DRYANDRA STUDY GROUP NEWSLETTER N0.26
'19! Dryandra squarrosa
ISSN: 0728-151 X July 1994
SOCIETY FOR GROWING AUSTRALIAN PLANTS LEADER NEWSLETTER EDITOR Mrs. Margaret Pieroni Mr. Tony Cavanagh 16 Calpin Cres. 16 Woodlands Dr. ATTADALE, OCEAN GROVE WA 6156 Vic. 3226
Welcome to our second Newsletter of 1994. I have followed upon a couple of items raised in the last Newsletter and also gone back over some of the old ones tdpather some information on germination work that has been done over the years.'While I was looking back over these early issues, I realised just what a tremendous amount of information is contained in the Newsletter. Newer members might be interested to know that most if not all of the earlier issues are still available and can be obtained from Margaret. The cost is normally around 82.00 but does vary for some of the early ones -eg the first 10 issues are spirally bound as a set and cost somewhat more. Also available from Margaret is-the very useful index produced by David Randall. This indexes all species described or mentioned in all Newsletters up to number 22. Cost is 82.00 including postage, and I can recommend its usefulness.
The article by Hartley Tobin on smoke and germination created a lot of interest so I-have looked a little more deeply into it. So far, there is no indication tha,t smoke will assist the germination of dryandras but at least it seems to assist the germination of some of the endangered and rare heathland plants ,- :':--' .so that is a good thing. Germination seems to be the theme of this issue with a couple of contributions from Margaret and one from me reviewing what appears to be known dryandras. One of our members is a research botanist with the WA Herbarium. She and Margaret have been collecting seeds of some of the rare and endangered species, especially from die-back areas. Part of her work is to determine the germination characteristics of these species over a period of time and she has germinated some 21 species under controlled laboratory conditions. It was very interesting to see that results achieved by Ron Pearson and David Randall in oil and by the egg-box method have been very similar, thus establishing fo! the first time, the typical or expected times for germination of many dryandra species. However, please continue to keep records as there are still species which seem to take very long times to germinate. I have concluded with some information received from members and I am grateful for their contributions. I am always happy to publish notes from members so please send your comments to Margaret or myself.
Margaret asked me to include the following information about activities in western Australia during September. If anyone is going to be in WA during this time, please contact Margaret who can supply further information.
1 September 7. Alex George is talking on Dryandras and Synapheas at the meeting of the Murdoch b-ranch of the Wildflower Society.
2 September 11. Excursion to New Norcia-Regans Ford with Alex George, to disvover dryandras.
3 September 10-15. There is a Wildflower Society trip to the Stirlings. However, this may already be booked out and anyone interested should contact Margaret immediately to see if they can join. Margaret suggested that it might be possible for people to take part in the excursion of 11 September and later join the Stirlings excursion. However, it is important to contact Margaret well beforehand.
Finally, this is subscription time and I would be grateful if members could complete the subscription form at the back of the Newsletter and post it with you4cheque to Margaret. I ah going on long service leave to Oueensland and the Northern Territory over the next few months. No dryandras to see but hopePully, lots ot new and interesting plants. /2-
SMOKE AND GERMINATION
The article supplied by Hartley Tobin in the last Newsletter has created quite a lot of interest among Dryandra Study Group members. The inevitable question is "will it help the germination of dryandras?". At present, I don't think that anyone can say but I believe that it is unlikely. As Keith Alcock's germination results in Newsletters 20 and 21 showed, and more recent information from the work of Anne Cochrane at CALM given in this Newsletter indicates, most dryandra species appear generally to germinate well - poor germination is usually an indication of inferior quality seed or unsatisfactory germination conditions, eg too hot or too cold. Secondly, there appears to be little interest in studying the effect of smoke on proteaceous species. The bulk of the research reported so far relates to South African and West Australian heathland plants many of which are very dif f icult to germinate, eg Actinotus, Eriostemon, Verticordia, Pimelia, Lechenaultia although the horticulturally interesting genera Conospermum and Stirlingia are being examined by researchers at Kings Park. In South Africa, the main cen-tre of work is the Conservation Biology Research Unit at Kirstenbosch where a team led by N.A.C. Brown is examining whether smoke is equally effective on all "fynbos" (their term for heathland) taxa. Preliminary screening tests have been carried out on some 150 species in the Ericaceae and Restionaceae families both of which contain many horticulturally desirable plants. Five members of the Protaceae were also examined but in only two, Protea compacta and Serruria phylicioides, was there a significant increase in germination after smoke treatment. Both the South Africans and Kings Park staff report dramatic improvements, eg from 5% to 80%, "a 10 to 50- fold increase" but the most significant outcome lies in their claimed success in germinating species which are regarded as nearly impossible to grow from seed. In a recent article, it was stated "Species have now been grown easily and effectively from seed where no other similar method for propagation has been known" and "It is likely that the process will be broadly applicable to a wide range of Australian plants".
The smoke is derived from burning bush materials, branches leaves etc, cooling the smoke so that uncontrolled heating effects don't occur, and then passing the smoke over seeds contained in an closed chamber, exposing them for various periods of time of up to an hour. Smoke can also be bubbled through water and the resulting solution is usually evaporated to form an extract which can subsequently be dissolved in water and be used to irrigate seed trays. Original work in South Africa in 1990, which has been confirmed by the Kings Park staff, showed that smoke can be applied to unburnt ground in natural habitats and can stimulate germination of soil-stored seed, especially those which depend on fire or disturbance for natural germination. In both countries, this is regarded as a major bonus. Many of the heathland species which are of interest are also on the rare and endangered list or are found only after fire or roadside disturbance. Some are also of considerable commercial interest and because they have proved difficult to propagate, are subject to heavy picking from wild populations. Thus, any procedure which could help promote in-situ germination of soil-stored seed of rare or endangered species must be of benefit to the conservation and management of our rare flora.
