total 7mm fell at Catalina. I have been watering some new plantings put in before Christmas, mainly treasures collected in Tasmania when we were there last Autumn. These plants were potted on from tubes, and grown on to a larger size before planting. Plants that we rarely see in nurseries, such as Euromyrtus ramosissima, previously named Baeckea ramosissima, is a lovely prostrate or dwarf shrub with tiny flowers, either deep pink or white, tea tree like, and spilling across a rock the plant presents a pretty picture in miniature. The flowers are visited regularly by butterflies or hover flies. These Tassie plants have just a blush of pink, but other forms were once widely propagated. Of particular merit is the dark pink, prostrate forms found in the Whipstick area near Bendigo in Victoria, and one which occurs as a tight matting plant in the Lower Blue Mountains, also with very dark, rosy pink flowers. As APS members we should be seeking out these great natural forms and propagating them to enable them to be more widely available. Lomatias are rarely grown these days, but there are some species which are quite amenable to horticulture. L. tinctoria grows on inhospitable dry rocky hillsides, ranging widely from the coastal areas to the cold midlands. 2 forms were brought home, purchased from the nursery next to the Tasmanian Bushland Garden. One is a small suckering form found in the eastern range near Swansea, with conflorescences of white Grevillea like flowers during late winter and spring, and the other, which comes from the much higher, and colder forests of the Great Western Tiers, is a woody subshrub with Lomatia tinctoria pink flowered form pink flowers, very rare in this Genus. Lomatia tinctoria is known as the Guitar Plant, so named for the fruit, which look like miniature guitars. Both forms have finely divided foliage, celery green when young. Neither plant has jumped out of the ground yet, but I am hopeful of getting some cuttings going during Autumn. I started to mention rain, or lack thereof. The days are getting shorter, and although it is still hot from time to time, plants are starting to prepare for winter and spring flowering. The little rain we did have certainly has improved the look of many plants, which have responded to natural watering quite differently to that which came from a hose. Nitrogen is, of course, the main element in the atmosphere, about 78%, and it is well documented that rainfall is the main contributor to the nitrogen levels in soil. This is why the lawn always looks greener after rain, whilst hosing just does not do the job so well. The nitrogen in rainfall, particularly during a thunderstorm, is readily available to plants in liquid form. Often I have recommended that pruning benefits plants during times of stress, and was thinking about reducing some of the new growth on plants which wilt on hot days. One needs to be aware that many late winter and early spring flowering plants have already produced their buds, and pruning now will reduce the flowering. So have a good look at your plants before tackling that pruning job. Tidying up Acacia pycnantha, I noted that every flower it will have this year is already well formed, and now waiting for the late winter trigger to set it into bloom. Australian Plant Society South East NSW Newsletter 126 March 2017 Page 2 Likewise Acacia spectabilis. Phebalium squamulosum, and Leionema “Green Screen” are also heavy in bud. I only mention these few as they were about to be trimmed before that last little bit of rain. Some plants can’t be helped. During January I ran a soaker hose on a garden bed as the Tetrathecas and Epacris were struggling to stand up to the competition from more vigorous plants such as Lomandras which were hogging the available moisture. Not 2 days later all the plants of Hibbertia monogyna were brown, and unfortunately dead. These plants were doing really well, still with an odd flower. Sourced from cuttings of plants growing in the dry forest west of Moruya, the plants are very tolerant of tough growing conditions, and had thrived for 5 years. Just shows, some plants don’t appreciate our help. Not all Hibbertias are tolerant of dry garden conditions, but there are many species worth a spot in any garden. I have 8 species still growing happily. Of special value as a garden plant is H. longifolia, a small sub-shrub which occurs in NE Queensland, in forests and ranges around about Cardwell, growing on granite based soils, but which is quite happy in gardens as far south as Melbourne. It can be found naturally along roadsides in quite sunny conditions. Certainly the plant copes well in full sun, but I have found it tolerates semi shade just as well, and the large flowers, from 50mm up to 75mm across, seem to last a Hibbertia longifolia flower, compared to Brachyscome angustifolia flowers bit longer. Plants grow to around 60cm high, and develop a woody rootstock from which a number of fleshy branches arise. Leaves are quite large, up to 100mm or longer, but only 5 – 10mm wide, and are an attractive shade of green, sometimes with reddish tinges in cooler months. Flowers are produced from late winter through summer on new shoots, and plants can be re-invigorated by hard pruning once the woody structure of the roots is well formed. Hibbertia longifolia is certainly a plant for every garden, but apparently rarely if ever available commercially. Plants propagate readily from tip cuttings at any time of the year, but maybe the common name of Arsenic Plant puts people off. It is worth noting that many plants with fleshy green foliage have the ability to fix arsenic within their structure. John Knight Australian Plant Society South East NSW Newsletter 126 March 2017 Page 3 Last Meeting A good roll-up of members ensured a successful start to the year’s activities. All available seats in the ERBG meeting room were filled by the time we kicked off proceedings, and we were pleased to welcome David Crawford, Editor of the APS Region’s journal Native Plants, and his partner Jan Douglas, whom we have met previously. Mark Noake and I (well mostly Mark) had spent some time experimenting with the system of projecting the plant specimens onto a screen so that everyone could see what was being discussed. The technology proved a success, and not only were the plant specimens displayed, but photos could be taken at the same time, and the results for some of these is included in this newsletter. The range of plants on display was quite extensive, and considering how dry the spring and summer months have been, it is a credit to our members who maintain such diversity, and to the plants which exhibit such tolerance. The list of plants mentioned at our meeting was recorded and produced by Carolyn Noake, and the photos of some of these, as recorded by Mark, are presented below. Grevillea rhyolitica x victoriae "Lady O" Ozothamnus diosmifolius Grevillea rhyolitica Bracteantha bracteata Hypocalymna xanthopetalum Grevillea georgiana Scaveola aemula Grevillea petrophiloides Isotoma axillaris Grevillea paradoxa Brachyscome multifida Grevillea bush lemons Pelargonium rodneyanum Banksia marginata Helichrysum rutidolepsis Pandorea lady di Backhousia citridora Pandorea jasminoides Callistemon pityoides Baeckea brevifolia Melaleuca thymifolia Baeckea imbricata Leptospermum petersonii Astartea fascicularis Eremophila nivea Calostemma purpurea Eremophila gilesii Actinotus helianthi Eremophila sp Crinum pedunculatum Correa decumbens Spyridium coactilifolium Correa pulchella Persoonia pinifolius Correa glabra Persoonia mollis Pimelea linifolia Eucalytus olsenii Lambertia formosa Corymbia ficifolia Grevillea humilis ssp. maritima "Summer Beauty" Sannantha pluriflora Grevillea thyrsoides Dampiera diversifolia Solanum aviculare Grevillea "Sylvia" Thomasia pauciflora Grevillea seedling Grevillea speciosa Rhododendron lochiae Westringia "deep purple" Persoonia linearis Westringia fruticosa Hibiscus splendens Westringia fruticosa "jervis gem" Hibiscus diversifolia Dodonea triquetra Gastrolobium praemorsum Veronica arenaria Brachychiton acerifolius Banksia lehmanniana Callistemon viminalis Dampiera "Glasshouse Mtns" Grevillea hybrids (many) There were plenty more specimens which never made the presentation, due to time constraints, and the committee thanks all members who contributed to a successful “show and tell” meeting.