"Fangorn" ASGAP Old Invesell Rd, Correa Study Group Armidale WSW 2350 ISSN 1039-6926 Ph. (02) 6775 1139 ABN 56 654 053 676 FAX (02) 6772 2290 e-maikdhitch @northnet.com.au Newsletter No. 24 Dear Members, December, 2001 Another year is coming to a dose as we This gallop through the 'noughties'. Since my last means that I can strategically spray newsletter, several things have happened. We with Roundup three to four times a year and cut hosted a German exchange student during July out any blackberries or privet that the birds and August and took him up to the Barrier Reef introduce. The outside edges of these beds are planted with collection of Correas and have over the July holidays. It was an interesting my I experience but I'd forgotten how much teenage a drip-line going around the whole bed. Drippers Our have to be checked on m annual basis as they do boys eat. grocery bills almost doubled while get clogged. Simon was with us. My daughter Sarah, who is 17, will be travelling to Germany at the end of November to spend 9 weeks with Simon's family. Around the house, Don has built some Since she eats like a sparrow, I think they got the fantastic stone walls and I have developed some interesting native gardens in front of them. The better end of the deal. Anyway, Simon tells us waHs provi$c protection from the western sun that they wiU all be going lo Switzerland on a skiing Christmas. and my technique here is to plant quite thickly so holiday after How come I that no ground shows at all. This also helps with missed out on all this fun when I was growing weeding as few weeds can compete. The up? important maintenance requirement is regular feeding twice a in and Once returned it was watering, year Spring Simon to Gemany, was all systems go to prepare my garden for an open Autumn and an annual pruning. It great to be able to show off the garden and the large weekend at the start of November. 12 gardens in the town md outskirts were opened that weekend range of Correas to people who are on the whole committed to exotic gardens. and I had 415 visitors. It was the first time 1 had my 3 many opened garden for 1 years and visitors I had intended to travel to Canberra for who had it before commented on the seen the ASGAP Conference but had to cancel due to ch~mges. The garden has certainly matured over financial What with hosting Simon, that time. Almost a11 the large 'nursemaid' wattles constraints. the trip north, daughter's plane fare and have been cut out and replaced with Eucalypts up my which now form the upper canopy. The very my own plane fare to Germany, we did our sums large sawdust beds have broken down into good and decided to give Canberra a miss. I received soil and are kept mulched with an annual another scholxrsh>p to Gemany for January and my although the Goethe hstitut will pay for most of "hipping of pmnings. the trip, H won't be reimbursed until I get to Berlin. This also means that I will be overseas The best investment 1 ever made was a from 26th December until the 3rd February, large Rover chipper. It will take quite large branches and all the fallen sticks and bark that litter my lawn. simply aim the chute into the Cherree was to give my presentation but I was garden and chip to my heart's content. This she stuck in Kalgoorlie. I had to pull the plug on my display as well. A recent letter tells ensures that the garden gets a decent pruning me that the members put up a display so that all every couple of years and I'm not sad if was not lost. Thank you very much to everyone something dies as it ends up as mulch. who helped and a special thanks to Lola Mensch for sendhg up some new Correa plants with Because I have very little time for John Nevin. I hope you all enjoyed the maintenance, I have be a 'smart' gardener*(I ConfeI*ece. I hear- it was great. Better luck do it of the large next time. I would like to wish evetyone a happy beds are kept free of foliage to ground level. I bare-tmnk all the small trees and large shbs. and in the world in 2002. Maria Correa Study Group Newsletter No 24 December 2001 page 1 Congratulations Tough summer in Adelaide for Correas, I lost about 15, garden and pot specimens, mainly goes to Warren Sheather who was named BBC C. ~eflexaforms. I find the C. decumbeas x Gardener of the Year. Warren and Gloria have a forms do really well and start flowering in magnificent and immense garden to the west of summer. Amidale and Warren does a talk-back radio show on growing Australian plants. They I have a lovely form of C. glabra var. contribute regularly to gardening journals and are turnbullii, from reading the newsletter I would +- an inspiration to native gardeners in the region. say it is from the Murray plains as the leaves are Warren is especially keen on Correas and never dull and so are the flowers. I thought I had lost it misses an opportunity to praise their virtues over over summer (in a got) it looked so miserable. It the air. Well done! seems it wanted watering with rainwater, not tap water, because as soon as we had a good rain it From the Members picked up beautifidly ! Hilary Merritt (Bungendore, NSW) writes: Does anyone else have thoughts regarding problems with tapwater? Do the I have a large garden as we live on eleven chemicals in some tapwater have a bad efSect on acres about thirty kilometers north-east of the growth of Correas? Ed. Canberra where our climate and growing conditions are very harsh. I am particularly I have a C. 'Marian's Marvel' near two C. interested in learning more about Correas as the reflexa prostrate KI forms, that are all doing ones I have tried so far have proved themselves beautifully and now have a very interesting hardy as well as beautiful and great bird seedling coming up next to them. Gorrea attractors. I have also been attracted by their pulchella 'White Tips' would have to be one of apparent ease of propagation. Even as a rank the best performers and most spectacular beginner X have had a high success rate with my flowerers in my garden. Correa cuttings and that's always encouraging. Does anyone else have C. 'White Tips' Welcome aboard Hilary. Ed growing? Ed. Gill MuUer (Blackwood SA) writes: Joan Pitaro writes: I have a Correa 'Dusty' that I got from My Correas have flowered beautif-ully John Barrie at an Adelaide SGAP Plant Sale this year even though we had a long dry summer. (Autumn 20QO). After initially being very yeIlow, Most of them have very little if any watering. We it has come on well with the help of some slow- have dug up our front lawn and put in garden reIease nitrogen and flowered sparsely in beds so I am looking forward to expanding my Autumn, the flowers being vexy 'dusty pink' Cvrma colecliun. At present C. 'Mmnii' and C. looking. It looks like a C. pulchella x. 'Marian's Marvel' are making a red show. 1had a Cogulchella once that thrived on Gofir it Joan. Ed Rosefood. Ed Lola Mensch writes: I also have Correa 'Dusty Bells' bought from the plant sale in Autumn this year and not We had a very rough trip over to Tassie planted out yet. Again the flower was a very thanks to an easterly gale blowing - we were an 'dusty pink', looked more like a C. alba x C. hour late getting there and for the first few days pulchella. In the newsletter Max McDowall we had a shower or two every day with a strong writes that it is a green flower. Have I got wind. We didn't know whether we should head different plants to what you know as 'Dusty east or west as the forecast was for showers BeIlsl. By the way my C. 'Dusky Bells' are either way, so we settled for 2 nights in magnificent. Bevonport and took a trip to Cradle Mountain for the day. Finally decided to head east which was a ' According to the label C. 'Dusty Bells' is good decision as it turned out. a cream colour - it looks like that natural hybrid between C. alba and C. backhouseana at Boat We went to St. Helens for the first night Harbour, although the leaves are dij'ferent. It as we didn't think the weather good enough to certainly shouldn't be pink. Ed follow your trip round the north east. We spent a Correa Study Group Newsletter No 24 December 2001 page 2 few hours at Freycinet and I climbed up to Cathy Hook writes: Wineglass Bay Lookout but as it was overcast didn't see it nice and blue as depicted in Paul and I love Correas and have begun brochures. Saw one lone C. reflexa up there not something of a collection, growing as many as we in flower. can, both in pots and in the ground. We probably have about twenty-five or so, with cuttings of After a late lunch we wandered down to many more in the hot-bed following our recent Swansea CP for the night and had no trouble trip to Victoria.