association of societies for growing australian plants

NSW Programme 2003Wednesday July 23 TIME: 9.30 a.m Morning Tea for 10.00am startVENUE: Grevillea ParkSUBJECT: Plant labelling ideas - discussion group

Wednesday August 13Meeting cancelled

Sunday October 12 TIME: 10.00 a.m.VENUE: Home of Mark Ross,107 Pitt Town Road,

McGraths Hill 2756Ph: 02) 4577 2831 E: [email protected]

SUBJECT: Grafting Workshop

Melbourne Cup Weekend Fri Oct 31-Tues Nov 4CONTACT : Bruce Wallace, [email protected] PLACE: 10.00am at McDonalds, Sth NowraField trip south to view G. linearifolia (Dolphin Point,Ulladulla & Bendalong-Manyana), G. arenaria & G. scabrifolia(near Nowra), G. buxifolia (Pigeon House), G. epicroca,G. victoriae ssp. nivalis (Brown Mountain), G. johnsoniiand many other exciting localities & plant populations.

July 2003

Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants

Ref No. ISSN 0725-8755

\Inside this issue:l Grevilleas in Blackburn

l Combined Field Trip to Gippsland

l Grevillea Trip to WAand more....

GSG Queensland ChapterMeetings for 2003. Morning Tea 9.30 am.Meetings commence at 10 am.For more information, contact Merv. Hodgeon (07) 5546 3322

QLD Programme 2003Sunday August 31VENUE: Home of Laylee Purchase, 41 Rocklyn St,

Toowoomba 4350. Ph: (07) 4630 2211SUBJECT: Grevilleas D to J inclusive.Sunday October 26VENUE: Home of Denis Cox & Jan Glazebrook,

87 Daintree Drive, Logan Village 4207Ph: (07) 5546 8590

SUBJECT: Grevilleas P to R inclusive.Sunday November 30VENUE: Home of Norm & Win McCarthy,

21 Lindberg Street., Toowoomba 4350Ph: (07) 4634 2894

SUBJECT: Grevilleas S to Z inclusive.Sunday February 29 2004VENUE: Home of Bernard & Rona Wilson,

120 Avalon Road, Sheldon 4257Ph: (07) 3206 3399

SUBJECT: To be decided.

GSG Victoria Chapter

Leader: Neil Marriott (03) 5356 [email protected]

Convener: Max McDowall (03) 9850 [email protected]

VIC Programme 2003

Sunday August 17To Drummond & Fryers Range and ElphinstoneLEADERS: John & Sue Walter and Ian Evans TIME: 10.30 a.m.VENUE: 249 Pudding Bag Road, Drummond

(VicRoads 59 G5-F5) on left 2.49 km from theintersection with Daylesford-Malmsbury Road, betweencreek and intersection with Scobles Road.Land for Wildlife and Malmsbury Landcare signs ongate. Enlarged scan of VicRoads map will be sent tothose who register with Max.

BYO lunch and thermoses for lunch and afternoon tea,and some goodies to share. Meet at the new home ofGSG members John and Sue Walter ph. (03) 5423 9383for morning tea provided by our hosts and for a generaldiscussion of recent GSG activities and results ofpropagation and garden trials.Bring along your photos and slides, plants and cuttingsfor sale/exchange and flower specimens for exhibition.

John and Sue will show us around the property andgarden, still at an early stage of development, then leadus on a local field trip to see Grevillea alpina andGrevillea obtecta. Other species likely to be in flowerinclude Philotheca verrucosa - pink forms, Acaciaspecies and Hardenbergia violacea, (deep violet) and insome places, Epacris impressa.

The local field trip will conclude with a visit toElphinstone led by Ian Evans to see a population ofGrevillea rosmarinifolia. Depart for home 4-4.30.

Melbourne Cup Weekend Fri Oct 31-Tues Nov 4Combined Field Trip to South East NSW.(see NSW chapter)

Elaine Jell

Queensland - October 2002

The SE Queensland Branch met on SundayOctober 27 on a drizzly, thundery day at the homeof Jan Glazebrook and Denis Cox at Logan Village30 km south west of Brisbane. The propertyconsists of 2 ½ acres on a sandstone ridge.Twenty-three members attended.

Before beginning the meeting proper, a minutessilence was observed for the passing of IanWaldron, a GSG member, Chairman of LoganRiver SGAP Branch, and Queensland RegionSecretary. Ian was very talented in many ways andworked tirelessly in his quiet unobtrusive way. Weare all deeply saddened by the loss of Ian, and hewill be greatly missed.

The subject for our meeting was "Best HorticulturalPractices for Grevilleas". This caused muchamusement because we GSG members aregenerally collectors and choose a spot for a plantrather than a plant for a spot. It was an interestingtopic and while we agreed that "Best HorticulturalPractices" should be followed, how can we resist achallenge? Hereunder are the main points comingout of our lively discussion:

For a Showpiece Garden

l Choose plants for the soil type.l Choose plants for the position.l Know your pH.l Compost using organic material.l Prune often - but watch weather conditions.l If plant is not performing take it out.

Be ruthless. Growers with restricted space should be even more ruthless.

l Many Grevilleas will survive in drought, however if more water is provided better flowers and plants will result. Grafted Grevilleas generally are found to need more water than those on their own roots.

l Many grafted plants are collectors' items.l Western Australian grevilleas on their own

roots require extra dolomite to provide nutrients obtainable in their own habitat.

