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Setting up a plant conservation research nursery.

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FossilPlants:
Hello all,
Earlier this year the Scottish Rock Garden Club amazingly gave my partner and I a bursary toward a trip to South Africa. On the trip we found and collected seed (with the relevant permits)of many members of the Proteaceae from altitudes over 1000m (many from nearly 2000m which is high for the South West Cape). The plan is to research the resulting plants suitability for horticulture in the UK and for those plants that are threatened in the wild to research their horticulture so as to inform any future ex-situ conservation.
I now need to grow that seed.
Just as growing proteas up here in cold, wet North Wales breaks the mould I have decided the only way is to continue breaking the mould and do something completely different by crowd funding the project. I have found some land for a nursery I now just need to sort out all the infrastructure for it too.

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/plant-conservation-research-nursery/

I really hope some of the members of SRGC may think it a worthwhile project and help or if you cant help yourself please pass it on to someone that you think might.

Best wishes

Robbie

Maggi Young:
A most interesting  project from Robbie - to learn a bit more about the trip he received an SRGC Grant towards see here  http://www.fossilplants.co.uk/search-proteas/

The  fundraising page includes photos of the site Robbie has found to establish the nursery project  8)

Tristan_He:
Hi Robbie. I also live in N Wales and have tried growing Proteaceae from seed some years ago, from seed from Kirstenbosch and Silverhill. I found them easy and fun to germinate - just set fire to the seeds with a match, then sow (no need for mucking around with smoke pads etc). Growing them on was the problem though as they seem to be very fussy with soil requirements. I had quite a bit of success in pots with some species using a very well-drained, low nutrient mix based on Seramis - a bit like for Cypripedium. I think I may even have got one to flower. However, I didn't have the space or time to maintain so many plants in pots and so in the end I gave most of them to Bangor Botanic Garden at Treborth. I don't know if they still have any.

I did experiment with planting a few of the theoretically hardier types out in the garden, but they did not grow and died over the winter.

One thing I heard about more recently was that for years nobody could grow northern hemisphere conifers (pines etc) in the southern hemisphere. Plants languished and eventually died, showing evidence of nutrient deficiency. Eventually someone imported some soil with the right mycorhizal fungi and now they grow very well. I wonder if the same applies to some Proteaceae?

Good luck anyway.
Best, Tristan

Graeme:
When we first started with the nursery I was advised to run it as a charity for the preservation of plants - also have a word with your Local Council as they will have an economic growth department and will probably have grants available for new businesses.  Most councils towards the end of last year had huge amounts of money to assist economic growth - if I had been in a position last year to put up the money to finish the last bit of development on the nursery the council would have given me nearly 50% as a grant.  I have enquired this year but it seems that the funding has dried up a bit.  Good luck with the project

FossilPlants:
Thanks Graeme,
That's a brilliant tip! I shall get in touch with them.

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