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You will find some info (including photos) on the SGAP web site on the Boronia Family page.

Correa (and most species in the Boronia Family) are not easy to grow from seed and this is why seed is not readily available. I personally don't know of any seed supplier that includes Correa on its list.

If you have access to any Correa plants you will find cuttings much more successful.

Correa is certainly a genus with great horticultural merit. You do need to be a bit selective, however, as some species and cultivars grow well in some areas but not in others. C.reflexa is a case in point - it has a wide natural range so you really need to select local forms.

Species and cultivars that I have found successful in western Sydney include C.alba, C.calycina, C.baeuerlenii, C.lawrenciana, C. "Dusky bells" and C."Ivory Bells".

Seed of red cedar (Toona ciliata) doesn't need any special pretreatment before sowing but the seed loses viability quickly and should be stored in a fridge. Basic seed raising methods can be found on our web site.

Red cedar is subject to a borer which damages the new growth of the trees particularly when they are planted in a plantation (rather than individually). It can be a difficult problem to control which is why they are not cultivated to any great extent despite the value of the timber.

Jeff Howes kindly put together some valuable guidelines on this......

"In answering your question I will firstly give some broad principles of attracting birds to your garden:

• Nearly all Australian birds (a major exception is the Noisy Minor) live and hunt in a in a defined range. For example the little birds move from ground level to say no more than 2m off the ground, larger birds may live 1.5m to 4m off the ground and so on. From their nest site they range over an area from 100m for the smaller birds to many kilometres for the larger birds.
• Some birds feed on insects and caterpillars.
• Some birds feed on nectar from only certain plants (like the correas) while others will feed on nectar from a wide range of plants.
• To attract a wide range of birds you need to provide plants from ground level up to tree height, the plants at ground level need to be fairly dense to provide a safe haven away from predators such as cats.
• As the birds will not be confined only to your back yard, you will ideally need to have your backyard linked with adjacent properties with a similar 'green corridor'.

Hope that does not sound all too hard?

Some other useful ideas:

• Provide a simple bird bath in a place safe from cats
• Include native grasses in your plantings
• Plant understorey plants close together - to make birds feel safe add some thorny species
• Most birds are attracted to an untidy garden with plenty of logs and dead branches
• Most birds eat a balanced diet - 90% eat insects, plus nectar, seeds or fruit
• Birds love lookouts - so plant dead branches to perch on. These also provide great sites from which to catch insects on the wing.

As for what trees and shrubs to plant I would suggest that you talk to the local forestry commission. You could also consider contacting the Australian Plants Society (Victoria) which has members with excellent local knowledge. The Society has a local group in the Shepperton area."

Actually your description of the temperature ranges in your area is not too dissimilar to many of the highly populated areas of southern Australia. For example, temperature ranges from -5^oC to 35-40^oC are typical for Canberra (Australia's capital). Here in western Sydney we range from -2^oC to 35-40^oC.

A main factor (possibly the main factor) that determines what will grow successfully is the rainfall (quantity and distribution). For example, here in western Sydney our annual rainfall is similar to that of south Western Australia but our rainfall tends to be heaviest in summer while south Western Australia has most of theirs in winter. As a result we find it very difficult to grow south Western Australian plants successfully - they resent summer rain and humidity.

From what you have said I think that species native to south-eastern Australia should be worth trying in your area. I would certainly expect many species from the eastern tablelands to be successful. Depending on the distribution of rainfall, some of the colourful western Australian species should also be worth a try.

The Canberra Region of our Society has a list of plants suitable for Canberra on their web site. This might be a good starting point for help with selection of species.

There are about 6 species of ginger native to Australia. They are in the genus Alpinia, are native to tropical and sub tropical areas and are frost sensitive. None have any value as food plants but they make attractive plants for cultivation with their strap-like leaves and prominent flower spikes. They also make useful container plants.

The best known is Alpinia caerula which is native to northern New South Wales and Queensland. It is an attractive plant with spikes of white flowers. It is sometimes sold in specialist native plant nurseries and is hardy in protected locations at least as far south as Sydney.

Well...I'm no botanist but my understanding is that Leguminosae is an old name for all those plants which are legumes (ie have root nodules to "fix" atmospheric nitrogen). This includes the Fabaceae (pea flowers) and the Mimosaceae (acacias and relatives).

The nodules on the roots of a leguminous plant can often be seen by removing a small plant from its container. Select the thumbnail image or highlighted name for a higher resolution image (58k).

It's a bit confusing because some botanists seem to still recognise the older name and some lump both the acacias and the pea flowers into the Fabaceae. To further confuse the issue, the Fabaceae used to be known as the Papillionaceae.

However, as far as I know, most Australian botanists recognise Fabaceae and Mimosaceae as separate families.

It could be ink disease but it's difficult to be sure.

It's not unusual for the leaves of kangaroo paws to develop dark marks and these don't seem to cause serious problems, at least with the tall, vigorous-growing species and cultivars.

Ink disease, however, is a serious problem with no easy cure. It usually appears as small black blotches which gradually enlarge and kill the leaf tissue. Eventually the disease spreads to the rhizome and kills the plant. Spraying with fungicides may help if the disease hasn't spread too far.