Members browsed around the lovely gardenwith its interesting plants complemented bynatural sandstone rock formations and availedthemselves of the variety of grevilleas Jan andDenis are grafting so successfully. A standardspecimen of G. leptobotrys was particularlystunning.

July 2003 Grevillea Study Group No. 65 2

Queensland - November 2002

The garden of Cliff Coddington at Toowoombaon the Darling Downs was the venue for theNovember 24 meeting when we studied thegrowing of grevilleas on a suburban block.Twenty members attended.

Cliff's garden is on display in Spring each yearduring Toowoomba's Carnival of Flowers. Thisyear 6,000 people passed through his gardenduring the Festival's ten days. It is an excellentway to introduce and promote Australian nativeplants. Although Cliff's preference is for grevilleaspecies, particularly grafted plants, he recognisesthe appeal of hybrids to the public for theirquick growth, colour and low maintenance.

There is no lawn, the ground is fully plantedand mulched. Cliff purchases plants in pairswhenever possible. He then plants them indifferent areas, hoping for the survival of one ifthe other dies.

Cliff has been the recipient of a water-wiseaward for the past seven years. His philosophy isto water plants only when they need it. He hasused a watering probe for over 3 years andrecommends this as a means of controlling theamount of water used. The probe is inserted 20-30 cm from plants to encourage root dispersion.

Pruning is carried out constantly. Cliff carrieshis secateurs with him as he walks around thegarden and prunes as he goes. He tries toprune after flowering, but if flowering occurs allyear, pruning is done as needed.

Cliff prepares for planting by including pottingsoil with garden soil in the spot chosen for theplant. Blood and bone is added, followed bydeep watering to stabilise the plant. Only newplants are fertilised.

Some flowering plants were - G. nana and G.nudiflora (as standards), G. infundibularis, G.stenomera, G. petrophiloides, G. 'Miss Muffet', G.'Elegance', G. 'Bon Accord' and G. 'Superb'.

G. nana, The Grevillea BookVol. 3 (P. Olde)

Species Bed No.

G. 'Austraflora Canterbury Gold' 5,8G. 'Austraflora Jubilee' 28,59G. 'Bronze Rambler' 17G. 'Canberra Gem' ('Pink Pearl') 19G. 'Ivanhoe'G. 'Little Thicket 51G. 'Pink Lady' 9,31G. 'Poorinda Firebird' 18G. 'Poorinda Queen' 55,56,70G. 'Red Sunset'' 60G. 'Robyn Gordon' 18,43G. 'Scarlet Sprite' x rosmarinifolia 48,60G. 'Shirley Howie' 4G. 'Towera' 1,55G. alpina 21G. alpina Hollow 28G. alpina Mt. D'nong 27,48,50d,51,57,57b,60G. alpina Mt. Ida 28G. alpina - Wedderburn 21G. alpina x lavandulacea 51,60G. alpina x lavandulacea #2 5G. aquifolium Wartook 1G. aquifolium prostrate 8,18G. arenaria x 55G. arenaria yellow 8,56G. aspleniifolia 42G. australis - Swindlers Tk 7G. australis var. 20,27,40,53,53a

brevifolia prostrate G. australis v. planifolia - Mersey R. 7,27,47G. barklyana ssp barklyana 42,46,60G. baueri x rosmarinifolia 20G. beadleana 28G. bipinnatifida 51


Max McDowell

G. brachystachya 44G. brevifolia ssp. polychroma red - 48

W Tree Ck FallsG. buxifolia 27G. celata 9G. confertifolia 8,28,31,47G. curviloba 19G. curviloba broad leaf 48G. depauperata 1A,8G. diminuta 20,33,71,72G. dimorpha broad leaf 16G. dimorpha fine leaf 60,72G. dimorpha medium leaf 46,71G. dryophylla 18G. endlicheriana 43G. evansiana 18, 28G. fililoba 7,22G. fililoba pink flowers 19G. humifusa 8G. iaspicula 28G. insignis var. elliotii 18G. irrasa ssp. didymochiton - 9

Reedy Creek, BodallaG. juniperina prostrate red 3G. lanigera - near Granya 48G. lanigera cream 23G. lanigera fine leaf 18G. lanigera prostrate 8,23,48G. lanigera upright 60G. lavandulacea 2G. lavandulacea - Tanunda 49G. lavandulacea - Billywing 43G. leptobotrys 51G. levis 14,44G. linearifolia 24,45

Victoria - March 2003

Grevilleas at Karwarra Australian Native Plant Garden

This list was compiled from the Karwarra database and thoroughly checked in situ by Marilyn Gray,curator of Karwarra, just prior to the GSG garden visit on 16/03/2003. It has been condensed by M.McDowall for convenience of users and for publication in the GSG newsletter, and updated18/06/2003. It is hoped that identifications of some specimens can be checked later by experts whenplants are in flower. A plan of the gardens is provided to visitors on payment of the entrance fee of$3.50. We thank Marilyn for her efforts and for conducting the tour of the garden. Karwarra is situatedof the crest of the Mt Dandenong Range at 424m altitude, is 5 acres in area, is surrounded by talltrees, includes some natural bushland, and has a predominantly easterly aspect. Soil is 1 m deep redmountain soil of rhyodacite volcanic origin. The mean annual rainfall is 1200 mm. Mean monthlytemperature maxima and minima are 6° and 1-3° cooler resp. than those of Melbourne City, with veryoccasional frosts and snowfalls.