Some History
When I noticed that the lead article in the June 1994 issue of Danthonia (the Newsletter of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation) was on this topic, I did some investigating to see what was known about the history of the effect of smoke on seed germination. Surprisingly, studies on the effect of smoke on plants goes back to at least 1922 when smelter smoke was reported as killing a particular form of mistletoe. In 1972, two American workers constructed a special smoke generator to test the effects of smoke on fungi. f7 similar apparatus was used by Zimmerman and Laven in 1986-1987 in the first experiments that I know of to test the effect of smoke on seed germination. ~,', -3- However, they were trying to determine whether smoke might have a detrimental result because the species they examined, Arceuthobium sp. (dwarf mistletoe), are a significant parasite in America's western coniferous forests. They found that short exposure times to smoke'(1ess than 30 minutes), increased germination in one species but had little effect in two others. Longer exposure, (above 60 minutes), caused a decrease in germination. Burning fuels with high moisture content also resulted in a drastic loss of germinability with longer exposure times. Subsequently, in 1989-1990, de Lange and Boucher using a fairly similar smoke generator showed'quite remarkable enhancement of germination in Audouinia capitata, both in-situ and in smoke "fumigated" seeds in pots. Subsequently, Brown in South Africa and Kingsley Dixon at Kings Park have initiated extensive experiments to screen plants which might have their'germination enhanced by smoke.
At this time, there is'almost no knowledge of what constituents in the smoke might be responsible. There has been speculation about ethylene and ammonia or "unknown chemical factors" but the situation is probably much more complex. Kingsley Dixon in an interview on ABC Radio National pointed out that there are around 2000 "ingredients" in smoke so that finding those responsible or even the combinations, is a daunting task. In addition, different species apparently show different responses to variations in smoke treatment such as length of exposure, moisture content of fuel used to generate the smoke and whether the smoke is blown over the seeds or applied in extract form as a solution.
I have listed some of the important references below. Ifanyone would like to try some experiments with dryandra seed, please contact me before July 26 and I can supply you with copies of papers or information about the apparatus used.
References:
G.T. Zimmerman and R.D. Laven (1987). Effects of forest fuel smoke on dwarf mistletoe seed germination. Great Basin Naturalist, 47(4) : 652-659.
J.H. de Lange and C. Boucher (1990). Autecological studies on Audouinia capitata (Bruniaceae). 1. Plant-derived smoke as a seed germination cue. South African Journal of Botany, 56(6) : 700-703.
N.A.C. Brown (1993). Effect of smoke on fynbos seed germination. Sappex News, (78): 3.
N.A.C. Brown (1993). Promotion of germination of fynbos seeds by plant-derived smoke. New Phytologist, 123: 57.5-583.
Kings Park Staff 1994. Smoke not fire may be the key to germination. Danthonia, 3(1): 1, 3.
(See also article sent by Hartley Tobin on page 16). DRYANDRAS IN THE NEWS
Margaret recently sent me a copy of an article from the W.A. Naturalists Club News for January, 1993. The paper described the flora on a remnant (not recently logged or burned) patch'of vegetation at the Agriculture Protection Board site at Forrestfield, some 15 kms east of Perth. The natural vegetation covered aboout 8 ha. of the 15 ha. site. All told, some 182 plant species from 34 families were recorded showing the site to be rich in indigenous flora.
What was important about the work was the discovery of seven species not previously recorded for the Perth metropolltan area, two of them dryandras. Dryandra species No. 22 (aff. pteridifolia) was relatively abundant. It was previously known only from the Mogumber and Badgingarra areas although James Drummond in 1839 had collected a specimen which no one had!?been able to identify from an area 7-8 km. north of Forrestfield. Margaret solved, the mystery and identified the Drummond site. (See "A Dryandra mystery solved" in Newsletter No. 17, January, 1990.)
The other dryandra found was of particular interest because of its scarcity (only one plant was found at Forrestfield with two more in an adjacent school yard). The plant was a small form of Dryandra vestita, only about 50 cm. by 50 cm. According to Margaret, it lacks the characteristic twist of the leaves found in other populations. More importantly, this is the first recording of D. vestita west of- the Darling Range; the species was previously thought to be restricted to the wheatbelt between Eneabba and Lake Grace. Further searches are being undertaken to try to locate other specimens, so far unsuccessf~lly.Meanwhile, every endeavour is being made to protect the existing plants.
The writers of the paper acknowledge the valuable help given by Margaret in identify-ing and providing information on these species. This is again a tribute to her tremendous knowledge of Dryandras. Congratulations, Margaret. - Reference:
M.H. Robinson and P.R. Mawson (1993j. The flora of a remnant of native vegetation on the eastern Swan coastal plain. W.A. Naturalists Club News, January: 162-173.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE GERMINATION OF DRYANDRAS
The recent publicity given to the "discovery" that smoke apparently aids germination of seeds has been much discussed. I really don't think it is of much importance as regards dryandras. Our experience seems to suggest that germinating the seed is the least of the problems, although obviously some species germinate more readily and it remains to be seen as to how long they remain viable in storage. Ann Cochrane's work at the W.A. Herbarium should prove extremely useful in providing this kind of information.
