AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS SOCIETY (AUSTRALIA) 1 WARATAH & FLANNEL FLOWER STUDY GROUP NO.3 JUNE 2012 ISSN 1838-9082 NEWSLETTER Leader: Maria Hitchcock Welcome to our new members 16 Hitchcock Lane Lindy Harris Armidale NSW 2350 In this issue. Malcolm & Mirella McKinnon Ph. 02 6775 1139 Phil & Catriona Tricke9 [email protected] Maria writes: p. 2 Acnotus forsythii p. 3 Growing Telopea speciosissima p. 4 - a few hints Wild Brumby Waratahs p. 5/6 Plant Breeders Rights p. 6 Links...links...links p. 7 Karwarra Gardens p. 8 Checklist of Telopea variePes p. 9/10 Checklist of Flannel Flower variePes p. 10 The pink Flannel Flower Acnotus forsythii photographed in the wild Spring is just near Kanangra Falls by David Noble in March 2010 around Photo by permission David Noble the corner! The Waratah and Flannel Flower Study Group is afliated with the Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) - ANPSA Newsletters are sent out in May and November (electronic only). Membership is restricted to individuals (including partners) and not groups. Membership $5.00 per year to be paid by cheque or Direct Debit upon receipt of invoice. There is no deadline for newsletter contributions - send them anytime, sooner rather than later. ! AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS SOCIETY (AUSTRALIA) 2 WARATAH & FLANNEL FLOWER STUDY GROUP NO.3 JUNE 2012 He is an extraordinary bushwalker/canyoner who Maria writes: loves to document almost everything. He had an We started the year with a lot of rain then it seems amazing series of pictures and notes about the pink the tap turned off and we are back to ‘normal’ Flannel Flower which some people thought might weather patterns for this area - that means a fairly have been extinct. I am hoping that a recovery dry autumn and winter but I’ve read somewhere program might be set up to get this plant into that we are also in for a dry spring. I don’t mind cultivation. the dry autumn as it allows plants to prepare for At home I have been growing (in a pot) the lovely the cold months ahead by slowing down growth Actinotus ‘Starbright’ purchased from Mt Tomah and building up some anthocyanin in the leaves last Spring. It has flowered continuously since that which turns them a reddish colour. In February I time and I have it outside in a sheltered part of the was able to purchase the complete Wild Brumby garden. We have had some severe frosts lately but Range of Waratahs from Yarralumla Nursery (5 the flowers have not been affected. varieties) and I have several in the garden doing alright. I suspect they will prove to be quite hardy Over the next few months I shall be somewhat and adaptable. I’d love to hear from anyone distracted with my younger daughter’s wedding in growing them in other areas. A chance look Canada in early September and then the birth of through a newsletter from another NSW-APS local my second grandchild in Perth in late September. It group led me to David Noble’s wonderful blog. looks like I might miss the Waratah flowering. In November I am going to the Fred Rogers Seminar http://www.david-noble.net/blog/?p=550 in Melbourne and hope to snap the Waratahs at http://www.david-noble.net/Wildflowers/index.html Cranbourne. You will notice that the membership fee has been dropped to $5.00 as being electronic David kindly allowed me to use his photos. only, we have very few costs. That means that most of you are still financial. Do you also have Do you all have a copy of ‘The Waratah’ 2nd Ed. ‘Australian Plants’ Paul Nixon Kangaroo Press 1997 Vol 25 No 201 Dec. 2009 What other references would be useful? This is an excellent reference Please let me know and I wi! include on waratahs. If you would like a copy please email them in the next newsletter me as I now have a number to give away free to Please send any interesting articles that you members. I asked for them to be sent to me in lieu would like to share with the other members. of the NSW Study Groups contribution. Your own experiences are always of great interest to others. Please don’t hesitate to email me at any time. ! AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS SOCIETY (AUSTRALIA) 3 WARATAH & FLANNEL FLOWER STUDY GROUP NO.3 JUNE 2012 Ac0notus forsythii (Pink Flannel Flower) Two other species of flannel flowers are quite Text and images by David Noble common. Acnotus helianthi (Flannel Flower) and Ac- Posted on October 5, 2011 Gnotus minor (Lesser Flannel Flower). On the long weekend walk I was talking to some of the other walkers about the spectacular site at