continued

G. longifolia 42G. longistyla x 51G. microstegia 19,20,21,43G. miqueliana 28G. miqueliana ssp moroka - Neilsons CragG. monslacana - Lake Mountain 20G. montana 36,44G. monticolaG. montis-cole 19,36G. mucronulata - Mogo Rd, NSW 20G. obtusifolia 47G. oldei 46G. oleoides 24G. oxyantha ssp. oxyantha 47G. parvula 57G. pimelioides 8,46,47G. preissii 8,9G. quercifolia 43G. quinquinervis 1G. ripicola 32,49G. rosmarinifolia - Hurstbridge 43,55,60,70G. rosmarinifolia x

- McCormicks Rd, Biggera, NE Vic 48


G. rosmarinifolia 70G. rosmarinifolia dwarf shrubby 28G. rosmarinifolia green 6,51,55G. rosmarinifolia holotype 42,43,55,60G. rosmarinifolia ssp. ,18,51G. sericea 'Little Miss' 47G. shiressii 40G. speciosa ssp.speciosa 20,42G. stenomera 43,48G. teretifolia 17G. tetragonoloba red fl. 2G. umbellulata ssp.acerosa 31,44G. victoriae 40,54G. victoriae - Mt. Elizabeth 40G. victoriae - Swindlers track 1G. victoriae form - NSW 20G. victoriae ssp. nivalis 5,40,47,55

'Murray Queen''G. victoriae wavy leaf 1G. willisii ssp. willisii 16G. wilsonii 1,49,60G. x gaudichaudii pink 54

Don and Jean Weybury have now movedfrom their lovely Greendale property (where wehave made two excursions) to 103 UnderbankRoad, Bacchus Marsh, phone (03) 5367 1559,above the Werribee River with a great viewover the surrounding countryside. With friendsand family, they have erected the polyhouseand are progressively removing exotics such aspine trees from the grounds and establishingAustralian plants. They would enjoy hearingfrom GSG members. Don has now recoveredfrom the painful resistant staph. infection in theshoulder, although his activities are still muchrestricted, and he is looking forward to joiningthe excursion to Drummond.

Craig and Sharon Beeching have moved toPomonal, phone (03) 5356 6171 cnr RoweRoad and Pomonal-Halls Gap Road and are inthe process of selling their flower farm atLongford.

Neil Marriott and botanist Don Foreman(formerly of the Melbourne Herbarium) havebeen making a systematic survey of the flora ofthe Mildura Botanic Gardens.

Max McDowall

Grevillea Planting ProjectsAside from planting in our own gardens, weshould consider donating suitable selectedgrevillea plants of known provenance to localparks and native botanical gardens in ourrespective areas. In Melbourne, we have KarwarraGardens on Mt Dandenong (see article in this NL)and Maranoa Gardens in Balwyn, which aregrowing grevilleas grown by GSG members. Thenew Australian garden beds in the GeelongBotanic Gardens seen on a recent visit by theMaroondah District Group show very great promise.Possible future developments at the MilduraBotanic Gardens could provide another opportunity.We would be pleased to learn from Victorianmembers of any actual or potential projects in theirareas in which the study group could participate.

Future Excursions - your suggestions?Please send us suggestions for GSG field trips orgarden visits to your area. Having local input inour planning and local participation has been thekey to success in organising past activities. Maybewrite an article of interest for the GSG Newsletterabout your garden or travels or offer to write areport on one of our gardens visits or field trips.

Grevillea Trip WA 2001

After the excitement of successfully finding thenew Grevillea kirkalocka and new Banksiarosserae near Kirkalocka Station, there was therisk that the rest of the trip would be ananticlimax. However that was not to be -WesternAustralia is just so botanically rich and so poorlysurveyed that it was not long before we were inthe thick of new species again!

I had chosen Peter Olde as a travelingcompanion because like me he enjoys goodfood and good wine. He also knows a little bitabout Grevilleas!! Travelling with us on our tripto the Mt Magnet region was Keith Alcock,former leader of the Dryandra Study Group andaddicted plant hunter. Keith had shown ussome superb areas of bushland where rare andunusual Dryandra's and other WA beautiesabounded. Now we had to drop him back toPerth to return to his work and a comfortable bed!!

Several years ago we had found an entire leafform of what was regarded as G. biternata atCoomberdale to the north of Moora. Revisitingthe site we all agreed that this was indeed anew species. It is a really beautiful shrub toaround 1.5 metre with massed richly perfumedcreamy-white flowers and mostly simple, ashygrey leaves. It grows in low lying seasonally wetsites and as a result should prove to be a goodplant for cultivation as it obviously is not fussyabout drainage.

Having dropped off Keith and restocked withsupplies, Peter and I continued south to searchfor the rarest of all the subspecies of G.manglesii, that being ssp ornithopoda, a verydistinct taxa with long wedge-shaped leaves asthe latin name implies "shaped like a birds foot".We had searched unsuccessfully for it the yearbefore, so this time we went to a new location,a small reserve near Pinjarra south of Perth.Arriving at the site we were shocked to find thatthe ENTIRE reserve is totally choked out withWatsonia Lilies. These were so thick that theground flora had been all but destroyed. Anygrevilleas occurring here were doomed!!Eventually we found several big specimens ofssp ornithopoda and sure enough they were oldand senescent with no young plants coming onto replace them.


