Next Meeting

Date: Thursday December 11, 2008
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: Horticultural Building at Morwell TAFE adjacent to Kernot Hall.

Leader's Report—September

This bit of rain has been very welcomed, so with the ground nice and wet I have filled some empty spots up on the bank above the house with Grevillea fasciculata Coastal Form a prostrate 30cm H x 1m W with red to orange flowers in late winter through to summer and Banksia spinulosa “Honeypots” dwarf form .5m H x 1.2m W with flowering late summer to spring.

We have even put in a small veggie patch at the insistence of Marg wanting them fresh from the garden as we use to have.

Marg & I would like to ‘WISH EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A SAFE, HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR’.

It sounds like a GOOD weekend was had by those that were able to make the trip to Bairnsdale, there is a report on that by Marilyn Ingram and some great photos from Cathy Beamish.

Many thanks goes to John Stephens for writing up on Harold’s talk on ‘Grafting below are the notes.

Grafting Australian Plants

Wedge Graft

Wedge Graft

1. Sterilize all tools with mentholated spirits before starting.
2. Rootstock (main plant) should be about 150mm high.
3. The graft should be made about 100mm above the container. If it is too close to the potting mix it may be affected by Phytophera cinnamomi.
4. Match the diameter of the stock to the diameter of the scion.
5. With the scion you need to choose material that has mature buds but not to the point where they are shoots.
6. Look for two adjacent suitable or “good” buds on the scion.
7. Prepare the tape (Parafilm “M”) – cut into a strip about 10-12 mm wide.
8. Prepare the rootstock and the scion with a sharp knife.
9. Slice the rootstock down the centre for approximately 20 mm.
10. Shape the scion into a wedge of matching length.
11. Retain the leaves on the rootstock to provide for growth of the new shoots.
12. .Trim all leaves off the scion.
13. Line up the cambium layer on the rootstock and the scion so they meet.
14. Stretch tape around the join and get it as airtight as possible.
15. Use a 2 litre cordial/fruit juice bottle (with top removed and bottom cut out) on top if the plant is to be kept inside – water to keep damp.
16. Inside the house is preferable in as much light as possible with out being in direct sunlight.
17. Inside the house also provides a more uniform temperature.
18. Monitor water however if kept too moist there is a risk of fungi developing. Do not store in direct sunlight.
19. Normally grafts are made from December onwards.
20. Six weeks should be sufficient time for the graft to callus and be easily seen.

Approach Graft

Whip Graft

Whip & Tongue Graft

1. Prone pot method – pot lying on its side.
2. An advantage is that you can start the graft at ground level.
Cover the pot with soil to the top and enclose in a plastic bag. Make three holes in the top (side of the pot) to allow for watering.
3. Protect the prone plant with bags or something similar to keep the sun off the stem etc. as the plant may be up to three months on its side.
Water daily if required – may not have to in rainy weather.
4. The graft can also be completed in a vertical position.
Trim any branches off the side to facilitate the graft – the joining of the two plant stems.
5. Match the height and size of the stems on both plants – both standing if they are tall varieties.
It may be necessary to raise one of the pots to allow for accurate positioning of the stems.
6. Mark with a marker pen where the stems line up.
Remove the bark only for a length of 25 mm with a sharp knife to get back to the cambium layers of both plants. Do not cut into the wood.
7. Make the slice half above the mark and the other half below.
Hold the two stems in position – you may need to temporarily tie them.
8. Tape below the graft.
Use plant mastic or something similar to waterproof the graft.
9. Keep the plant under cover.
Best attempted in December as if the graft fails you will have time for a second try in February.
10. The graft should be visible in six weeks.
If it has callused on both sides it should have “taken”.
11. Cut off the stems in the correct location about two weeks after you have determined it has callused.

Bairnsdale Weekend

The weather forecast was very gloomy.  But it was like Camelot-most of the very welcome rain was at night.

Mike, Cathy, Col, Mary, Doris, Allan, Kate, John, Sue, Brian and I met at Geoff Cooke’s place in Wiseleigh, near Bruthen, on Saturday. After the cuppa and cake (thanks Mary) we were given a guided tour of his property. What an inspiration, 20 years ago it was a paddock. Now it is a wonderful relaxing haven for all sorts of critters.  He dug the dams on his property by hand, and they were full, I am pleased to report. Geoff has a fabulous collection of hakeas-around 150 I understand. Hakeas are so varied in form, with such interesting adaptations of leaves and amazing seed pods. He cuts aluminium drink cans into plant name tags, inscribing the names with a biro. He also pushes a tag into the ground near the plant stem. The cockatoos make off with his tags sometimes, so he needs a back-up.

Another of Geoff’s passions is variegated forms of native plants. He has collected and grown many of these. His keen observations and knowledge of plant life cycles and evolutionary survival changes was vast.  So interesting, and such a wonderful " bush garden” feeling.