Two years ago when my plant of the Dempster Head form of D. longifolia, which was apparently thriving, suddenly died, I made a little bonfire on the spot of the branches with seed heads. I also sowed some of the seed which I had extracted from the capsules without heat, directly into the garden using the tried and true method that I have previously written about. The result was that there seemed to be little germination where I'd burnt the capsules and the only plant that survived to the planting out stage was one which had germinated from the garden sown seed.
The vulnerable stage for dryandras when grown in pots seems to be when they are very small seedlings and I'm convinced that the main problem is getting the amount of watering exactly right. I am still getting good results sowing seeds in the garden in autumn, potting excess plants up and watering carefully over winter and summer and then replanting into the garden in the following autumn. I have not used any fungicide or sterilised soil although I have used a pyrethrum-type spray when small seedlings are being attacked by the "mysterious nightime muncher" which sometimes bites seedlings off at the base of the stem.
We are fortunate here in Perth to have some remnant bushland parks and for 10 years I have been involved with our local Greening Australia group. Parts of the reserve which we are revegetating has been disturbed and is in need of replanting. We have collected seeds of many species of indigenous trees and shrubs including two dryandras, D. sessilis (the Perth limestone form) and D. lindleyana. Direct sowing has not proved very successful and as pots, potting mix etc. are expensive, Ihave adapted my direct garden sowing method to growing some of the various species for revegetation. I filled all my spare -5- pots and tubes with soil from the bushland near a large rabbit warren. As the soil had al.ready been disturbed, I wasn't doing any harm removing a little of it - especially when compared with the destruction the rabbits are causing! Some seeds have germinated in just a few weeks and I expect to be able to put quite a few plants back into the area.
We are experiencing a terrible drought (broken with a vengeance in late May! - ed.). It is very sad to see so many plants dying, not only in gardens and on roadside revegetation but also in the bushland and forrests. Since October, we have had only about 20 mm. of rain. It's now mid-May and we still have not had any drought-breaking rain. We are waiting for good soaking rain to- sow seeds and plant out last year's seedlings. I usually do this in late March or eArly April and hand watering is not normally required until the plants are well established and the dry summer arrives. It will be interesting to see what survives to next year,
Margaret- Pieroni.
THE GERMINATION OF DRYRNDRAS REVISITED
In the first major newsletter of the Dryandra Study Group published in 1974, there was considerable interest even then in the germination of dryandras - how was the best way to grow them, what soil mix was needed, how long did they take to germinate, what percentage germination could be achieved, were some species easier than others. We found then that the percentage germination was often low (20% or less), that it varied considerably between species, that seed from different batches of the same species could give quite different results, that germination times varied from three to four weeks up to ten or more weeks and that germination could extend over many weeks after the first seedling emerged. We couldn't decide whether autumn and spring sowing was better or indeed if another time might be more suitable. And as we were all so inexperienced, we didn't know which ones were supposed to be "easy" and which ones "hard" to germinate. In one of my first trials, I found that seed of D. nivea, D. polycephala, D. shuttleworthiana, D. armata and D. fraseri did not germinate when sown in either March or September-October and concluded that the seed was probably not viable. This year in March I sowed seed of 16 species. The seed was commercially obtained but I was intrigued to see that I still had problems. I again had no germination from these species - D. calophyl la and D. arctotidis and the two seedlings (from 12 seeds) of D. tenuifolia were weak and spindly and subsequently died. D. nivea was very slow and after 92 days, I finished up with two poor specimens of seedlings. Others such as D. pulchella, D. horrida, D. foliosissima and D. erythrocephala all gave less than 30% germination. 4m I any better as a grower of dryandras now than I was 20 years ago? It would seem not! However, if it is of any consolation to newer members, Hartley Tobin and I were recently discussing the fact that we seemed to have had a lot more success when we didn't know much about growing dryandras! In the past, I have grown both D. nivea and D. arctotidis from cuttings. The plants are still alive after 15 years but I haven't been able to repeat the feat. I still have a plant of D. serra (the only one that I know of and have raised D. shuttleworthiana, D. pulchella, D. erythrocephala, D. foliosissima, D. foliolata, D. proteoides, D. subpinnatifida and other rare/uncommon/difficult species to flowering and thought nothing of it. Now when I want to replace some of these, I can't grow the plants!
I have always been interested in how long it takes for seeds to begin germinating and the total germination time. In my ignorance in the early days, I thought that the times would be fairly constant for each species although they would vary between species. Many years later, and after looking at many growers' times over the years, I know this is not true. The times can vary enormously, depending on the provenance of the seed, the germination' conditions and time of sowing, the way they are sown (eg using the egg-box method or petrie dishes under cantrolled temperature cycles or in seed raising mix in pats) and many ~therunknowns. To illustrate this, these are recorded times for the start af germinatian for D. aff. seneciifolia - 17, 22, 32, 40 days. Then again, for haw long will.seeds continue to germinate? Keith Alcock, in the wanderfully detailed germinatian data he presented in Newsletters 20 and 21, identified a number of species including D. ccmcinna, D. longffolia, D- arctotidis, D. drummondii as well as several forms of D. ferruginea which were both slaw to emerge and continued to germinate over three manths. Keith claimed that ungerminated seed appeared viable yet only 24% af sawn seeds of D, concinna and 49% of seeds of D. foliolata had germinated-after 90 days. In these cases, there was a delay of up to 50 days before the first seeds emerged. The most extreme example that I know of was for seeds of Dryandra sp. 38 (aff. drummondii) being germinated by Anne Cochrane at the W.A. Herbarium. These were still germinating after 140 days or nearly five manths. One batch of D. nivea I recently tried was also extraor&narily slaw with ane seedling appearing after 86 days and another at 92 days. The.rnora1 of all this is - don't throw out your pots until 4-5 manths have gone-by. Some seeds may germinate early with the germination spread aver many weeks while in others, final germination is achieved within a week or sa. The difficulty is that there is no consistency or trends among species as the following shows.