Neil Marriott

A fire had been through part of the reserve andall that came back after it was an even denserregrowth of Watsonias. Unless somethingurgent is done to control this terrible weed, thislovely grevillea and many other plants have thepotential of becoming extinct in the wild. Sadlythis is just one of many weeds that are out ofcontrol in bushland remnants in the West!

Heading up into the hills we followed in thefootsteps of an amazing retired couple Fredand Jean Hort from Perth. Together they havediscovered many new species of plants andmany more previously considered either extinctor extremely rare. The first grevillea theydiscovered was down in the Darling Range tothe west of York. We had collected the newspecies at this location last year Now we werepursuing it much further north in Mokine NatureReserve near Northam. G. sp nov aff acrobotryais confined to an extremely restricted communityon the tops of ridges where it grows in shallowsands -relicts of former deep sands that coveredthis region tens of thousands of years ago!!Closely related to G. acrobotrya from theBadgingarra-Eneabba region, the new specieshas similar chocolate flower buds, but has finer,divided foliage and makes an open, more erectshrub 1-2m high.

Further south we came upon a most distinct formof G. monticola and inspection immediatelyrevealed it to be a new subspecies with foliageand flowers quite different from the typical formfound around Boyagin Rocks and the DryandraState Forest. A further, quite distinct population ofG. sp nov aff acrobotrya recorded by Fred waslocated a little further on. However quite tragicallythis unique, silky stemmed population hadrecently been graded out and destroyed by atypically over zealous Western Australian graderdriver!! This is a common occurrence in the Westwhere the roadsides are being rapidly destroyedby the shires that manage them. I was recentlyadvised by a CALM officer of a population of anextremely rare eremophila that was graded outon a roadside despite being marked withProtected Flora signs -the grader driver pulledthese out and placed them against the fencebefore continuing on his destructive way!!

continued

It was then time to head south for one of themost elusive grevilleas in the West G.acropogon, the "Unicup Grevillea". It wasdiscovered a number of years previously in anisolated section of State Forest to the west ofFrankland in the wetter regions of the lowersouth west. Peter and I had searched for it atleast four times previously. The fact that wewere provided with incorrect GPS locations ontwo occasions certainly did not help, one evenfound us in the middle of a cleared paddock!!After traveling in towards the extensive swampsin the forest, we camped the night in a pineforest as close as we could to the given GPSlocation.

Awaking the next morning of September 11th wewere shocked to hear of the terrible events thatwere taking place in New York. It is a day thatmost of us will never forget. Peter and I certainlywill not, but for better reasons than the rest ofthe world!! It was to be the day we finallytracked down the elusive and most beautifulUnicup Grevillea.

After walking for what seemed an eternitythrough swampy open areas interspersed withsandy and gravelly rises, we finally reached thelatest "correct" GPS location -only to find it wasin the middle of a swamp!! We decided toradiate out in ever increasing circles and beforelong I came upon an old overgrown track. Iknew as soon as I found it that this would bewhere G. acropogon was discovered. No-onein their right mind would walk through thecountry we just had. Sure enough, after severalhundred metres, the ground rose slightly andthere was the grevillea. It was absolutelybeautiful - bright green deeply divided foliageand massed showy red flowers on lowmounded dense shrubs to 0.5 m high and up to2 m across. A thorough search of the areashowed that they were confined to this onelateritic island in the middle of the swamp. Nowonder it has only been collected oncepreviously.

By the time we trudged back to our car we wereall but stuffed, to put it mildly!! However we stillhad more grevilleas to hunt down. We headedfurther south to near Rocky Gully where wesearched for a most unusual divided leaf form ofG. diversifolia ssp subtersericata. At theNornalup National Park we came upon abeautiful area with G. pulchella ssp adscendens ,

6

deeply serrate leaf forms of G. quercifollia andG. trifida (syn G brevicuspis) - the latter is sodistinct with its patently divided leaves andsquat, sessile flowers that it clearly warrantsfurther research.

Before long we came upon plants of the dividedleaf form of G. diversifolia ssp subtersericata, itis quite different to all other populations andclearly warrants recognition as a newsubspecies. It also brings into question as towhether ssp subtersericata IS a subspecies or aspecies in its own right. Growing in the samelocation in large areas of swampland weremassed displays of spectacular Isopogonformosus. I have never seen such a spectaculardisplay with thousands of plants in full flowerreflected in the glassy water. Nearby werebeautiful shows of several pink boronias and thelovely white Crowea angustifolia. TheHypocalymma angustifolia in this region is mostshowy, being low and compact and turning fromsnowy white to a rich red as the flowers aged.

At the foot of Mt Frankland we found a mostdistinct form of G. pulchella that I first discoveredin 1981. Instead of the flowers being erect as inother populations, this form has attractivependulous flowers very similar to G. tenuiflora towhich it is closely related. This will probably turnout to be yet another new subspecies. Here wealso found the lovely small G. occidentalis,confined to a limited area on the south coast ofthe West.

