Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants Ref No. ISSN 0725-8755 February 2003 GSG Victoria Chapter NSW Programme 2003 Leader: Neil Marriott 5356 2404 Friday April 4 [email protected] Set Up Mt Annan Botanic Garden Convenor: Max McDowall 9850 3411 Sat-Sun April 5-6 [email protected] Autumn Plant Sale & Expo,Mt Annan Botanic Garden VIC Programme 2003 Wednesday May 28 Olde 140 Russell Lane Oakdale 10 am Sunday March 16 BBQ for helpers and friends 10.30 am, Montrose and Kalorama New Plantings/ Setting up a native garden General Meeting, Garden Visits, Bring & Buy and Sunday June 29 Walk on the Northside Practical Propagation Workshop. Meet at the home of Bruce & Jill Schroder, 17 Jubilee Rd Meeting time 10 am at end of Bulara St, Montrose Melway 66B12 (Ph 9728 1342). Proceed from off Mallawa Rd, Duffys Forest. Cowan Track, looking Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd along Liverpool Rd or Sheffield at Grevillea caleyi, G. linearifolia, G. speciosa all Rd to Glasgow Rd and east to Jubilee Rd. species endemic to the north side of Sydney Approx 12 noon proceed to Karawarra Gardens Harbour. Kalorama (Melway 120B9) for lunch (BYO everything). Wednesday July 23 Queens B’day Weekend June 7-9 to Grampians Meeting time 10 am, Grevillea Park Combined Field Trip with Correa study Group in Subject: Plant labelling ideas. Grampians led by Neil Marriot. Details available in Wed August 13 March GSG Newsletter. Meeting Time 9 am, Place Advised next newsletter. Sunday August 17 to Drummond & Fryers Range Avon Dam -Belangelo SF Grevillea oleoides PINK Garden visit at the new property of John and Sue Walter G. mucronulata (2 forms), G. patulifolia, & local field trip looking at Grevillea alpina & G. obtecta. G. juniperina, Grevillea raybrownii, G. baueri Melbourne Cup Weekend Fri Oct 31-Tues Nov 4 September South-East NSW combined Field Trip with NSW chapter. No meeting GSG Queensland Chapter October Mark Ross Details next newsletter, Grafting Workshop Meetings for 2003 Morning Tea 9.30 am. Meetings commence at 10 am For more information, contact Melbourne Cup weekend November: Field trip Merv. Hodge on (07) 5546 3322 south to view G. epicroca, G. brevifolia ssp Sunday April 17 brevifolia (Mt Tingaringy), G. victoriae ssp. nivalis VENUE: Home of Merv & Olwyn Hodge, 81-89 (Brown Mountain), G. johnsonii and many other Loganview Rd., Logan Reserve, 4133 exciting localities and plant populations. Ph: (07) 5546 3322, Subject: Grevilleas New Hybrids. Sunday June 29 On-line Contact VENUE: Home of Kerry & Annabel Rathie, 5 Salston 1.President’s email address St., Greenbank 4124 [email protected] Ph: (07)3200 0268, Subject: Grevilleas A-C inclusive. 2.The email group Sunday August 31 [email protected] VENUE: Home of Laylee Purchase, 41 Rocklyn St., 3.New URL for GSG website Toowoomba 4350 http://users.bigpond.net.au/macarthuraps/gevillea_study_group.htm Ph: (07) 4630 2211, Subject: Grevilleas D to J inclusive. Sunday October 26 VENUE: Home of Denis Cox & Jan Glazebrook, 87 Inside this issue: Daintree Dr., Logan Village 4207 Ph: (07) 5546 8590, Subject: Grevilleas P to R inclusive. Grevilleas with a 14 Day Harvest Life Sunday November 30 . Travels in Western Australia 2001 VENUE: Home of Norm & Win McCarthy., 21 Lindberg . Grevilleas and Philately St., Toowoomba 4350 . Two new species from WA Ph: (07) 4634 2894, Subject: Grevilleas S to Z inclusive. and more.... Peter Olde Welcome to all members of the display tables. Gordon Meiklejohn is putting Grevillea Study Group for 2003 together a roster and looking for volunteers to fill two hour blocks. Please help us out Australia continues to experience one of the even if this is your only contribution to the most severe droughts in living memory group. Gordon's phone number is 4657 1317 across the whole country. Most areas have or mobile 0407 104464. Give him a call and been subject over the last two to five years to lend us a hand. There are also sit-down jobs the most severe bushfires known for a manning the display room and book sales. generation. Fires continue to burn in the high country of Victoria and New South Wales What happens to the money raised? To date where Kosciusko National Park was recently we have expended over $20,000 on research burnt out almost completely, even well above into Grevillea, some of it ongoing. $10,000 the snow line. The understory in which most has gone or is promised to the University of grevilleas are found on the east coast is dry Sydney for an extensive research pro- and crisped and many plants, especially gramme being undertaken by Alexandra banksias, have died in the areas in which I Freebairn into the development of new walk. In Western Australia the bush has shut-down