Blandfordia in History...It's Christmas, so what better time to look at the cultivation of "Christmas Bells" in Europe.
3. More Mulching with Eucalypts
Several readers commented on Glenn Edwards concerns regarding "any possible inhibitory effects on other plants of eucalyptus prunings when used as a mulch".
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From Mary Phillips, California
"Regarding the issue of "Mulching with Eucalypts" I too have found that it is no problem and that it breaks down better than our California Coast Live Oak which also has its level of oils and acidity. A U.C. Berkeley pathologist professor, that I had, even performed a study on the use of oak vs. eucalypts. He found the eucalypts performed better than the oak."
From Bill Willis
"Mulching is good. Heavy mulching requires a good dose of blood and bone to overcome the loss of nitrogen to the soil as the mulch breaks down.
From Anne Hollingsworth (aholling@carmen.murdoch.edu.au)
"In answer to the query in the latest newsletter re; the possible adverse effects of mulching with Eucalypt prunings, we have noticed that a mulch of the leaf and bark rakings from our E.grandis seems to be really poor as a mulch for various lavender species. (Though lavender can be a very tough plant usually, we have noticed it looks very sick, can even die, when faced with a mulching of Eucalyptus grandis tree sheddings.)
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Well....I don't know whether we're any closer to the definitive answer. Perhaps the age of the mulch material is the important factor. Freshly cut and mulched material may remove nitrogen from the soil as it breaks down and may perhaps release potentially toxic (to plants) substances. Then again, maybe the species involved is an important factor. I can only repeat that I haven't observed any toxicity problems using old leaves and bark from the trees on my property (mainly E amplifolia).
4. Birth Flowers
Jennifer Freeman, Librarian at the State Library of Queensland (j.freeman@slq.qld.gov.au) was enquiring about native "birth flowers"
Grahame Parsons of Parsons Nursery, Murphys Creek, Queensland (email_us@parsonsnursery.com.au) came up with the following:
"Angus & Robertson publish a book titled 'Australian Wildflower Birthday Book'. Illustrations are a small selection of plates by Adam Forster prepared for Wildflowers of Australia by Thistle Y. Harris. The first-mentioned plant is given prominence (full page) at the beginning of the month, the remainder are scattered throughout the month. Below is their listing:-
January
Cissus antarctica
Hibiscus diversifolius
Brachychiton populneus
Leptospermum scoparium var. rotundifolium
Marsdenia suaveolans
February
Pelargonium australe
Bauera rubioides
Chamelaucium uncinatum
Kennedia rubicunda
Callistemon citrinus
March
Acacia implexa
Stypandra caespitosa
Dampiera stricta
Isopogon anethifolius
Viola hederacea
April
Grevillea banksii
Cupaniopsis anacardioides
Convolvulus erubescens
Syzygium paniculata
May
Ranunculus inundatus
Scaevola calendulacea
Stenocarpus sinuatus
Epacris longifolia
Acmena smithii
Plectranthus parviflorus
Grevillea speciosa
June
Isotoma fluviatilis
Pterostylus nutans
Acianthus reniformis
Grevillea longifolia
July
Hibbertia scandens
Acacia myrtifolia
Boronia ledifolia
Crowea salicina
Banksia integrifolia
Mirbelia speciosa
Styphelia laeta
August
Pandorea pandorana
Bossiaea heterophylla
Acacia ulicifolia
Hymenosporun flavum
Gossypium sturtianum
September
Stylidium laricifolium
Patersonia glabrata
Pavonia hastata
Howittia trilocularis
October
Helichrysum bracteatum
Chorizema cordatum
Senecio vagus
November
Solanum aviculare
Verticordia insignis
Prostanthera incisa
Eriostemon australasius
Elaeocarpus reticularis
Kennedia prostrata
Correa reflexa
December
Blandfordia grandiflora
Ceratopetalum gummiferum
Syzygium coolminianum
Actinotus forsythii
Grevillea buxifolia
Thysanotis tuberosus
Melastoma denticulatum
This list will probably serve to confuse rather than help and for that I'm sorry but it is the only list I've seen on offer."
