Australian Native Plants at the ANBG Canberra

[Lvandelft]

Well I hope this little piece of sunshine cheers up your grey and dreary day then. 

Not so grey and dreary here today, but your pictures are fantastic as always Paul.
Hard to imagine shrubs like Grevillea with such brillant flowers. I love the combination of the hairy leaves and the colour of flowers of G. caleyi most!
Thanks for showing.

[jomowi]

Paul, - I spent 3 years in Adelaide nearly 50 years ago and worked at the Australian Wine Research Institute.  (Yes, there were the obvious perks!) One of my colleagues there brought in a book from his childhood in which there were characters called 'Sugglepot and Cuddlepie, the gum nut babies'. I seem to remember they wore hats like the operculum covering the unopened flower buds of Eucalyptus.  Does my memory serve me correctly?  There was a "baddie" who was a Grevillia and my colleague was so frightened of this character when a child that he hated Grevillias into adulthood.  I can well imagine from your picture that Grevillia buxifolia might have been the offending baddie?  Loved your photos, thank you.

[Paul T]

Thanks folks.  Glad you're enjoying them.

Maureen,

They are 'Snugglepot and Cuddlepie', and the baddies were the Big Bad Banksia Men, based on Banksia not Grevillea (all in the Proteaceae family though).  I have some photos coming of a couple of Banksias, but I'll also photograph some Banksia cones (seedpods) for you at some point, which is what the baddies were based on.
Tim,

You just need to be selective about what you try to grow.  Some of the Grevilleas are much hardier than others.  The majority of the gorgeously large flowered types tend to be softer, many being ungrowable or borderline here.  Often some of the problems stem from cold wet roots and rootrot, rather than the plant itself not being cold tolerant.  Often the rarer and touchier ones from Western Australia (WA) are grafted onto Grevillea robusta (a tree sized Grevillea) which has a much stronger and more tolerant rootsystem.  Those softer types on if which come from sandy soils in WA are able to grow fine on this rootstock, rather than rotting out in our clay soils that we get around here.  You still need to work on the drainage, just not as much as if they were on their own rootstock on their own weaker roots.  I grow a few grafted types in my garden, usually in pots anyway to increase their drainage.  You pay a lot more for the grafteds, so you try to make sure they survive. 

'Canberra Gem' originated near here I think (may not be from here as a species, may have been bred near here and given the name?  Not sure?), hence the name.  Takes more cold than many others for that reason I think, but there would definitely be colder tolerant ones.  I'd still be making sure the drainage is as perfect as possible, whatever you're growing in the Proteacea family.  Also of course beware of Phosphorus fertilisers, which the Proteoid rootsystems don't like in most cases.

[Brian Ellis]

Paul, I am so pleased you have resurrected this thread.  It is absolutely mind-blowing to see all these varieties of Grevillea and hard to pick a star, but Grevillea buxifolia would have to take the prize.  Looking forward to more from your visits.

[jomowi]

Thank you Paul.  After I had shut down the computer, it came to me that it was the Banksia men who were the baddies.  50 years is a long time to remember things correctly!  Is it still regarded as a children's classic, or are today's kids more interested in stories about robots etc?  After returning to the UK we moved from Leicester to Aberdeen.  In the back of the car amongst other plants was the Kangaroo Paw, Anigozanthus manglesii which we were growing.  As the furniture was going to take 2-3 days en route, we made a mini holiday of the trip.  When we got to Aberdeen, the plants had all grown, benefiting from their substitute greenhouse, and we had a job to get some of them out of the car including the Anigozanthus!

We later mangaged to grow and flower Sturt's Desert Pea, (I see it has changed its Latin name) by grafting it onto seedlings of Colutea arborescens.  When in Adelaide, the gardeners at CSIRO tried to grow it, and it always succumbed just before flowering, the theory being that the coastal climate was too humid for it.

[Paul T]

Howdy Again All.

Sorry, it was a bit longer before I got back to post more.  I do "procrastination" very well at the moment.  

Firstly, here's a couple more Grevilleas that I didn't post in the last lot.  Senior moment I think.

Grevillea albiflora has very large flowerheads, and the bees and the birds just love it.

In the rockery there are a few of these big carpeting type of Grevillea.  Even out of flower they look effective.

And Adenanthos sericeus is a close Grevillea relative, commonly called 'Albany Woolly Bush'.  It is so soft and furry.  Some forms grow to 1.2-1.5m, while other forms of the species can grow to 3m+.  You just can't help handling the foliage as it is so beautiful.  I have a small plant in my garden, just starting to take off.

Please click on the pic for a larger version.

[Paul T]

For Maureen, here's some Banksias.  