From Ron Pearson, Mentone, Vic.
SPECIES NO. SOWN NO. GERM. GERM. TIME PLANTS ALIVE (days 1 15/12/91 armata Furrestf ield 4 24 1 7 No. 4? 5 .-> 4 nill "IT", No. 50 (CN47.6) 6 - No. 36 (CN494) 7 - "carlinoides" 7 26-28 No. 12 (sp. F) (CC1_421) 12. 80-96 No. 7 (CN357)- 9 24-37 tridentata (CN225) 8 25 sp. H (CN366) 6 21-27 sp. J (EN5391 9 - serratuloides (CN512) 6 - No. 41 (CN465) 8 27-42 1 No. 38 (CN542) 7 36-ao nill af f . . f raseri (CN499) 8 20-26 4 aff. armata (No. 8) 7 26-60 4 "Kulin" (No. 37) (CN480) 2 26 1 aff. pteridifolia (No. 3) 9 37-60 3 (CN341) No. 54 6
Seed from Cranbourne
D. nobilis D. quercifolia D. foliosissima
SN = Species nova; CN = Seed Bank Collection Number From Elizabeth Brett, Corowa, NSW.
I had two late winter sowings in 1991 and this may account for the spread in germination times, particularly of the seed collected from Cranbourne which war planted in early July. The seeds were extracted using nail clippers ta cut around the capsule. They were planted in coarse river gravel with the pots standing in water in a shallow tray. The seedlings were potted on into a mixtur similar to that recommended in Volume 1 of the Encyclopedia of Australian Plan1 for plants sensitive to phosphorus (P 103). By late October, most had their tr~ leaves. The approximate germination times were as follows:-
Batch 1 - SO& 10/8/91
SPEC IES TIME (days) SPECIES TIME (days)
SN No< 22 (CN219) - SN No. 16 (Sp. ~)'(6~493)51-68 SN No. 53. (CN233) - 47-57 SN No. 26 (CN501) 43-55 D. arctotidis-(CN425) 43-58 (Badgingarra) D. aff. ferruginea (CN437)50-69 SN. NO. 45 (CN539) 40-56 SN NO. 3 (CN341) 55-68 (aff. serratuloides) SN No. 34 (CN444) 51-68 (aff. ferruginea, Newdegate) Batch 2 - Cranbourne (sown 30/6/91) D. brownii (CN488) 47-57 D. sp. 46-68 D. quercifolia 46-68
GERMINATION TIMES
During 1787, I planted seed froin a large number of species including many of the farm.= of curt-ently named dt-yandras and some which may possibly be new species when the t-evision is completed. For identification purposes, these latter are given a code number. The t-ange of times was from about three weeks to ten weeks.
Sp2iie.s g~rninatingin l.ess than faut- weeks were:-
3ff. nobilis (no. 24); af-f. at-mats (no. 3); aff. serrat~tluidfs(no. 45); pir_cmGsa; s~j--ratuJoide=;aff. fr;;seri (no. 23); aff. sqLcarUrusa (no. 30); a-ff. ,he:+srdiana (no. 42).
3ermi.nation in four weeks:-
Germination in six weeks:- af f. longifal is (Dempstet- Head) ; af f . mimics (no. 16) ; falcata; blechniful id; longifoliag westita; nervosa; af f . ferruginfa (no. 19) ; aff. ferr~cginea (no. 3-61; calophylla.
Germination in eight weeks:- aff. conferta (no. 5); serra; foliosissima; No. 50; folialata.
Germination in nine weeks:- aff. armata (no.10); aff. nivea (no. 29). . , -. ~erminationin ten weeks:- af fm hewardiana (no. 15) ; aff . ferruginea (no.34).