From here we then began heading back on thelong journey home, with several important stop-offs on the way. The first of these was to theStirling Range where we were searching for awhite flowered grevillea collected there manyyears ago by Don McGillivray. Heading westalong Stirling Range Drive we could not believeour eyes when we found it, clearly a newspecies and growing en masse in several areasright along the roadside! How this most distinctgrevillea could go unnamed for so long in sucha popularly botanised part of the state defieslogic. It just shows how many more new plantsthere must still be in the wild just waiting to bediscovered. Growing in the same area were thelow growing G. crassifolia and not much furtheron we found G. fasciculata and G. pulchella ssppulchella.

February 2003 Grevillea Study Group No. 64

continued

Continuing east through Ravensthorpe, we thenheaded north along the superb Nindilbillup Rd.This area is full of beautiful plants and is still inquite good condition, for the present at least!!Grevilleas we noted included the attractive G.dolichopoda, G. cagiana, a distinct form of G.patentiloba and one of the West's most beautifulplants G. aneura with its spectacular pendantfiery red flowers. Further east along the LakeKing-Norseman Rd we were stunned by thewonderful roadside vegetation. This region isbeyond the wheat belt and as a result is weedfree and still in near pristine condition. Here wefound a form of G. incrassata, so distinct fromthe form growing around Southern Cross. Plantsare larger, with longer floral rachis' and theflower colour is more yellow rather than theorange-yellow of the Southern Cross population.Also here was the eastern race of the beautifulsmall G. beardiana, almost certainly a newsubspecies, as well as the unusual low growingsimple leaf race of G. oncogyne.

Finally we headed down and into the amazingPeak Charles National Park, sadly the entirepark had been razed by a wildfire and thebeauty of the area was considerably diminished.We even had difficulty in orientating ourselvesthe area had changed so much. However wedid find the attractive, deeply divided leaf formof G. oncogyne reshooting vigorously fromlignotubers. Their bright red flowers stood outamongst the regrowth. After a night camped atthe base of the Peak we headed off on our wayfor the long drive back across the Nullarbor. Ourfinal stop was to the south-west of Kimba wherewe rolled out our swags at some ungodly hour.After a short sleep we awoke with sunrise togaze across the miles of crops that have foreverchanged this region. The now rare G. sarissassp umbellifera occurs here in limited numbers onthe roadside. This beautiful grevillea is so distinctfrom G. sarissa that it warrants reinstatementas a species in its own right. We collected a fewcuttings and then continued on our way.

We had achieved so much and seen so manybeautiful plants, however there is still so muchmore to be done in the West so it will be backagain next year. We must thank the GrevilleaStudy Group for assistance with travel expenses,Neville Marchant and all his wonderful staff atthe Perth Herbarium for their support andassistance and Keith Alcock for his generoushospitality and company.


continued

Grevillea Park BulliOPEN DAYS 2003

Saturday - Sunday July 19-20Saturday - Sunday July 26-27

Unfortunately the dates for the open dayshave had to be changed.

They were to be the last two weekends inSeptember but are now:

Saturday - Sunday September 27-28Saturday - Sunday October 4-5

(Saturday & Sunday of the long weekend)

The park is open from 10am to 4pm.For more information check the websitewww.speedlink.com.au/users/ziebell/grevillea/

G. manglesii subsp. ornithopodaThe Grevillea Book, Vol. 3 (N. Marriott)

Lost In Space-Rare species face stupidity outbreaks

Reprinted from “Science Watch” with permission fromSunday Herald Sun, May 18, 2003.

Plant and animal conservation is a field litteredwith horror stories of bad decision making andsimple stupidity.

Back in the 1980s, a Perth doctor who owned afarm near Albany, in the south of WA, wearied ofnative plant lovers asking permission to collectseed from one of Australia's rarest banksias, theprostrate Banksia goodiispecies. So our gentlemanfarmer ploughed them in, more than 1000 plants,about half the remaining population of theendangered species.

Western Australia has strong legislation toprotect its native plants and there are heavyfines for collecting seeds in the wild or pickingflowers. But at that time the sanctions did notapply to private land, and the doctor was notprosecuted for his stupid, selfish act.

Even those employed to protect wild speciessometimes fail to apply scientific principles totheir work, or to exercise simple common sense.The results can be disastrous.

My friend and fellow native plant enthusiast NeilMarriott is one of Australia's leading experts onthe genus Grevillea. In his travels throughoutAustralia with fellow expert Peter Olde he hasidentified dozens of new species during thepast two decades, some of them very rare.

Marriott lives at Great Western, not far from theGrampians (Gariwerd) National Park, which hasspectacular native flora with many rare species.

In 1993, I wrote an article about Marriott's role inthe rediscovery of Grevillea williamsonii, one ofthe rarest grevilleas in Victoria, after it had beenmissing, presumed extinct, for a century.

A local schoolteacher and amateur naturalist,H.B.Williamson, discovered a small stand ofthis beautiful species in 1893, near Mt Abrupt inthe Southern Grampians, but the area wassubsequently ravaged by fire and repeatedsearches in the 20th century failed to locateany living specimens.

Then, in 1993, another amateur naturalist foundan unusual grevillea festooned with smallyellow, orange and red flowers 7km north ofwhere Williamson had discovered the species.


Graeme O’Neill

The newly discovered stand consisted of only17 plants. Marriott confirmed that it was indeedG. williamsonii. Not only did their descriptionperfectly match herbarium specimens of the lostspecies, these plants shared the original plants'ability to set seed without producing pollen, a traitcalled apomixis.