I can't remember what species the Big Bad Banksia Men were based on, so here are just a couple of the Banksia species flowering at the ANBG at present, and a pic of the cones of one of them.  Very prominent seedpod on this species.... as you can see there are 2 of them on the cone.  Each swelling will split open and there will be 2 seeds inside (I think!?)

Banksia aemula
Banksia serrata

Please click on the pic for a larger version.

[Paul T]

The Flannel Flower (Adenanthos helianthi) has soft and furry grey leaves with these interesting white furry flowers.  I have one in a pot on the front stairs at my place at present, so I hope I can keep it going.  It's only a recent purchase.

Then there area  few pics of Calostemma purpurea, growing amongst rocks in the rockery.  These bulbs have been shown in the Southern Hemisphere and Amaryllidaceae topics a few times in the past.  They look really good as a clump amongst rocks.

Calothamnus tuberosus has brilliant red-orange flowers that up close up feathery.  Looks a bit like a bottlebrush (Callistemon) at first glance, but the flowers are very different.  This plant is about 1.5m tall and perhaps 2m wide.  I have also in the past shown Calothamnus quadrifidus (sometimes called the one-sided bottlebrush) which has flowers coming out from only one side of the stem.  Both these plants are interesting in that the flowers sprout straight out of the stem, often stem that is years old.  It means that the flowers can appear throughout the plant, not just at the tips.

Please click on the pic for a larger version.

[ashley]

A great thread Paul   Thanks

The Flannel Flower (Adenanthos helianthi) has soft and furry grey leaves with these interesting white furry flowers.  I have one in a pot on the front stairs at my place at present, so I hope I can keep it going.  It's only a recent purchase.

Isn't it a lovely thing?  One of my (many) failures from seed unfortunately but maybe time to try again.  Can you offer any hints on conditions?

[Paul T]

Here's some Eucalypts and their relatives....

Corymbia ficifolia used to be Eucalytpus ficifolia.  The flowers are stunning, there being a number of named hybrids in a range of orange, red and pinks.  This one is only a small plant, so a bit of growth to go yet.  The heads of flowers would be getting towards 25-30cm wide.

This ia a young Eucalyptus langleyi, still actively growing in height.  Lovely white flowers were clustered all along the branches.  Beautiful.

This plant of Eucalytpus marcrocarpa was a bit distorted so the pics of the plant itself weren't very good.  The lovely silver-blue foliage and those huge blooms are amazing though, so I couldn't resist including a few angles of the flower.  This flowerhead is about 15cm wide, like a little fireworks display all by itself.  

Please click on the pic for a larger version.

[Paul T]

Ashley (and Brian and Maureen),

Glad you're enjoying the assorted mishmash of plants I'm posting here. 

The place I'm aware of the Flannel Flower growing best at the ANBG is behind one of the buildings where it is seeding about into large gravel/stones.  It is a relatively dry area, but with decent drainage.  I think the gravel helps the soil surface stay a little cooler, but also not as dry even though there wasn't as much watering.  It was in one of the areas that I looked after when I was working there.  Lots of sun, not too much water, but I think there was still a reasonable amount of moisture below all the time, so it was never wet but never dry.  I'll be growing mine in a pot on the stairs against a wall where I can keep it on the drier side.... we're yet to see whether I will be successful or not. 

[ashley]

Lots of sun, not too much water

Should love Ireland so
Thanks Paul.

[Paul T]

We weren't the only ones enjoying the ANBG when we were there in January....

Nice to see that the name signs were useful for other than just reading (that's an Eastern Water Dragon using it as a sitting point).

And New Holland Honeyeaters were having an arguement in the trees.  There was a big family group having a squablle (don't they all! ) and they were there in the one area long enough for me to photograph them.  I've never managed to photograph them before, so I was pleased.  I was also almost taken out by a couple of them when they flew off in what was obviously their usual exit route.... which unfortunately I was standing in.  I felt the wind from one set of wings as they skimmed my head.    I am wondering what would have happened if I hadn't ducked.

A friend of mine who has just bought a house in a suburb not far from here reports that there are New Hollands in her garden..... this was a big surprise to me as I didn't realise that they got out into this part of the city.  I have hopes of one day seeing them here in my own garden as well.  

Please click on the pic for a larger version.

[Paul T]

Lots of sun, not too much water

Should love Ireland so
Thanks Paul.

Is that a note of sarcasm I hear there, Ashley?   Doesn't everywhere get long hot summers like we (well at least normally) do? 

[rob krejzl]

I was watching the New Hollands on the Brunsvigia flowers only a couple of weeks ago - they used the pedicels to perch on whilst nectar feeding just like they were native South Africans. Very flighty and easily disturbed; you must have been very quick getting the photo Paul.