Ma,rgaret Pieroni . These are reproductions from Ron Pearson's and Elizabeth Brett's articles in Newsletter 22 and also some information from Margaret in Newsletter 17. Ron's figures for time to first germination parallel Keith's data where the first seeds germinate in 22 to 25 days. Like Keith, he also found that some species took a lot longer, eg sp. no. 12 at 80 days and others at 36-37 days. Some such as Dryandra aff. armata (no. 8) germinated over more than a month (26 to 60 days), D. foliosissima 26 to 72 days. Elizabeth's times for a late sowing on August 10 were around 50 days which is very similar to times I recorded with my recent trials. Why our results should be so different to Ron's and Keith's times, I have no idea - it's probably one of the delights of growing dryandras ! .,
Margaret's data are also of much interest in indicating groups of species which may take longer than normal to germinate. Nearly all of Keith's slow/pro.blem species (his table 5), appear in Margaret's 6, 8, 9 or 10 weeks-to-germinate groups thus showing that some species must be naturally slow to germinate.- / Other Recent Results
Margaret told me last year that one of the staff at the W.A. Herbarium was involved with a study of vulnerable dryandras in the wheatbelt, especially those in die-back areas. As part of the project, they needed to collect hundreds of seeds of each species, samples of which will be germinated under laboratory conditions over a period of years to see if their viability declines. As anyone who has tried to collect dryandra seed in the wild knows, it is very hard work. Margaret tells me that it took them three and a half days to collect material from just seven species. WYANDRA SP. 41 DRYANDRA SP. 1
Replicates=2 Mean % gerrninatlon=90 Mean % germination=90
DAYS TO GERMINATION DAYS TO GERMINATION
DRYANDRA SENECllFOLlA DRYANDRA SERRA
DAYS TO GERMINATION DAYS TO GERMINATION The researcher Anne Cochrane is a member of the Dryandra Study Group and has kindly made available the results of her germination experiments. Laboratory germination differs from methods we use (ie growing in sand or seed raising mix) in that the seeds are usually raised in a controlled temperature incubator under alternating periods of light and dark. The medium is usuallly vermiculite in petrie dishes. The standard conditions used in Anne's work were fixed temperature of 15 C with alternating night and day. Some of her results are given above, plotted to show progress of germination over time.
One of the characteristics of "scientific" seed germination is that replicates or duplicate samples are run to try to ensure more accurate results rather than relying on just one set of data. Sometimes the results don't agre= (as in the graph for D. serua) and more experiments would need to be run to establish the aerage % germination. Like Keith, Anne found that the average % germination was high, usually above 70%, and that time to first germination was less than 25 days, with some species taking as little as 13 and others up to 35 days.
A method closely-akin to laboratory germination is the "egg-box" method used by David Dandall (see Newsletter 21). Because he seems to have had outstanding success with his germination, I have included his results from information he sent me in late 1992. While in many cases he was only able to sow a few seeds, he failed with only two species out of 63 tried, a remarkable effort. His times to first germination are very similar to Anne Cochrane's, perhaps a little quicker, with many at around 20 days. The major conclusions that can be drawn from all these results are that most species of dryandra will begin to germinate under good conditions in 18 to 25 days and that germination may continue for up to four weeks or even longer after the first seedlings appear.
Lastly, I was interested to see how germination data from various sources compared. In "scientific" germination studies, it is usual to follow the progress of germination by plotting "%germinationu against "days to germination". Unfortunately, I wasn't able to obtain suitable figures from Keith's tables but could use the information from Anne Cochrane, David Randall and two species that I had recently grown. Once again, David's and Anne's results were very similar indicating that under good conditions, most dryandras should behave this way. I would expect germination in soil to be slower but I still believe that my results are slower than you would normally find.
I am very grateful to many Dryandra Study Group members over the years who have given me their germination results. It is valuable information and enables us tobuild up a clearer picture of the germination process. Please keep records of your germination work in the future (preferably the time for the first seedling, number of days as seedlings emerge and the time to the end of germination).
Tony Cavanagh DAVID RANDALL GERMINATION DATA 1992
This is a list of seed sown this year ~ndgermination times etc-_ The esteaisk after the mnme is fur seed c~llectedlfrom Crunbowrne.
,. ' No Flmtod I M0 G"(!~P, Oauu shot [ )No 3. De0-t from sovinq -- -- FAME- 2 & ttr?? rt~re'a - I 4 -1 (3jx(!;~LS CI!ZS(1j4t (1!44 I-ciot~~Yis+ I 4 -3 ej'i-2 (1136 (I 14s ;i,!-!jta~o I TJ * .-I,.' 5 LI (~)~~~(I>~(I]=* (234 1 (1 )4!3 ( I 11.50 in-~ataNO 20. 5pH + Zlr'5 3 2 ti11122 (1129 (1]33 ..-,:; te I- i + 311% 3 1 [:j24 ( I j36 !c-~!.fiifoli3+ ;.;I:', 9 2 [lj;?2(1)?6 ( l)35 (1 254