Subsequent studies suggested G. williamsoniiwas merely a rare mutant form of thewidespread species G. aquifolium, but Marriottobserves that the latter is enormously variablethroughout its range, and in time will probablybe reclassified into half a dozen differentspecies, of which G. williamsonii will be themost distinctive.

Marriott was a member of the special recoveryteam that set out to conserve the last stand ofthe species. A thorough search by ParksVictoria found no more plants in more than800ha of heathland that was otherwise identical tothe plant community in which it was found.Then, in the mid 1990s, the rare grevilleasbegan dying. Someone visiting the area to studythe plants had inadvertently introduced sporesof the virulent root-rot fungus Phytopthoracinnamomi.

The study group urged Parks Victoria topropagate cuttings taken from the plantsMelbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens successfullypropagated 13 of the original 17 plants. Therewere numerous seedlings in the area, butMarriott says one of the local Parks Victoriarangers told him all these regenerating plantshad succumbed to the fungus.

Parks Victoria required anyone visiting the siteto immerse their boots in a fungicide bathmuch too late. The last time Marriott saw theplants only a few remained alive and he fearsthe species may be extinct in the Grampians.

He says he suggested to a senior Parks Victoriaofficer that some of the plants propagated by thebotanic gardens be reintroduced not into theoriginal, fungusinfected site, but into selectedparts of the 800ha identified as suitable habitat forthe species.

It hasn't happened. Marriott says a senior ParksVictoria officer told him that to introduce theplants into areas where they did not growpreviously would be interfering with naturalprocesses. But it was human carelessness anunnatural process that destroyed the last wildplants of the species.

continued

In WA, where there are hundreds of rare plantspecies, the Department of Conservation andLand Management is not so squeamish aboutinterfering with nature. For example, it hasreplanted hundreds of cutting grown plants ofthe rare little cream flowered G. scapigera in thewild near Quairading, east of Perth, to ensure itsurvives in the wild.

But the story does not end there. Eight yearsago, another bushwalker and amateur naturalistwalking in the northern Grampians, near RosesGap, spotted an unfamiliar grevillea growing justoff the walking track. There was a single plant andnothing else like it in the vicinity.

Marriott visited the site, and immediatelyrecognised it as a new species. Parks Victoriatook herbarium specimens, and other botanistsagreed it was a new species represented by onlyone surviving plant. The low, mounding plant hadrelatively inconspicuous toothbrush flowers, butits new growth was a deep, rich red, so it hadsome horticultural potential.

Some local rocks were mounded up around theprecious plant to protect it. Marriott soughtpermission from a Parks Victoria officer to takecuttings, but his request was denied. No cuttingscould be taken from national parks.

It was a contradictory decision, given that cuttingshad been taken from G. williamsonii severalyears earlier. The plant, protected from peoplepassing along the trail only by a few rocks, wasleft to its fate.

Room to grow: even the vast Grampians couldnot nurture the only plant of a new species. Twoyears ago, the local ranger left, and a new onearrived. Nobody told the new ranger about whatcould accurately be described as the world's rarestgrevillea. The new ranger brought in a localcontractor with a bulldozer to widen the walkingtrail near Roses Gap and guess what happened?

Fortunately, someone fearing for its survival gavesome cuttings to Marriott, who successfullypropagated the species by grafting. The as yetundescribed species has not been lost but itsurvives only in cultivation. Mistakes areinevitable in conservation but the decisionmaking in these two cases was deeply flawed.


continued

The act of establishing a national park to protectthe plants and animals within it is an interferencewith nature. There is no place for mysticism inscientific conservation. That a rare plant speciescould be allowed to slip into extinction in the wildbecause of some strange notion it is "unnatural"to intervene, defies belief.

G. williamsonii, The Grevillea BookVol. 3 (N. Marriott)

Grevillea SG & Boronia and AlliedGenera SG Combined Field Trip toGippsland

November 2002.

Incorporating additional comments by Peter Olde andNeil Marriott.

Participants: Max & Regina McDowall, Neil Marriott& Wendy Renzi and Alan Anderson fromVictoria. Peter Olde & Tony Henderson, Ray &Andrew Brown and Bruce Wallace from NSW.Joan Duffel & Jan Simpson from Canberra. Craig& Sharon Beeching, Duncan Fraser & PeterMadden and Martin Swanson from Gippsland.

The main objectives of this field trip were toexplore populations of Grevilleas chrysophaea,lanigera and miqueliana ssp. moroka for theGSG and populations of species of RutaceaeTribe Boronieae - Crowea exalata , Boroniasanemonifolia and citriodora, Philotheca verrucosa,Correa reflexa and Zieria sp. for the BSG. Thecombined-groups field trip was planned as anextension of the one-day Field Trip organisedby Marilyn Gray (BSG leader) concluding theweekend 2002 Fred Rogers Biennial Seminaron 'Boronias and Other Fragrant Friends'.

Thanks especially to Craig Beeching of Saleand his contacts with local plant people, and toNeville Walsh of the Melbourne Herbarium wewere able to produce an itinerary whichincorporated those objectives. We alsoacknowledge with thanks the advice andparticipation of Duncan Fraser of Maffra and hisfriend Peter Madden, Martin Swanson ofWildtech Nursery near Glenmaggie, andinformation provided by John Cane (son of BillCane), by Alf and (the late) Esma Salkin onBanksia canei and Asteraceae locations, andthe DNRE Ranger from Heyfield for a locationof G. miqueliana ssp. moroka on the WellingtonTrack, and a possible location of G. alpina? onKelly's Lane near Tamboritha Saddle. Craig hadadvised us that Holey Plains State Park did notmerit a return visit at this time because ofrecent fires and the drought.

