Propagating Kurrajong (Brachychiton diversifolius)
No Comments »25th May, 2006; Category: Propagating
Murray Ralph had the information on propagating Kurrajong from seed. He says average temperature of 25C so I have missed the boat, temperature wise. (I would say that average maximum temperature at the moment is about 16C.) So September/ October it will need to be. I thought I might try a few seeds in the hot house to see how much difference that makes. At least they won’t be soggy there if it should rain.
It appears that the seed needs to have hot water poured over it and be left to soak over night. The seed germinates in 3-6 weeks with best results at 25C. Only 40-60% of the seed germinates. Seed is viable for several years, with best results achieved with fresh seed. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Murray Ralph’s book is ‘Growing Australian Native Plants from Seed’ published by Murray Ralph/Bushland Horticulture.
New Seed Packets
No Comments »24th May, 2006; Category: Propagating
The Kurrajong seed arrived today. I have no idea what to do with it so will consult Murray Ralph’s book on propagating Native plants from seed. This has been a most useful book to have. I suspect that it is too cold now to put any seed in. We had a frost last night that burnt my two new native hibiscus plants. If they survive this winter hopefully they will be more frost hardy as the plants put on height.
The rest of the seeds from Eyre Native Seeds on Eyre Peninsula , South Australia, I am looking forward to dealing with. There is a native pine (Callitris canescens) that has a prostrate habit and grows on the coastal cliffs. There is also Melaleuca decussata, normally a fairly tall shrub here in the mallee but this one is also a prostrate plant from the coastal cliffs. It will be interesting to see how these both survive the frost here. I believe they are frost hardy despite being coastal plants but it remains to be seen in actual practice.
Another packet of grass seed arrived from a member of the Native Grasses Resource Group. This is Aristida behrianna and that can be sown now. Something is scattering the grass seeds in their pots. I suspect it is mice, although I was blaming sparrows. The damage is done early in the morning.
Propagating Kurrajong and Grevillea
I had a pile of cutting material, mainly some pieces of Grevillea which I dealt with today. It is a bit cold now, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I managed half a tray full of nice looking cuttings and went out to see what material was on Grevillea ‘Winpara Gem’ to fill up the space.
I walked past a small plant that I have had for years but had not had the heart to dig out. It has always been in the wrong spot so was mown, slashed and whipper snipped many times. It has 4 stems now. I realized a few weeks ago that it was a Kurrajong after I had read the article that prompted the post on Kurrajong.
The amazing thing about this plant is that it has always been a good dark green, and does not get water artificially and has survived many heavy frosts over the years. I have decided, belatedly, that it deserves some TLC so that I can get some more height in the plant. It will be a shrub shape rather than a tree now. I doubt that cutting 3 of the 4 branches out will help as it seems to induce more branching from the base of the plant. Anyway, to fill up the tray I cut one of the branches that was growing across the plant. I was able to take 6 nice pieces of tip growth as cuttings to see what will happen. I will put in some seed later also.
This plant is no longer in the wrong spot!
Anigozanthos humilis (Cat’s Paw)
1 Comment »22nd May, 2006; Category:
This is a very pretty Kangaroo Paw. It is much shorter than the flavidus (up to 30 cm or 12 inches with the flower spike), is a combination of yellow, orange and red in the flower. The flower stalk stands just above the foliage.
This is also a very hardy plant. According to a comment I read, it grows in soils with a high lime content as a preference! In fact in builder’s rubble. At last a plant that will not cringe when I dig the hole in my limestone rubble mounds. It is apparently difficult to maintain in the garden if the high pH conditions do not exist. Amazing little plant.
I remember the first time I saw this growing on the side of the road in Western Australia. Having only seen pictures in books, it was a great thing to see masses of the plant in the ‘flesh’.
This one does not seem to be as frost hardy as the Anigozanthos flavidus. As we are having slight frosts now it will be test of the plant’s hardiness. They all need good drainage which can be achieved by raising the planting spot by about 8cm (4 inches) as a minimum, or adding gypsum to the soil to break up any clay.
Anigozanthos flavidus (Kangaroo Paw)
I messed up the cutting when I tried to divide an Anigozanthos flavidus red flowered form. At least I hope it is red as the label states. The trouble is that if the plant is seed grown it could be green as this seems to be the dominant colour in this species.
Anyway I wanted to divide it so that I had extra plants should the main one meet with an accident, like being drowned or forgotten! The bits that broke off may have enough tuber attached to grow on.
Anigozanthos flavidus is the hardiest of the Kangaroo Paws, and has the tallest flower spikes, which seem to flower for a long time. Most of the ‘paws’ prefer well drained positions but this one is quite forgiving as it is hardy in most soils and positions. Seed germinates readily, especially if fresh. Divide during the Autumn before new leaves begin to grow. A heavy sharp knife is necessary with this species as it has a large tuber.