;r sii.ide5 + 1 1~-4 f; (if j 1.q (1 1.39 <1)~17 ifcjl-si;,ier~ * Ji :5 13 7 (f>x!(1124 @jL5 (!]3(I 143 (1 3-93 (1)58 (1 )54 8~r,-lfisa+ .?;:s 12 71 f,fpJG;rz(1>:9(1j41; (1~~-;~!:;5(;;SG~1]37(1]~~?'$17]42[1;46[1j39jljS?~T)El
~>r~?~?r-fa:
.;fi=,~-~j)&-. + z,!G 14 1 ./ Q);~I 1x124 (1; .3 jtj40(1J&?( I j45[I)M(ljT jT]43[1.150[ 1151 (1]5,?(1)56i:)5
I !~~~~IIII~~P~II* 31,5 1.5 I? cq;)24 <\]23iFj3 Gjxg (I jq3 (I)~LI(I ;NS (1147 (?;m(211% (1155(IEG :-ur!, 'i; khrttcephela -T- ., i.!-.'- 103 1411 (1~::: XI (1 ) 5 (1 1 51 (1136 j1.H I (1]44jl)~~i7)47j1~99[l~SS[l]S.~jl~~jl!T1 .~lcblaMc4.S * 2.1'5 24 20 Qj:9 (7)21 ('125 233:. ?..17 (.~:2[~:~+(?):~a~~~m(~~&3,1)~.l)d5<~&!$:~d~ .- tl::btir nor-ma? -+I cs 5 (~JI$(I)Z~(I~~~ (13~1i;l!4l Cij42 Clj55 I--$- Jit.:~Ld ZQ C. NO 9 1 ti 2 2 i:!)zQ (!;I25 ( :1143 (1 :14? :r'r-~~jfr~ea* 6 2 1 (l):F, 11 153 :i-ru~irte;rPlol 3 1, 4. 2 o)>u (1 141 (137 rf fert-ugirtia r!irZ& I 2 2 (1 142 (I;fG 1 fifen-ugirtea No40 1 1 ? (1 123 (1 14s :ff;?n-ugineaFJ#>+3 1, 2 2 @]ZJ. 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[lj~(333 (1:~(113 1 -& Z?{S 16 :z [IjZ! (!;I= LZlX TI:^ (372 ?;<.-I . ekr~ - ;sav~~-~ a montj-, earlier, ifan '&!'18fI I ~nsiderto be the best the here. Pie rex::~r~Itia;e SOVJ-I tftelii early r; J?eca!se !\:!as g~ip+111 q12 tc~ V:'srem .%~s~iain rnislP.u~~r;;t and v:rrrtad to get tkm VJ hetillre I left. I fird biar seeds scrrt-t~i 1-1 early 91n-e grwvery slow?yai-d byyeto be kept alive at a anall bull-emtk size for a montn longer so are r110re jikdy ~LIbe losr to lir~sji,slugs en:. and ones S@LA?-I RS .Itlygrc7~~rnofe@dy ard are re&:rr to be pot~dup as soon -as or!= p!anted in Jwe.Arc1 seed sowi fmrn mid August onwards b more likely to be iost due to bryirq out nu funqa! 3tt3:k 14rf-1tk incrc.&:ed humidity ft~mmarc t:at and heextra icater requitad 'rrJ k.eep srr~alls~?s.;(lkqs alive. 1 thitlk Son7 2 or' the seoj l ix11m:ted fi~~~1!30ii~m w'x Do 01d, SL?m Z SPECIS WZiE CDVZ red ~jth3 y rey pride r)r tnl~uld\hen ~rnowdfn7rr.1 the mpsule. Tha is wbly there ate only t~aor tq?r~?e seeds of some r;per=ies fr~m CranGou ~TE. A FEW MORE OBSERVATIONS Regarding limestone and banksias---I am prepared to believe that limestone and/or building rubble and any other rocks or qravel incorporated into the soil could be beneficial for growing W.A. banksias and other W.A. plants including dryandras, simply because it improves drainage. It is the good drainage which is essential and it probably doesn't matter what the composition of the rock is. If the soil becomes too alkaline with the introduction of li-mestone, this can easily be corrected by watering the plants with iron chelates if and when they show chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves). , I have suggeested that..for gardens with poor draining soil, a "rubble drain" typeof garden bed might be just as effective as the built-up beds usually recornmeq-ded. Has anyone tried this? Even in our sand here in Perth, incorporating gravel seems to work well, improving an already free-draining soil. As anyone who has visited W.A. will know, we are not called "sandgropers" for nothing! Here in my garden, the soil is deep coastal yellow sand over limestone. The dryandras at Cranbourne prove that even those species which occur naturally in pure gravel (laterite) outcrops, grow equally well in pure sand - another pointer to the importance of good drainage. My experience of growing dryandras has led me to two basic conclusions:- 1 most losses of seedlings in pots can be attributed to inappropriate watering (see article on my seed-raising method). 2 well drained soil is vital for growing dryandras in the garden. Of course, these are broad generalisations. Any and all information we receive from members of successful results under different conditions is of great value. We would like to publish as much as we can. Just as it is misleading to make broad generalisations about Australian plants as a whole, such as "They are drought tolerant" or "They depend on fire", there will probably be some dryandras that will prove to be exceptions to the rules of general cultivation requirements - some may prove more hardy and adaptable than we know. We hope to be able to identify and pruroule dny such species. I have heard "experts" say "Banksia don't need watering once established".. Some W.A. species grow in swamps! They may well grow but they probably will never flower well without extra water in cultivation. There are a few dryandras likewise which occur in higher rainfall areas, or where rain falls more frequently than here in Perth. Sometimes, flower buds will not open properly due to lack of water. Despite being aware of this and copiously watering my beautiful pink-flowering Dryandra quercifolia last summer, it succumbed to the drought, no doubt becaause of the lowered water-table caused by private bores installed by almost all of my immediate neighbours for watering their precious lawns! Margaret Pieroni Notes from members From Rose Purches, Wangaratta Qt the moment (mid June), we have three Dryandra speciosa flowering as well as D. formosa, D. stuposa, D. quercifolia (yellow and pink forms), and D.fraseri (two forms). So far, D. carlinoides is proving elusive to establish On our granitic gravels. However, we are determined to succeed. From Lyndal Thorburn, Oueanbeyan We are just starting our collection of dryandras and have grown some from seed from the seed bank and recently managed to purchase a Dryandra nobilis and D. quercifolia both as tube stock. We have planted out the D. nobilis and potted up the D. quercifolia. It will be interesting to see which one grows quickest when they are both in the garden. We