Geoff has a small nursery. Maureen (also from the Bairnsdale Group) cooperates in the running of the nursery. She takes long cuttings, usually with more than one node, and puts the cuttings directly into tubes. Seems to work! We found plenty to purchase!   

Mike and Cathy chose the accommodation well. Comfortable beds, and a really good camp kitchen. This was of great importance because of the above mentioned rain.

Sunday we visited Jan and Graeme Donnan’s garden “Oodnaduna” at Eagle Point. The name is a combination of Oodnadatta and Ceduna where they spent several years of their working life. The day was pleasant- warm, sunny and Jan was thrilled because the grass squelched when she walked on it.  A very impressive, beautifully landscaped garden awaited. Graeme has developed a series of dry creek beds which direct water to the lowest point. Pumps recycle this water so it constantly moves to prevent mosquito larvae. The frogs love the ponds and streams. I heard several species calling, loudly. The inground swimming pool has also been redeveloped as a water feature.

We spent hours wandering down paths admiring special plants and plant groupings. The eremophilas were stunning.  Two beds have been specially built up with gravel and rocks for plants needing excellent drainage, and the plants looked very healthy. I admired her beautiful Banksia media (mine has died), and the Banksia caleyi with its striking burgundy flowers. Jan and Graeme have many correas, acacias, grevilleas and grasses as well as melaleucas and callistemons. Every plant was clearly labelled- a big plus for plant knowledge- challenged persons like me. 

The whole garden is thickly mulched to conserve water, and is dependent entirely on rainfall. Col helped with a little judicious pruning of special plants (with Jan’s encouragement and approval I hasten to add) Jan had some plants available for purchase too. Seems Mike is giving some people plants as gifts this Christmas.   

Jan and Graeme were also very hospitable. They provided a barbeque for our use at lunchtime, as well as tea, coffee and cakes. It was remarkably pleasant dining in one of the little sitting nooks.

Then off to look at Barbara Bate’s bonsai collection. She has specialised in finding Australian Native plants that will bonsai successfully. Flowering gums, casuarinas, callitris, lillipilly, several melaleuca’s and even a bottle tree had these fabulous old trunks and twisted branches that are typical of the Bonsai. The secret is in finding plants that will shoot again once pruned, even into old wood, I gathered. Fantastic! And she provided a cuppa too.

Mike and Cathy, a big thank you for your organisation. Thank you also to the Bairnsdale Group of ASGAP, Geoff, Maureen, Jan, Graeme and Barbara for their welcoming friendship and hospitality. The gardens and plants shared so enthusiastically with us were an inspiration. We all had a very special weekend experiencing aspects of the reasons we grow native plants.

Marilyn Ingram.

Bairnsdale Visit

Bairnsdale Visit

Bairnsdale Visit

Bonsai

Plants in My Garden

By Mike Beamish

Isopogon
anemonifolius

Species: Isopogon anemonifolius
Family: Mimosaceae
Derivation:

Isopogon: From the Greek, isos, equal, and pogon, a beard, referring to the hairs which surround the nut (seed?) on all sides and are of roughly equal length.

anemonifolius: From the genus Anemone and the Latin, folium, a leaf, referring to the divided leaves which resemble anemones.

Common Name: Broad-leaf Drumsticks
Distribution: Found in New South Wales in heaths and dry sclerophyll forests along the coast and Great Dividing Range from roughly Grafton in the north and Bega in the south.
Description:A bushy shrub of variable height depending on its habitat, 50cm tall in exposed situations and up to 2 metres tall by 1 metre across in forest. The light green, smooth or minutely hairy leaves are usually divided into 3 linear segments which may in turn be pinnately divided, from 5 to 10cm long. Yellow flowers are borne in globular heads terminally, sometimes in clusters and occasionally in the leaf axils. The heads appear in spring and early summer and are up to 20mm in diameter. The flowers are about 12mm long when open, giving an overall size of about 40mm.
Opinion: My current plant has survived a number of seasons in a tub on the western side of the block, but on the eastern side of the Silky Oak, so that it gets morning sun but is protected from the harsher afternoon sun. It is still only about a foot high, but it flowers every year and as you can see from the photo, looks fit and well. Its size might be limited by the tub (which it shares with an Acacia lasiocarpa), but upon reading the tag, it reckons the plant is a compact form called Little Drumsticks with a maximum size of 65cm. Time will tell, as you all know that plants can’t read! I’ve left it in the tub because I’ve tried several specimens in the ground at various locations around the block, only to have them all fall victim to “Sudden Death Syndrome”. So in the pot it will stay, even though it is in dire straits with my haphazard approach to watering (regular rainfall is its best bet) and feeding (I’m supposed to do it every year, but it gets a dose of native plant osmocote every third or fourth season). One day I’ll harvest some of the old cones and see if I can extract some viable seed for propagation, the plant seems way to small to pinch any for cuttings.

Sources: Wrigley & Fagg- Banksias, Waratahs & Grevilleas, etc.
Greig- The Australian Gardener’s Wildflower Catalogue.