Kanangra Walls during March last year (2010) of a mulGtude of pink flannel flowers. Acnotus helianthi minor In answer to his post, David received a reply from Col Gibson who said that Benson’s Ecology (“Cunningha- Acnotus forsythii mia”) says “Rare, Newnes Plateau northern limit – local- The pink flannel flower (Acnotus forsythii) it seems only ised and poorly known”. Keep an eye out also for AcGno- flowers aer two events – fire and then a lot of rain. tus gibbonsii (flowers are pink bu_ons) recorded on the Before March 2010 there had been a bushfire on part of Newnes Plateau in 1992. the Kanangra Plateau (I think it was due to a hazard re- ducGon burn). AJer that was a wet period and the result Now it seems that chance sighGngs of this ‘exGnct’ was quite amazing. Under the burnt bankias and isopo- species happen from Gme to Gme. Merle Thompson gons was a profusion of these beauGful flowers. It seems reported in the Blue Mountains Group newsle_er (April a mass blooming like this is a rare event. I wonder if they 2004) that several members had been fortunate to had been recorded at Kanangra Walls – on the Plateau witness a rare blooming at Hargreaves Lookout in Black- before? Perhaps this was the first Gme the Plateau had heath. Jill Dark recorded it as having bloomed in past been burnt for a long while? And how long had the years at Narrow Neck and on the Kings Tableland in the seeds been dormant and sGll viable? InteresGng ques- Upper Blue Mountains. There is also a record south of Gons! Perhaps seeds are also at the nearby Ti-Willa Sydney near Nerriga. Plateau? According to The Flora of New South Wales Acnotus forsythii "grows in damp areas in sclerophyll forest and heath on skeletal soils over sandstone, south from New- nes Plateau; usually seen only following fires." It is re- ported to occur on the South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands and Victoria. A search by Merle on the internet revealed it listed as a high risk/vulnerable plant in the alpine area of Victoria. Merle stated that flowers of A. forsythii were smaller than A. helianthi but larger than A. minor. Another record has been posted on the net of a photo taken at Blue Labyrinth on a track leading off Greens Rd near Warrimoo in the Blue Mountains 33° 43' 40.39" S Acnotus helianthi Blue Mountains 150° 35' 26.09" E h_p://www.panoramio.com/photo/1605670 ! AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS SOCIETY (AUSTRALIA) 4 WARATAH & FLANNEL FLOWER STUDY GROUP NO.3 JUNE 2012 Growing Telopea speciosissima Ode to a Waratah - a few hints Ian Shackle (Shax) Ian Shackle Australian Plants Online I’ll never grow a Waratah; First published in ‘Blandfordia’, Newsle@er of the North God knows I’ve tried and failed. Shore Group of the Australian Plants Society, April 2004. Number 30’s bit the dust (It wasn’t fungus, wasn’t rust - I have been unable to grow a Waratah (Telopea spe- Perhaps it was my looks of lust). ciosissima) both in the ground and in pots, let alone But to the shed it’s nailed. get one to flower. However, I have not given up hope and this has led me to read a great book enPtled 'The Waratah' (Paul Nixon, Kangaroo Press, 1997). It is full One full week it sat and sulked, of valuable informaon on how to successfully grow No matter what I did. Waratahs and get them to flower. The following are Expensive compost, pricey pot, a few facts from the book (in no parPcular order) I I really gave that plant the lot. found interesPng: The best soil for them is deep, free It daily drooped its once proud head, draining, with a north, north-east or north-west as- Until this morning - it was dead. pect to ensure maximum sun. • They usually grow 1 - 3 metres high and if in deep ferPle soil free of compePPon, they will From the Australian Native Plants grow to 5 metres. Discussion Group • They normally flower at the spring equinox. • Once flowering has started to open, the • In the wild, they flower best aer bush fires bushes should be well watered, as stress at as they are free from root compePPon for a this Pme will cause added bract burn. few years at least. Lack of root compePPon • They are frost hardy to -12 degrees C. in the home garden is recommended. • The primary culPvaon requirement is simi- • Flower buds develop early in the year, so it is lar to the requirements of citrus namely a in bud for 7 to 8 months. well-drained site. • Vase life of flowers is 10 to 14 days. To get • When planPng one sure method of achieving an extra week pour a cup of water over the posiPve drainage is to place the plant on the flower each day.