sowed the seed-in mid-March and by mid-May, four species had sprouted. D. obtusa in April now has four seedlings; D. fraseri also germinated in April and has two seedlings. D. calophylla and D. praemorsa both took till May to shoot although D. calophylla has only just broken the surface. After potting on, we hope that these will all survive the winter. From Hartley Tobin, The Gurdies, Vic. I have continued to plant a lot of seed and found the use of 'OASIS' medium a great help. I usually soak the seed in a solution of Fungicide and liquid fertilizer for 24-72 hours. The seeds that swell excessively I find are like those that have not germinated in a seed raising mix. i.e. when you squeeze them they 'pop' with a squirt of fluid being ejected. The good seed I press into the 'OASIS' 'just below the surface where it is easy to see the first splitting of the seed coat occurs. In some cases I find the germination process goes no further than this. After the first week, when the 'OASIS' needs moistening, I use a half strength 'MAXICROP' solution with a 'damping offr fungicide once a week. My seed trays have a clear plastic cover which I find assists with the moisture retention and helps reduce temperature fluctuations. While germination results are better (see attached list), survival does not appear to have improved. The problems I fear are still many. Even when the 'OASIS' cube is transferred to a sterile mix of peat moss, vermiculite and river sand the collapse of plants begins. At times I have found the odd grub, snail and/or slug trail and insects (unnammed). I manage to get some of these with snail baits, insect powders and insect sprays but usually the damage has been done . Sometimes I wonder whether the plants are getting too much or too little sun, whether I am keeping them too wet or too dry, but what ever I do I don't feel I am getting on top of the problem of post germination losses. Fnrther to my thoughts of fungus action in the root zone of the plants, I was interested to read a short article in the SGAP FOOTHILLS newsletter. Unfortunately, I have mislaid my copy, otherwise I would have included it with this report. It was a copy of an article by Neil Marriot, originally in the Grevillea Study Group newsletter (Dec. 1993). Neil mentioned how he had virtually eliminated the loss of plants through the use of a product called 'FOLI-R-PHOSr- a fungicide that is absorbed through the leaves and prevents fungus attack in the root zone. I have purchased some, although the price was not the same as quoted in the article, and I have started using it on my potted plants. Like Neil, I have not organized a control group of plants to fully show the benefit of the product, but that shouldn't be too difficult in the future. t059Iw976 328 On with the my Dryandra Growth Report. 1993 was another abnormal year as far as environmental conditions (namely rainfall) here go. Although the year's rainfall wgs average, only two months , April and June had near average rainfall and number of wet days. i April, May and July were all very dry months, January and July with rainfall being less than half average. Of the other m~nths, January, September and December were extremely wet. Already, this year, January has been DRY, but February, one of the wettest on record (N 3x average February rainfall) and March ????? the first half, one of the coldest on record and the second half, most days near the 30°c as well as being one of the driest on record. The deaths of several well established Banksias and the Dryandras that I had planted out I blame on 'Dry then sudden Wet' or 'Wet then sudden Dry'. CORONET BAY: 203 D.drummondii: after 11+ years has given up. The crowding from neighbouring plants might have helped but I think rocking by sever winds is more likely the problem. I removed the plant and searched through the dead flowers and managed to find a couple of seeds. To date, no luck with germination. THE GURDIES: 8901 and 8902 both D.sp. (D.11): as I mentioned last year, did not seem to like the summer rain and have both died. 8600 D.fraseri: produced quite a number of flowers as well as some seed. I have not had any success yet in germinating the seeds. Each year its growth is restricted by the dying of one or more branches. I have seen this on older plants in the wild but thought that in the protected environment of a garden that this would not happen. 8408, 8607, 8608 & 8609 all D.bipinnatifida still continue to battle the rabbits. Some netting and a depleted rabbit population is giving the plants a bit of a chance. D.drummondii gave up . It is in an area near D. 'Kamballup" The soil here is poor and sandy and I find that many young plants cannot cope with it unless there is a little mulch. Either newspaper under a thin layer of soil or preferably, newspaper under a layer of plant mulch. I have just finished mulching this area so I hope this helps the young plants to survive. D. hewardiana (NO MULCH) was looking strong and healthy - then *** !!! ???. On the other hand one D. tridentata (MULCH) and D. obtusa (MULCH) 4 out of 7 are surviving. I think the mulch moderates the change in soil condition especially from moist to dry. 8904 D.'Kamballup': still doing very well and flowered (about 20 flowers) again this year. The older foliage still goes yellow and spotty but the new growth in spring and autumn always looks very green and healthy. 8621 D.browniir Produced a couple of flcwers and is surviving the crowding from Banksia caleyi. 