Last Meeting—Heyfield Wetlands Visit

What a fantastic day we had in Heyfield. An excellent gathering of members made their way to the Glenmaggie weir wall for the barbecue. Sorry to those who were unsure of how to get there—I should have thought to include some directions for those of you who are not locals. The water was a terrible colour due to the soil being washed off the fire ravaged hills in the recent flash floods and it was well down.

Following the “long and winding road” through the wetlands.

Steve Kurec addressed the group at the visitor’s centre at the Heyfield wetlands and brought us up to date with his many new and impending projects—Wonthaggi coal mine, Cowwarr quarry, Newborough, Toongabbie and Briagolong wetland projects, to name a few. He is a very busy man and we were very fortunate to have him share some of his expertise. It is wonderful to think that there are people like Steve who are making a difference in the preservation of our wetland environments and subsequently our native flora and fauna.

Mark and Harold enjoying their long walk.

Most members finished the day with a leisurely stroll around the wetlands, however Mark and Harold just had to see what was at the far end of the track. Some of us indulged in a hot chocolate at the Busy Bee and did not get home in daylight!

Member Spot

Following the “long and winding road” through the wetlands.

Corymbia ficifolia grows naturally near Walpole W.A. in sandy soil. This species has adapted quite well in our district, where there are plenty of trees growing very well. Some are over ane hundred years old and still looking very healthy.

Young trees when planted out soon adapt to our conditions and grow well. I purchased my first ficifolia dwarf orange in 2000 and planted this tree on the farm at Nilma North. In 2002 I grew a ficifolia seedling in a pot, large enough to graft, which I did and brought it over to Drouin, when we shifted early in 2003. The tree was then planted out in August 2003.

To grow a seedling well, it must be fed to keep it healthy, to achieve this , give them 1 gram/litre of osmocate plus with 4.4% phosphorous and 1 gram/lite iron sulphate to each litre of potting up soil, and watered when required. With this feeding they will respond very well. It can be applied every month, starting at the end of August until March, or when required.

When the trees are planted out at the end of August, give them a feed. A small handful of osmocate plus, a bit less iron sulphate. Then increase as the tree grows, keep an eye on the tree and if it starts to look pale, the first sign that all is not well, give it a feed, or water. Only apply fertiliser to moist soil and lightly work it in.

The ficifolia dwarf orange above was planted out in August 2003 fertilised three times a year until autumn 2006 and watered when necessary. I thought well after three years of caring for this tree, ‘your on your own mate’. No feeding, no watering, so the tree up and died soon after new year. This tree was grafted onto local Corymbia ficifolia as rootstock. Early 2004 I grafted a local red flowering ficifolia onto a local ficifolia rootstock, this tree was planted out in August 2004 with similar feed and water, as the orange tree mentioned above. With no feeding or watering after autumn 2006, the tree has survived well without any feeding or watering. So have all the other eucalyptus we have growing.

In spring 2003 I purchased a grafted crimson and orange dwarf ficifolia from N.S.W. The stock they were on I think was Corymbia maculata. They were fed in the pots, as it was too late to plant them out. Early in 2004 while still in the pots, I grafted one crimson and two orange trees, from these two onto local rootstock. Planting out one of each in August of the same year and also planting out, this last grafted ficifolia dwarf crimson tree at the same time.

The original dwarf orange ficifolia from N.S.W. has responded well. Our neighbours cow thought it so tempting, that she reached over a metre through the fence and destroyed about half the tree. The broken limb was pruned off, then painted and the tree is doing its best to recover.

The other two ficifolia dwarf crimsons must still be fed three times each year otherwise they stop growing and then look sick. No doubt they would die if not fed and watered.

At this time the ficifolia dwarf orange is about two metres high and has flowered very well the last two years, the two ficifolia dwarf crimsons are less than one metre high, with having had a small amount of flowers. I do not know where these two dwarf ficifolia originated from. The orange dwarf has grown well enough, but the crimson dwarf has not adjusted to our conditions even after three years. The only way I know how to keep them alive and healthy is to keep feeding them, if I don’t I am sure they will give up and die.

In my opinion the dwarf crimson has a compatibility problem and by giving it a burst of nutrients it then responds temporarily. It appears as though the ficifolia dwarf crimson is not compatible with the rootstocks of Corymbia maculata or Corymbia ficifolia.

To sum up, feed and water at first signs of stress and prune the trees when required.

Rainfall

Harold did a comparison on the totals of the 1st 5 months of: 2005 - 290mm, 2006 - 396mm, 2007 - 277mm. From Mike, that makes a total of 409mm for the first 6 months, which is about an inch more than my 14 year average (383mm) for this period.

Editor’s note:What a great comparison in locations we have for our rainfall chart. Many thanks to John, Harold, Mike and Wayne for their rainfall readings.