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There are quite a few. Basically, any plant which responds to regular pruning can be used as a hedge. If you can get hold of the book "Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants - Vol 1" by Elliot and Jones, the section on "Screening plants to 2 m" on page 307 will be useful. This book is held by many municipal libraries.

Some of the new Syzygium cultivars are claimed to be ideal hedges. Some that I am aware of are:

• S.australe "Tiny Trev" - 75cm
• S.australe "Blaze" - 1.5 m; bright red new growth
• S.australe "Bush Christmas" - 2 to 3 m; bronze new growth

Others worth considering...

This is a good question and I was sure that there would be something useful on the web. After a bit of searching I came up with the following site which should answer your questions:

http://ericir.syr.edu/Projects/Newton/9/phytosy.html

The Online Biology Book (reviewed in Issue 13 of Australian Plants online) is also an excellent reference although a bit too advanced for your present needs. You could also trying searching the web using "photosynthesis" as a keyword.

I hope this helps and good luck with your project.

John Wrigley replies.....

I am not sure what species you are growing. Is it a Tasmannia sp.? If so, there are several species, all of which are rainforest plants, some coming from lowland rainforest and others from higher altitudes in the Dorrigo and Barrington Tops areas of NSW. There is also a tropical species.

They are relatively easy to grow but require shade and regular watering. They also respond to some general fertiliser application. You do not say in what size pot you are growing this plant. Could it be root bound and suffering from water stress? I suggest that the leaf drop may be a result of the hot weather.

Your plant would probably be better in the ground if you have a suitable coolish site. In the meantime, I suggest that you cut it back a little and keep it moist.

Good Luck

Seems like a simple question..I'm not sure there is a simple answer.

Firstly the term "native' is misleading...there are lots of native plants and some respond well to fertilizer just like any exotic plant. These are generally the plants that are found in rainforests on rich soils. So you can fertilise these fairly regularly with a general fertiliser.

Other plants are native to nutrient deficient soils and these are the ones that the "native" fertilisers are designed for. These can often be sensitive to excess phosphorus which is why so-called "native" fertilisers usually have a lower phosphorus content than most general fertilisers. Even among this group some are more phosphorus tolerant than others. The ones where care is needed is often with plants in the "Protea" family such as Banksia, Grevillea, waratah etc.

As for a precise figure...I can't give you one. You can fairly safely apply "native" fertilisers at the rate mentioned on the packaging but I'd reduce the dose by at least half for phosphorus sensitive species (you can see a list of these in the article "Phosphorus Needs of Australian Plants" in the December 1997 issue of Australian Plants online - available in the Back Issues section of the current issue of APOL.

This is probably not quite the answer you wanted but it's the best I can do...there just isn't a magic number when it comes to fertilising. My motto is "Is in doubt, don't fertilise at all".

John Wrigley replies....

Eucalypt propagation from cuttings is, as you say, very difficult and the only success that I am aware of is using juvenile foliage. For many species, including Corymbia ficifolia, cuttings may be struck using seedling material with up to six pairs of leaves. Some work was done in this field by Rudolph Willing in the 1970's at the Botany Dept of the ANU in Canberra. Rudolph retired many years ago as a Technical Officer with the department and I have no idea whether his records are still available.

I do not know of anyone using tissue culture as a method of propagation of eucalypts but an enquiry to Iain Dawson at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra would be worthwhile.

The wattle may not be a problem there...it's mainly of concern when planted near natural bushland.

If you plant things like callistemons, banksias, grevilleas etc I don't think the birds would be a problem as the plants attract nectar feeders rather than fruit eaters. Avoid species which develop berries etc such as lilly pillys and many rainforest plants.

I'm not really qualified to comment on suitable plants for that area but the Society has a Central West group which covers the Bathurst - Mudgee - Dubbo area and I'm sure they could help. They also have a web site which should provide contact info.

There is some information on the plant, including its natural distribution, naming, cultivation, etc, on our web site.

As to your specific questions.....

1. Not as far as I know....none of my references indicate any real use by Aboriginal people. According to Tim Low ("Bush Medicine") , the roots of the plant were used by early settlers as a substitute for sarsaparilla.

2. Again, not as far as I know. Insects probably attack the young seed pods for food.

3. It's widely used as a garden plant by native plant enthusiasts and it is also commonly available in general garden centres. I know of no use as a cut flower (at least commercially) - the flowers probably don't last well once cut.