Neil Marriott as APS Vic President participatedin the Seminar Field Trip on the Monday, whileRegina and I needed the morning to organiseourselves after hosting one of the Seminargarden visits on the Sunday. The NSW GSG


Max McDowall

participants and Peter Olde (who had beenstaying with us) met at Healesville and went ona separate excursion led by Alan Anderson toview G. alpina and G. repens on Chum Creek(Healesville-Kinglake) north of Healesville andlater G. monslacana on Lake Mountain. It was acold showery day, and they were greeted bysnow on arrival at the car park on the mountain.Fortunately, G. monslacana was only 2 minuteswalk away, but the weather hindered anyfurther exploration of the population.Nonetheless flowering specimens were seenand observed under the weight of heavy snow.Peter comments "although so close to the vehicleswe nearly froze and the experience shows howdangerous such weather conditions can be".

The main rendezvous about 14.30 hr was at theSeven Acre Rock car park in the Bunyip StateForest Park SE of Warburton, whence a shortwalk to the summit revealed local Rutaceaespecies Leionema biloba, Zieria arborescens,Philotheca myoporoides and Correa lawrenceanavar. labtrobeana as well as Callistemon pallidus,Prostanthera melissifolia, and Epacris impressa.The Lake Mountain party arrived shortly afterthe rest of us had returned from the summit. Onour way out of the Park we saw the spectaculardisplay of the orange flowers of Oxylobiumarborescens, a bushy upright 2.5 m shrub.

We arrived at the residence of Craig andSharon Beeching near Longford about 18.00 hr.and were glad to shelter inside away from thecold wind, while Craig and Sharon put on abarbecue. After an enjoyable evening, includinga talk by Neil Marriott and some slides we wereglad to bed down on numerous air mattressesprovided by our hosts. We resumed viewingtheir garden and flower farm next morning.

Notable amongst the many grevilleas in theBeeching garden were G. magnifica ssp.magnifica and ssp. remota, G thyrsoides ssp.thyrsoides (two forms) and ssp. pustulosa , G.flexuosa, G. petrophiloides forms, G.maccutcheonii, and insignis to name but a few.Craig had made good use of our seed of theSandy Beach (NSW) form of Xerochrysumbracteatum, as the vivid golden yellow flowerswere on show throughout his garden bedsaround the house among Anigozanthoshybrids, 'Big Red', 'Yellow Gem', 'Gold Fever'and 'Pink Joey'.

continued

In the flower farm Craig and Sharon weregrowing 46 species including G. 'Moonlight','Honey Gem', ‘Sylvia’ and 'Firesprite', Banksiacoccinea, (860 plants), baxteri, praemorsa,media, grandis and tricuspis, Dryandraformosa, Actinotus helianthi, Leptspermumrotundifolium 'Lavender Queen', L. nitidum,Scholzia capitata and exotics Brunia albifloraand Berzelia lanuginosa.

We then departed for a neighbouring propertyoff Vale Road where we saw a population of G.lanigera about 40 cm (suckering?) and whatappeared to be a few hybrids with G.rosmarinifolia (origin unknown) growing in openregenerating heathland.

We had a rendezvous at Lake Glenmaggie withDuncan Fraser and Martin Swanson whoshowed us the local population of G. lanigeragrowing under an overstorey of Eucalyptustricarpa ironbark trees. It included a smallgroup of plants with cream/white flowersbelieved to be descendents of one of theputative parents of G. 'Clearview John'introduced by Bill Cane. Proceeding to theHeyfield Flora Reserve next to the encroachingtown tip we saw Philotheca verrucosa,Persoonia juniperina. and G. chrysophaeaabout 1.5 x 1.2 m having flowers with a thick,rusty indumentum like the Brisbane Rangepopulations of the species and unlike thealmost glabrous clear-yellow forms growing inthe Holey Plains State Park. Duncan has sincereported to me that plants with near-glabrouspale yellow flowers also occur on a mountainridge near Hugget road above the Avon River.

Martin led us to visit his Wildtech Nurserynorthwest of Lake Glenmaggie where we wereamazed and impressed with the scale of hisproduction. That morning his team had loadeda shipment of 15,000 plants into one truck. Allcuttings are set individually, directly intogrowing medium incorporating fertiliser in smallpropagating tubes, and struck over bottomheat. He generously allowed us to select sometubes of plants from the nursery.

The road to Licola follows the open valley andhillsides of the Macalister River, but risesthrough natural bush over Burgoyne Saddlebypassing a large bend in the river. Martinaccompanied us as far as Burgoyne Saddle en


route to Licola, stopping on the way to show usthe type population of the rare mauve-floweredGoodenia macmillanii . At the saddle he showedus, on very steep dry rocky hillsides, plants ofG. chrysophaea 1.5 x 1.2 m, Banksia canei,Philotheca verrucosa, Derwentia perfoliata andDodonaea viscosa and Calytrix tetragona.