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Peter Abell of Sydney University's Plant Breeding Institute (petera@camden.usyd.edu.au) also thinks that there is a list in "Cottage Gardening with Australian Plants" by Brian and Nola Parry.
5. More on small wattles
Peter Abell suggests his candidates....
"My pick by a fair margin is Acacia chinchillensis. A Rare & Endangered species to about 2mx2m. Fine compound bipinnate greyish leaves on slightly arching branches and "masses" of bright yellow balls. The only problem is its not a lover of cold places. This is what I would call an all round 'friendly' plant for milder areas or protected spots good foliage and habit and wonderful in flower.
Another that is pretty good is A. triptera. very different!!!"
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Leanne Davis (leanne.davis@dsto.defence.gov.au) suggests.....
".....prostrate form of A. pravissma (Oven's wattle). I have one, and it is about 50cm tall, and in the last 4 years or so has grown to a spread of about 2m. I imagine that it would look lovely cascading over a mound/retaining wall (mine's on flat ground)
6....and Small Bottlebrushes
Michael Skully (Michael.Skully@BusEco.monash.edu.au) writes:
"We had just been talking about getting a small wattle for our garden so the current issue was certainly good timing. You could expand the "small" discussion to include some recommendations of small bottle bush plants, ideally bright red ones."
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My pleasure!
Good ones in my experience are:
- Callistemon "Captain Cook" ....the REAL one (there is an article on this in the December 1998 issue of "Australian Plants online"....if it ever gets published). Usually about 1.5 metres by a similar spread.
- Callistemon "Anzac" ...white flowers but not bad. Flowers do discolour with age. About 1 metre x 1 metre
- Callistemon comboynensis prostrate form. Open habit, may reach 0.5 metres x 2 metre spread
- Callistemon "Rose Opal" about 1.5 metres x 2 metres.
Of course most callistemons can be drastically pruned so almost any can be kept small.
I'm sure there are other favourites out there....let us know.
7. Insect repelling plants
Bob Weston (rcweston@pcug.org.au) has some info for Tiffany who was doing a school project and was interested in eucalypts which would repel mosquitoes.
"Sorry that I can't help you with a Eucalypt mozzie repellent but let me tell you about one of Captain Cook's experiences as related to me by a Cooktown, Q. Aboriginal, named Matthew.
Matthew told me that in Captain Cook's log is recorded a dance presented to him by the Endeavour River Aborigines of which Matthew is one.
When Capt. Cook holed the "Endeavour" on the Great Barrier reef, off Cooktown, he made ashore in the Endeavour River. He asked the local Aborigines where he could get some timber to repair his ship. They indicated to him that it was on the other side of the river. However, because they did not understand one another's languages, the Aborigines gave Capt. Cook a warning about crossing the river, in dance.
You see, the Endeavour River is full of crocodiles and the atmosphere is full of mosquitoes.
The dance showed Capt. Cook that his men would have to beat themselves all over with a local Melaleuca so as to cover themselves with the Melaleuca oil. All the Myrtaceous plants such as Eucalypts, Leptospermums, Melaleuca, Callistemons have volatile oils in their leaves. It is the volatile oils which repel the mosquitoes.
So, the men took the advice and were able to creep across the river, looking out for crocs all the time and were able to successfully cross the river, collect the timber and return to the "Endeavour".
Had they not taken the advice, the chances are that they would have been attacked by the mozzies and in yelling out or giving them a swat could have disturbed a lazy old croc. sunning himself on the shore. It was the Melaleuca oil which helped them across and back".
So Tiffany, this is a roundabout story but it is the volatile oils of a Myrtaceous plant which did the trick. Maybe, only maybe, you could get such a result by beating yourself with one of the very oily Eucalypts such as the peppermints.
I hope that you can get some information for your project and get an A plus!!!!"
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Peter Abell also comments:
Brian is on 'one' track.....The Leptospermum he refers to is a 'selection' of liversidgei called "Mozzie Blocker". Without being too cynical, relayed experiences from a grower suggest it's more hype than real.....