4. I believe it is mainly insect pollinated but wind may also help. Birds don't seem to be a factor.

5. Most pea flowered plants are "pioneer species" after a bush fire in that they grow quickly to stabilise the soil while longer lived species (eg eucalypts) get established. They have hard seeds which need the heat from a fire to crack the seed case and allow germination to proceed. They also have root nodules which can "fix" (take up) nitrogen from the air. This nitrogen gets incorporated into the soil when the plants die.

There's not a lot of info available to my knowledge but there is an article called "Dyeing with Eucalypts" which is on our web site.

The article is concerned with dying wool rather than cotton but it may be worth looking at.

There is also a publication called "Dymaking with Eucalypts" by Jean K Carmen. I haven't seen this and I don't know how easy it would be to obtain but perhaps your local library could get a copy on inter-library loan.

To be perfectly honest....I haven't got a clue!

In its natural habitat, C.rigidus would experience temperatures to around -5 to -10 C occasionally in severe winters but not on a regular basis. Just how much below -10 it could tolerate is something we have no experience of here. I would certainly be interested in your experience in growing this and other Australian plants in your climate. We often get questions regarding cold tolerance that are impossible to answer at present.

Jeff Howes replies.....

Not an easy one to answer from Sydney Australia and as well I am not too familiar with the your climate. . What I will do is to give you some facts about its growth in Australia and you should be able to draw your own conclusions ( I hope).

Syzygium paniculatum is a tree to 8 metres (26 feet) with a dense bushy crown and prefers not to grow in hot humid climates. It is easy to grow and will tolerate full sun and flowers in summer. It has been widely cultivated for over 50 years and prefers sandy soils and coastal areas. They grow in a temperature range of a min 8 degrees C to a max of 32 - 34 degrees C. That is, on the coastal strip, just below Sydney NSW to just below the Queensland border.

To my knowledge, it does not have a reputation for invasive roots although if moisture is present (eg leaky pipes) it will certainly be attracted to that (as most trees are).

As for planting it 2m from concrete foundations - I think that is a bit close if it grows to 8m. Are there any other Syzygium paniculatum growing in your area, if so how high do they grow? In sunny California they may even grow more than 8m.

Hope this is of some help?

I don't know that I can be much help. As you indicate, seed is not the preferred method of germination - they strike easily from cuttings. There are no special "tricks"....unfortunately the seed can germinate well sometimes and not at all at other times.

I can only suggest that you sow the seed in a good seed raising mix, cover lightly, keep moist and hope for the best!

My pleasure....

Sir Joseph Banks was the botanist on Capt James Cook's voyage to the South Pacific on which they were the first Europeans to discover the east coats of Australia in 1770.

Banks (and his colleague Daniel Solander) collected many plants south of where Sydney is now located and it was these discoveries that caused Cook to name the place Botany Bay.

If you want to find out more, take a look at the Joseph Banks Papers web site.

Jeff Howes replies.....

Reference

1. Extract from a handout (late 1980's I think) of an article produced by Sydney Uni titled 'The Waratah from Seed to Flower'
2. Dept of Agriculture Bulletin P52 'Growing Waratahs' dated 1972.

Pruning

For the first five years cut to 25 cms of last year's growth. After five years cut back to 10 cm of last years growth until tree is 2.5 m high. If trees get scrappy and stems too short, the flowers may be left for seed prior to a severe rejuvenating pruning. Trees which have been left to develop without sufficient control should be treated similarly. This entails cutting the plant back to 70 cm of trunk or growth. Preferably in early Spring. Failure to prune will result in a tall spindly plant with few flowers.

Germination

Start with fresh seed, usually harvested and cleaned late autumn to early winter. Allow pods to open in a dry warm place. Do not use seed older than six months, unless specially stored at low humidity and low temperatures. In August, sow in coarse sand or well drained soil in a container with drain holes. Cover with a few millimetres of soil. Drench with a soil fungicide at recommended rate and keep in a warm light place. Seedlings should emerge in one to two weeks (the Dept of Agriculture advises three to four weeks). I tend to agree with the shorter estimate.

Not as far as I know - at least not for a regularly mown traditional lawn.

You might like to contact AABULK, 11 Ingolds Lane, Clarendon, NSW, 2756. (02 4577 5912). They are growing a range of native grasses and may be able to provide further info.

If any readers have some advice on this, perhaps they could let Trevor (and me) know.