hybrids for use as cut flowers and horticulture. over vast areas, scarcely flowering and not The Australian flora foundation has $5000 putting on new growth, no seed. Some areas awaiting drawdown. Over $5000 has been have seen no useful rain for over three years. spent funding taxonomic research, mainly Tropical areas have scarcely received their expenses incurred in collecting trips to annual monsoonal downpours. Anecdotal Western Australia and elsewhere. This has talk when I holidayed in Cairns last year resulted in the discovery of over 10 new revealed that only three weeks of rain was species in the last two years. Plants and received last monsoon. It's a depressing and cash exceeding $5000 in total have been very difficult time for the Australian flora, in donated to the Grevillea Park, Bulli which the wild and in the garden. It will be interesting relies on donations. This vital park has to find out over the next few years the full promoted grevilleas by its very presence and extent of damage wrought by this unusual, is an extraordinary testament to enthusiasm extreme climatic period. and voluntary tradition. Autumn Plant Sale 2003 Philately The Grevillea Study Group currently has Given the length of time that Australia has approximately 300 members Australia-wide been issuing postage stamps, it is surprising and a few international members as well. that not one of them has featured a grevillea This shows a very high interest in what is until recently. surely one of Australia's leading horticultural genera, or am I a little biased? Almost 100 of The first Grevillea species featured was these members are from New South Wales. Honey Grevillea, or Grevillea juncifolia Many members who join indicate that they subsp. juncifolia, which now goes down as wish to be active members and we never see the first Grevillea species to feature on an them again. An opportunity to make your Australian stamp -think Trivia Quiz, for all 'active' contribution, to the NSW chapter at you buffs looking for a difficult question. The least, presents itself. stamp had a face value of 49c when the com- mon postage rate was 45c which should The Study Group's sixth Autumn Plant Sale mean that only a few of these will have been will be conducted at Mt Annan Botanic sold, thus enhancing their collectable value. Garden on April 5 & 6, 2003. Last year we The first Grevillea to appear on a stamp was were desperately short of volunteers to Grevillea banksii which appeared on a stamp assist at the plant checkout or to man the issued by Cuba in 1965. February 2003 Grevillea Study Group No. 64 2 continued Newsletter changes Two new species in 2002 It has been agreed that the NSW, Qld and The most recent issue (published December Victorian chapters will each produce a 2002) of Nuytsia, Volume 15 (1)85-99, carries newsletter every year. In part this is the descriptions of two new species of designed to spread the load a bit as very few Grevillea by Olde & Marriott, Grevillea people seem willing to send material for kirkalocka and Grevillea squiresae. A full publication. I will also enable me to gain a update on these new West Australian better perspective of the interests and needs species appears in the newsletter. However, of the membership. At present the newsletter a small orthographic error has been found is somewhat NSW-centric and I would like to that was missed by all parties including the know what interests people in the other authors, the referee and the journal editors. states. To this end, I am deeply appreciative The eagle eye of Peter Bailey has advised of the assistance offered by Max McDowall that the International Code of Botanical and Neil Marriott in Victoria and Merv Hodge Nomenclature requires that specific epithets in Queensland. The next newsletter due in like squires require an i before the ending June/July will be edited by Victoria and the and therefore the name is properly Grevillea October newsletter will be edited by squiresiae. You can't win sometimes. Queensland. Please send copy by email well in advance of the due month because it takes at least a month in production at present. Mark Ross Many people think that Western Australian Grafting times on average are between Nov plants are the only plants, which are better to Feb but G. caleyi can be done between off grafted in NSW gardens. Grevillea caleyi August to mid May, when the rootstock is is a shrub local to the Sydney area which, on actively growing (October to May). The graft its own roots, tends to be short lived and can strikes in approximately 10 to 14 days and die suddenly unless on very good drainage. active growth starts about 2 weeks later. I have found that even though the scion is Grafting it onto G.