8631 D. sessilis: which had been going so well succumbed to an accident with the brush cutter. It had seemed to like the position and climate so I'll have to see if I can get another one. Did you have any luck hunting up the article on smoke and germination? Last month I came across another reference to smoke and germination so I have enclosed a copy of the article. For your interest, I have also enclosed a copy of my successes and failures with germination in 1993. MORE INFORMATION ON SMOKE AND GERMINATION:- This is a copy of a short article in AUSTRALIAN HORTICULTURE, March 1994 (page 101). Where there's smoke there's germination THE ANNOUNCEMENT of a major breakthrough was made by Kingsley Dixon at the conference. Dixon, assistant director for science and education at Kings Park and Botanic Gardens in Western Australia, has discovered quite amazingly that smoke plays a major role in breaking seed dormancies of approximately 40 species previously thought very difficult to germinate. Trials which were conducted on species within the following genera have shown them to germinate successfully in response to smoke stimulation: . GREVILLEA; . AN-IGOZANTHOS; . HIBBERTIA; . VERTICORDIA; . DAMPIERA; . SCAEVOLA; . LECHENAULTIA; . CONOSPERMUM; . GELEZNOWIA; . PIMELEA; and . STIRLINGIA, to identify some key plants. Dixon suggests high levels of sulphur and ammonium, available in smoke, may be the combined triggers that break seed dormancies. The significance of Dixon 's findings is enormous for conservation and plant breeding. Native species threatened with extinction may be saved as the technology of applying smoke in the field is perfected and widespread germination occurs. Mass planting of tube stock will also be possible where appropriate. A great deal of research has been dedicated to germination trials of difficult species. Plant breeders will now have access to a potentially huge genepool available from germinated seedlings. While seed is often not the preferred method of reproduction due to its instability, some species do maintain physiological characteristics from seed. The process of smoke stimulation is reiatively simple. Seed is places in germinating trays in a 'chamber' that is subsequently filled with smoke. The type of material burnt to produce smoke is apparently not crucial, although a good mixture of green and dry material is recommended to produce copious quantities of smoke. Dixon advises the smoke factor can be washed through the seedling trays before it has a chance to affect the seed so over-watering is not recommended. Obtaining viable seed for certain species will remain a problem. Dixon's findings have already created a great deal of interest in the horticultural community and will boost present research involving the species effected. It feels like someone has turned the lights on. *** Note:- Dryandra and Banksia do not get a mention. EdrmSpECJB', % Gem Datelst Days D. ARBOREA D. ARMATA 3/22 = ratio of seed I I germinated to seed D. BAXTERI 1/10 23-07 111 planted. I I 8/20 27-07 95 D. BIPINNATIFIDA 23-07 = date, D. 'BLUFF KNOLL' day /month D. BROWN11 .- D. 'CACTUS' D. CALOPHYLLA 0/22 27-09 xxx D. CARDUACEA D. CARLINVIDES 1 I I I D. CIRSIOIDES 0/4 28-08 xxx 1 I (PINK) 8/9 28-08 63 D. COMOSA D. CONFERTA -_P--G: Best time - mid February D. CUNEATA to the first week in I I March. D. CYNAROIDES 3/8 28-08 67 I I * Germination time D. DRUMMONDII 0/22 10-08 xxx 44 slightly less than in I I 21/22 27-09 spring. D. DRUM.'BIG RED' D. ERYTHROCEPHALLA 1/9 28-08 76 * Germination rate poor I I 14/22 27-09 50 compared with spring - D. FALCATA this might be because of I I change from seed mix to D. FERRUGINEA 22/22 27-09 44 'Oasis' [will check this in I I 19941. I I D. FOLIOLATA 6/8 28-08 63 D. FOLIOSISSIMA I I G D. FORMOSA 1/11 23-07 111 PLANTING: Best time - mid I 5/25 27-07 141 31/44 10-08 93 September to first week I I in October. Later I I 72/99 25-08 66 38/143 13-09 59 plantings seem to give I I quicker germination. D. FRASERI I I *'Oasis' used. D. FRASERI (TREE) D. KIPPISTIANA D. LONGIFOLIA-430 D. LONGIFOLIA-432 D. NANA 4/6 28-08 44 D. NIVEA 5/22 27-09 44 I I I I I I 1 I I I Page 1 1-SPECIES %Gem Dafelst Days 1- I AUTUMN I D. NOBILIS 23-07 xxx I I 27-07 59 D. PLUMOSA 10-08 xxx I I 28-08 67 D. POLYCEPHAL~ XXX D. PRAEMORSA 25 23-07 63 I I XXX 27-07 59 D. PREISSII XXX D. PROTEOI~ES 25 30-07 135 I I .. 29 D. PTERIDIFOLIA XXX 04-1 0 38 I I 60 I I XXX I I XXX D. PULCHELLA XXX Best time - mid February D. QUERCIFOLIA 21 27-07 xxx 30-07 98 to the first week in I I March. D. SERRATULOIDES XXX 27-09 40 I I (512) 28-08 44 28-08 xxx * Germination time I I (209) slightly less than in D. SESSILIS XXX D. SHANKLANDIORIUM XXX spring. D. SHUTTLEWORTHIANA 27 28-08 44 D. SPECIOSA XXX 27-07 xxx * Germination rate poor with I I 27 30-07 xxx compared spring - D. SPECIOSA (T) 23 30-07 xxx this might be because of D. STUPOSA 28-08 59 change from seed mix to D. SUBPINNATIFIDA 28-08 75 'Oasis' [will check this in I I 04-1 0 38 D. SUBULATA 27 28-08 44 D. TENUIFOLIA XXX 27-07 37 I I 20-10 54 D. TRIDENTATA 30 04-10 38 !z-m5;; Best time - mid D. VESTITA XXX September to first week D. '0' XXX in October. Later D. 'C' XXX plantings seem to give D. 'I' XXX quicker germination. *'Oasis' used. SUBSCRlPTIONS FOR 1994 - 1995 The group's year runs from July 1, 1994 to June 30, 1995. Subscriptions are $6.00 for Australian members and $10.00 for overseas. Please make cheques payable to the Dryandra Study Group and forward to Margaret. Thanks to all those who have already paid. + Name: >. Address : COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS FOR INFORMATION :