Try looking into Melaleuca alternifolia or even bush food/medicine books especially the Vic Cherikoff one.
8. Built-up garden beds
Cherree Densley's comment in the last issue "I have never found it successful to build up beds for Australian plants with bought or imported soil. It brings in too many weed seeds or the fill is sterile - may have been dug up too deeply." brought the following comment from Peter Abell...
"This is certainly a trap for the unwary.... If you take the advice of the majority of soil suppliers then we usually finish up with a media that is of fine structure (read loamy at best) and hence doesn't drain any better than what we started with. The weeds problem is obvious and we should tell suppliers of this. The consumer is at fault if they accept this practice too readily, and no I'm not on the suppliers side. The sterility comment is a little misleading too.....material derived deeper down is not necessarily 'sterile' but leached and therefore nutrient 'challenged'. We should feed Australian plants in the garden just like anything else and every year not just the first year or so.
As for raising beds. The concept is simple, the further the surface (soil) is from the water table the drier due to physics (gravity) the surface layer will be and this is where the damage is done. Raising the beds is a good idea but its linked very closely to the structure of the media."
* * * * *
Cherree also went on to talk about problems with "....'sand beds' being made by some gardeners purely for Western Australian stuff, and being very successful too, but usually only short term."
Peter elaborated on this....
"Bad move here. Sand has virtually no inherent capacity to suppress soilborne pathogens, big problem...... This returns us to the structure debate. Drainage is about the smallest particle size and it's frequency.
Sand doesn't necessarily drain better if its fine. Sand usually drains 'consistently because the particles are uniform in size or the pore spaces are a little bigger. You must add lots of 'course' sand to heavy soils to have any real benefit. On nutrition, It is difficult to feed plants on 'pure' sand as well. the system becomes very like a hydroponic one.
What to do......raise the beds to improve drainage if necessary. and...Use a 'potting mix' instead of 'soil'. make sure there is a fair (>30%) mineral content (ie sand...) for stability of structure. and... feed annually with a light to moderate 'sprinkling' of slow release fertiliser in early spring. I use 9mth osmocote plus with about 2-4% phosphorus and the trace elements. remember zero phosphorus would only be used in soils with high P."
* * * * *
Thanks, Peter
9. Sending plant material overseas
The responses to Maria Hitchcock's dilemma about sending cutting material overseas brought the following comment from Peter Abell:
"Firstly, NOBODY SHOULD BE JUST "SENDING CUTTINGS OVERSEAS" there are quarantine laws that regulate this and even seed is covered. For example, it is illegal to import seed from the family Myrtaceae into Australia, sounds strange but there is a disease (transferred on seed) affecting Eucs. that could seriously jeopardise our hardwood industry!!!
The legal bit aside......It is highly unlikely that the vast majority of what we grow here (in Aust.) will become a significant player on world markets. Nutritionally our flora is harder to handle in production OS. we have a mild climate and many don't survive harsh winters experienced in the 'western' world. Most are too slow under production and whats left has been and is being developed all round the globe. We should get off our butts and do it here. Asking members to sign a bit of paper.......is going to put people off real quick. We are supposed to be encouraging development of our flora not tying it up so no-one can see it. PBR and Patent laws dont stop us from propagating after purchase for our own use, they are there to provide an incentive to 'breed' and 'develop' new varieties for which they get a return on their significant input.
I breed Bracteantha's (among other things) and that doesn't stop me from liasing with and even exchanging material with other like minded people....in fact I was challenged to identify the parentage of a complex hybrid......
I guess I'm trying to say, lets not be misled by suggestion, bad kharma or simply misinformation and enjoy our plants but whatever you do don't sell PBR protected plants without permission and if you think you might have a 'new petunia' talk to a reputable plant management organisation and have it tested and protected properly....."
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Rodger Elliott also commented on this topic.....
"I have noticed some comments on export of Australian plants overseas. This is a very complex issue and there are many aspects which need 'airing'. I do not know if people realise that there is a need to have a permit to export any Australian plant from the Wildlife Protection Agency of Environment Australia. in Canberra....plus the need for a phytosanitary Certificate etc."
