Issue 17 March 1997. ISSN 081 4 - 1010 A.S.G.A.P. Australian Plants for Containers Study Group. Leader: Julie McGregor 14 Bellevue Crescent, TERRIGAL. 2260 N.S.W. Hello everyone, Hope you had a lovely Xmas break and This edition of the newsletter will mainly come from didn't overdo things. As I don't have holidays over Xmas, me, Colleen Keena (Q'land) has sent an article on not even the public ones, apart from work I have been Malvaceae, thanks Colleen. Rhys has contributed an busy caring for my container plants, as Leader 1 feel I article on a couple of our pots. I've also included a should try and lead by example. Therefore since couple of book reviews. Please help make your September my pot plants haven't had a chance to work newsletter interesting and contribute some articles. out what hit them, they've been pruned, fertilised, Snippets about what, and how things are growing for repotted,and-- watered, to within an inch of their lives. In you; new products, books, everything will be gratefully the main they have responded well to this unexpected received. dose of T.L.C. but unfortunately the humidity and above Something unrelated to container plants,but as lovers average rainfall for January and February have claimed of Australian plants that may interest you, is the a few casualities. My Acacia glaucoptera, Banksia collection of porcelain mugs with designs by Phillipa occidentalis, Banksia menziesii, Grevillea levis, and Nikulinsky of threatened species. I bought rr~inefrom Boronia ledifolia have succumbed. My collection of local Mt Annan and the Geographic Shop. There is also a state species is proceeding, and our "Flora Festival" floral emblem series, consisting of a mug and small committee has decided that it is a good project and have plate, I received 2 of them for my birthday. Apparently therefore bought and distributed to members of Central these are available from David Jones. Coast S.G.A.P., some popular local species for members to grow on for the festival display. ASGAP Conference: 29.9.97 to 3.1 0.97 I have started to keep track of how much water different Adelaide. plants use, I'm only doing the "waterwell" plants, and it has been quite interesting so far even though the rain we've had since the end of January has spoilt things a I have been asked, as have the other Study Group bit. The plants you think would use a lot of water,donlt, leaders,to mount a display / presentation for the duration of the conference, Monday - Friday, and the and the plants that I thought would hardly use any often Trade night on the Tuesday. These do not have to be suck it up. Chamelaucium "Purple Pride",Actinotus manned except for the Tuesday night, this I am happy helianthi, Adenathos detmoldii, Bansksia grandis, to do. What I am asking ( Begging! ) members for is, Petrophile biloba, ( all ungrafted) need their wells ideas for a display / presentation at the conference. filled every 2 - 3 days. Whereas,many of the rainforest I thought some photos of container plants,of differing plants don't use much at all,and easily last 7 days before lypes,aspects,and containers to illustrate what can be a refill is needed. grown in containers,and also how. If anyone has any During the wet weather, I empty all the wells to allow photos of their container plants /collection that they the excess water in the soil to drain properly and wait could lend me I can get them copied and sent back until the wells are empty before refilling them. This to you, plus any other ideas, I would be eternally in seems to increase survival rates of any tricky plants. I your debt. As a rule I'm not very creative, my talents currently have 66 plants in "waterwells", plus others are of a more practical nature. I have to reply by the 30.4.97 so you early response would be appreciates that are in the more usual containers. Following Ian If you haven't been to a Biennial conference before, I Slade's article in the last newsletter, I've also repotted can recommend them. We have been to 3 now .they my orchids and they are looking much happier. Now if I are great fun and informative at the same time; the Prc can just get up some enthusiasm to get stuck into the & Post conference tours are good value as well. back yard ! I COLOURFUL FOLIAGE PLANTS 14;- Most of the really attractive and colourful foliage plants lhave only grown this one in the ground but I'm sure it belong to the "rainforest" group. Some of them are too would be amenable to pot culture. Our oldest specimen big for containers, though you can