Ink disease is a devastating disease of some kangaroo paw species and cultivars. Select the thumbnail image or highlighted name for a higher resolution image (31k).

There is information which may help on kangaroo paws at the web site for the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

Well...I'm not sure I can give a definitive clarification.

The problem is that there are many "native tobacco" species (in the genus Nicotinia) which are true natives but there are also some introduced weeds in the same genus (at least 2 that I know of).

I think that there is a good chance that you have native species but the only way to be sure would be to get someone like the local Agriculture Dept to identify it. You would need to get a specimen (preferably in flower) to them.

From Brian King, Muntari Wild Food Plants Of Australia......

In reply to your Solanum laciniatum info request.

This species is often found in the south east of South Australia where temperatures would rarely if ever get below 1^oC. It is found in other areas of Australia and is probably best described as a temperate zone species. The fruit is edible only when fully ripe and orange in colour. Taste is sweet and there are many seeds within the drupe.

I am not sure that the plant would survive temps below freezing although another solanum (Solanum linearfolium) that is found in Canberra (itself a very cold place in winter) is extremely frost tolerant. In the absence of any other replies to you, I would say it is best not to expose the plant to extreme cold until you can at least get some seed from it .They will propagate easily from seed. They are self pollinating.

From Jim, an ethnoecologist......

To answer your question as best as I can I'll give an overview.

Yes the fruit is eaten when the berries turn orange/yellow in colour and they tend to break open when ripe. They have a sickly sweet taste, eat the pulp only as the seeds can make you very sick, but that is my opinion only. The berries come in bunches.

The plant grows to 2.5 metres in height with long weeping habit. It likes sandy coastal dunes as well as rainforest valleys and sometimes it can be found on rocky slopes.

From Jack Day.....

I have a Solanum laciniatum in my front yard here in Macclesfield in South Australia. We have just had the two coldest nights since we moved here three years ago, at minus four degrees Celsius both nights and the plant is showing some signs of frost damage. I would recommend that you keep it in a big pot - say 18 inches, and shelter it during the cold months, if it gets colder than that.

The fruit of the "mookitch" (the aboriginal name for it in the south-East of South Australia, and pronounced M-OO-kitch, the "OO" as in "book", two short syllables said fast) is edible when fully ripe, but contains (unspecified) "certain steroids", according to my information, and is used in Europe(?) for the manufacture of oral contraceptives.........so don't eat too many of them! They are eaten like any ripe fruit.

Enjoy. (just don't overdo it!)

and from Ray Ma......

Once again I deferred to the experts........in this case Lenore Lindsay, leader of SGAP's Bush Foods Study Group. The following notes are from the Bush Foods Mailing List.....

Going through your questions in order.......

1. A bit difficult to answer. Callistemons are one of the hardier genera of Australian plants but it depends a bit on climate. You would probably be growing them under conditions that we don't have experience of here. This is always going to be a problem - we need more overseas growers to test their plants under extreme conditions and report back!

2. According to Wrigley and Fagg ("Bottlebrushes, Paperbarks and Tea Trees"...1993) there are 34 species but 4 of these occur in New Caledonia and may be removed from the genus. There's no way of knowing the number of cultivars because new ones are being released all of the time. Also, a good many have more than one name! Wrigley and Fagg mention that there are around 300 cultivars but many of these would have dubious horticultural merit.

3. The SGAP has a Melaleuca and Related Genera Study Group but it's restricted to SGAP members.

There is an Australasian Plants Society in the UK...if you don't know of it, I can give details. There is also a recent book on growing Australian plants in Europe. One of the authors is Jeff Irons, the Secretary of the Australasian Plants Society.

A couple of minor points....

• As far as I know C.laevis is not a valid name.
• C.speciosus is now C.glaucus

I can try.......

1. Yes...or at least they are reddish/brown. The only problem is that the species is dioecious which means that male and female flowers are on different plants. It's only the female flowers that are reddish and only female plants produce the seed cones. There's no way to tell a male from a female plant until they flower!

2. According to Wrigley and Fagg's "Australian Native Plants", frost to -7 to -8^oC shouldn't be a problem.

3. As long as it doesn't dry out in the first year or so after planting it should easily tolerate extended dry periods. 500 mm per year should be more than adequate once the plant is established.

It's certainly possible to transplant native species. In all cases the trick is to dig up as large an undisturbed root ball as possible, so smaller plants are usually the most successfully transplanted.

If you select seedlings say up to about 300mm high you should get a high rate of success - pot them into pots using a good quality potting mix labelled "suitable for natives" (this will be a low phosphorus mix). If you can store them in a plastic igloo that would be best but, if that's not possible, put them in an area protected from winds and direct sun and make sure they don't dry out.

Larger specimens are more difficult as its not easy to get a large root ball that doesn't fall apart. If you can get a few extra pairs of hands (and strong backs!), it's certainly worth doing - the principle is the same as for smaller plants.

Relocating to other protected areas in the bush is something I haven't tried but should work if the plants don't dry out.