Rodger also suggested that an article on the topic might be useful...are there any experts in this field who would have the time to either write a few paragraphs or point me in the right direction.
* * * * *
While on this topic, the whole issue of legal collection of plant material could use clarification. Any comments?
10 Plant Breeders' Rights
Graheme Parsons (email_us@parsonsnursery.com.au) took up this issue....
"I can see everyone's dilemma but the horse has bolted. Many Australian seed companies advertise native seed overseas. To give you an idea, check out http://osprey.erin.gov.au/anbg/tree.seeds.html and you will have some idea of the number of seed exporters in Australia including your own government! Some of the seed offered makes me wonder who would ever want that, but they wouldn't offer it if there was no interest.
As far as patenting Australian Native Plants are concerned (the correct term for patent is Plant Breeder's Rights or PBR) think on the following:-
- you cannot PBR a plant already in the marketplace, that is, any plant that is currently on offer or previously offered,
- you cannot PBR a wild plant unless it is significantly different from normal populations of those plants,
- to PBR, the significance must be stable over generations, I.e. the plant will not revert to normal plant population habit,
- you have to prove that you have completed research and testing on the plant over a period of time (usually years),
- If you take out a PBR overseas, then you must also take out a PBR in Australia (cost approx. $3000) to maintain those rights in Australia
- anyone can propagate a plant subject to PBR provided that they do not do so for commercial gain. I.e. you can propagate and give it away.
So, basically, the plant must be new and the result of:-
- plant breeding or hybridizing (it takes about 10 years from pollination to PBR on the hybrid rose your neighbour grows),
- a sport (usually caused by a virus or a foul up in the genetic make up of the variant piece and many hybrids produce sports),
- discovery of a stable, significantly different, wild plant variation.
PBR isn't the be all and end all of protection, the New Zealand flower trade sells the waratah as 'Kiwi Rose'. the USA has more registered cultivars (not PBR) of Grevillea that does Australia, Israel has bred some truly beautiful cultivars of Kangaroo paw and the Hawaiians sell the Macadamia nut as the Hawaiian Nut (our production of macadamia nuts has only recently overtaken theirs).
If you wish to learn more about PBR, I suggest you visit www.dpie.gov.au/agfor/pbr/pbr.html.
11. Myoporum betcheranum
Graheme Parsons (email_us@parsonsnursery.com.au) would like some information on Myoporum betcheranum. I found a very brief mention of M.betcheranum in Galbraith's "Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of SE Australia". It occurs in north-east NSW and Qld and has small purple berries. Can any give Grahame further details?
12. 'Grey water' and Australian plants
Geoff Howes (howeshouse@ozemail.com.au) writes....
Do you have any details or references regarding the use of 'grey water' (septic, washing M/C and shower) for irrigating native plants. I would assume that this water could be high on phosphorous and other elements that would be toxic to most Australian native plants. If this is so then plant choice would be limited."
A good question. I don't know of any research but there may be some somewhere. There have been a few studies on the use of treated sewage effluent to irrigate native plants such as Melaleucas and Eucalypts. I came across a few papers on the subject in my former life with the Water Board and I might be able to dig one or two of them up.
I think that the choice of native plants that could tolerate grey water might be wider than we expect. Sounds like a good research project but maybe some readers can help.
13. An aquatic plant exhibition??
Dave Gomberg (gomberg@wcf.com) wants to know if "..one Australian plant society or another has had an aquatic plant show at some time in the past. I would like to contact whoever ran it."
I'm afraid I can't help with this. Does anyone know??
14. Neofabrica myrtifolia
Michele Deveze (Michele.Deveze@dnr.qld.gov.au), Forest Environmental Officer (Management), is looking for seed of Neofabrica myrtifolia. This species is not listed in any of the catalogues that I have. Can anyone help?
Finally....
Here's wishing all subscribers a very Happy Christmas and Great Growing in '99!
Best wishes
Brian
Brian Walters,
Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP)
Email; brianwal@pnc.com.au (personal or SGAP)
sgap@ozemail.com.au (SGAP only)
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