grow them for a is 9 years old, it has beautiful flushes of hot pink new few years ,and then if you have room you can transplant growth that hang down and stand out like a beacon, the them into your garden, or give them to a friend. Quite a flowers are cream and hang from branchlets lot of them don't grow as large or as fast out of their Purple fruit appear after flowering. natural habitat,and often turn into lovely ~icholson(~)notes that peeled seed germinates in 1-3 smaller,denser versions in open positions without months, but can be erratic. Cuttings strike fairly easil) competition for light and nutrients. Some which I grow They have a nice photo of the plant on page 60, though in pots are Syzigium erthrocalyx, S. wilsonni, S. ours has hot pink new growth rather than the more wilsonni ssp crytophlebium, Lepiderema pulchella, reddish tone seen here. Agapetes meiniana, Acmena normanbyii (Syn: Acmena East Normanby River), Syzigium canocortex. I also have Acmena normanbyii some of these in the ground as well as Grevillea syn: Acmena sp East Normanby River baileyana, Opisthiolepsis heterophylla, Davidsonia pruriens, & var.jerseyana, Neolitsea dealbata, and probably some others that I'll remember next time in This lovely plant we've had for 3 years. We purchased down the back yard. I will be discussing a couple of it from Bryant's Nursery at Lismore where we always special favourites: Lepiderema pulchella, Syzgium call in on our way north. Kay recommended it to us and wilsonni ssp crytophlebium, and Acmena normanbyii. we've never been disappointed. It has beautiful flushes of bright red new growth for long periods that fade to maroon & its usual green. This one we grow in a 200mn Lepiderema pulchella waterwell type pot, and I've noticed it uses a reasonable amount of water, and depletes its reservoir every 2-3 If I had room for only one plant that can grow into a days. Pruning encourages the new growth. It hasn't small tree,then this would probably be it. Pulchella flowered as yet. Apparently it has small white flowers. means beautiful and this plant lives up to its name. We purchased our first one in 1988 and it is currently Radke and Sankowsky (3) have the only descriptor of about 4m high.lt gets very little care as such ie this plant that I have found, probably because one of fertilizer,and the Brush turkeys remove any mulch that them discovered it. we may put down. It never disappoints having They write that it is a rare plant from a small area in a continuous flushes of new growth all year, especially World Heritage area near Cooktown, its scientific after rain - we don't do any additional watering in our classification has proved elusive,and whilst presently garden once plants establish. called Acmena, it doesn't accurately fit this genus and may be a new one. Due to its limited time in cultivation, ones( ' )describes Lepiderema pulchella as a tree to there are no mature specimens, though they predict 8m,with pinnate leaves to 1Ocm, with each having 2-4 that it will grow to 3-4 m high. Ours is about 1 m and pairs of fairly narrow leaflets. These leaflets are very bushy. It will grow in a protected sunny spot or bright,shiny green on the upper surface and taper semi-shade. towards the end. It has small yellow-orange flowers There are so many lovely colourful foliage plants, carried in densely flowered panicles during September - maybe some members would like to write in about their October. Ours hasn't flowered as yet that we know of, favourites. maybe it's not warm enough. The species is endemic to the Border ranges of N.S.W. and Queensland. Jones writes that this a beautiful species worthy of wider REFERENCES cultivation. Plants are spindly for the first few years,eventually becoming rounded and densely bushy. 1. Jones,D.L. (1 986) Rainforest Plants of The foliage is an attractive light,shiny green and the Australia, Reed Books, Sydney. flushes of new growth are pinkish-white to lime green and contrast well with the mature foliage. He has a good 2. Nicholson,N. & H. (1 988) Australian photo of this on page 156. Rainforest Plants II, Terania Creek Nursery, ~icholson( )write that seed germinates quickly, and The Channon, N.S.W. cuttings are slow to strike, but successful, and produce thicker early growth. 3. Radke,P.&A., Sankowsky, G.&N. (1 993) Growing Australian Tropical Plants, Syzygium wilsonnii ssp Frith & Frith Books, Queensland. cryptophlebium This is also a beautiful shrub, taller than its relative, S. wilsonii thouqh its requirements are similar.