Open, cleared land ensued all the way to LicolaVillage, an old forestry settlement now operatedby the Lions Club for tourist and school parties,with accommodation in a series of bunkhousecottages for over 200 visitors. The village issituated at the confluence of the WellingtonRiver and the Macalister River. Several of theparty stayed at one of the village bunkhouses,while the NSW push elected to camp up theWellington valley beside the river where thetrickling water of the trout stream encouragedthe view that they were a million miles fromnowhere instead of just beside the main road.

On the Wednesday morning the party fromLicola, Neil Marriott, Wendy Renzi and MartinSwanson assembled where NSW clique werecamped and explored the local hillside wherethere were plants of G. chrysophaea about 1mhigh. Next stop was the bridge across theWellington River and the renowned WellingtonRiver Walking Track to Tali Karng whereDuncan Fraser had reported seeing a profusepopulation of G. miqueliana ssp moroka, towardthe confluence with Crolls Gorge Creek. Thetrack involved frequent river crossings for whichwe were ill-equipped, and at the secondcrossing we turned back. Along the track werenumerous plants of Banksia canei andBossiaea buxifolia 1 m high. It was here thatthose less adept and awkward of balance werefound out as they tried to recross the river usingslippery submerged rocks to stay upright.Needless to say a number took a bath.

Alongside the gravel section of TamborithaRoad above the bridge, climbing steeply out ofthe valley, we observed Persoonia confertifloraas well as more plants of Banksia canei, G.chrysophaea and G. lanigera, including somenatural grevillea hybrids. These were propagatedby Martin Swanson who kindly sent us 30plants from 5 clones for trialling and distributionamong the Victorian GSG members. We hopeto compare results of these plants in 1-2 yrs' time.

continued

Near the top of the climb to the BennisonLookout at the start of the track to Dinner CreekFalls, we explored the roadside flora further,looking for Crowea exalata which we did notfind, and also G. chrysophaea and G. lanigera.The road past the Lookout continued alongBennison Spur past the Tamboritha Saddle tothe junction with Kellys Lane at 'Thomastown',alongside the beautiful rocky banks of ShawCreek, festooned with low mounded specimensof G. australis just coming into flower, with thetrailing Goodenia hederacea var. alpestris,Persoonia chamaepeuce and Olearia frostii.

We continued up Kellys Lane in the 4WDsalong Bennison Plain near Mt Tamboritha andHolmes Plain to the Howitt Road in anunsuccessful search for G. alpina reported tooccur there by the Ranger from Heyfield. Wereturned to our cars at Thomastown.

Thursday was planned as our big day toNeilsons Crag (The Watchtower) in search of G.miqueliana ssp moroka. We were joined atLicola by Duncan Fraser and his friend PeterMadden. We followed our previous trail upTamboritha Road to Arbuckle Junction wherewe turned right (east) into Moroka Road andthen travelled 9 km north along Douglas PlainRoad, part of the way in the 4WDs, to the startof the walking track. It was an easy 1km walkalong the top of the escarpment to NeilsonsCrag where we found several shrubs of theMoroka Grevillea (1.5 x 2 m) with red flowers. Itwas difficult to choose between the spectacularpanoramic views and the interesting plants. TheGrevilleas were in good flower and got theshutter-bugs working overtime. Ray Brownfound a beautiful deep pink-mauve low-growingform of Crowea exalata right on the edge of theprecipice. Also observed were Acaciasiculiformis, Persoonia asperula, P. confertiflora,P. chamaepeuce, Pomaderris sp, Baeckearamosissima and (you guessed it!) G.chrysophaea. Eucalyptus glaucescens andNematolepis ovatifolia are also reported tooccur there. Walking back to the carpark weobserved many Grevillea miqueliana clinging toridge-top on steep slopes.

After lunch we continued a further 8.3 km eastalong Moroka road to Marfarlanes Saddlewhere yellow Leionema phylicifolia and purpleHovea montana , Celmisias and yellow daisies


produced a striking flower show, then a further5.3 km to the top of the Wellington Track, wherewe continued in the 4WDs. Along the track wewere surprised by an unusually floriferous formof Pimelea axiflora with numerous flowers ineach leaf axil, instead of the more familiar 1 or2. At a ford over the Moroka River 2.5 km downthe track, we found our goal, a larger-leafedform of the G. miqueliana ssp grevillea (1.2 x 2m) , bearing several beautiful red flowers. Thisspecimen does not key out properly to ssp.moroka. Back at Moroka Road, the NSWechelon departed for home via Licola (see reportbelow by Peter Olde). The rest of the partyreturned independently to Licola.

Regina and I stopped at the Dinner CreekGorge Car Park where we saw the purpleBrachyscome spathulata and made anunsuccessful search for Crowea exalata,reported to occur nearby and along theroadside. We then checked several locationsdescribed by Neville Walsh along theWellington River, and were successful in findingvariable hybrids between Prostantheras rhombeaand hirtula, shrubs about 50 x 120 cm, just atthe foot of the hillside about 200 m back fromthe road, about 8 km downstream from the startof the Tali Karng track and 3 km north of'Welcola' the Traralgon High School camp.Near the top of a rise in the road just south ofthe Cherry Tree Campsite we followed a trailabove the road cutting to the crest of awestward spur, south of a big bend in theWellington River, and located Boroniaanemonifolia, Tetratheca ciliata, Oleariaviscosa, Ozothamnus sp. and Brachyscome sp.The view along the two reaches of theWellington River 70 m below was spectacular.It was nearing dark when we returned to thebunkhouse at Licola, and the others in the partywere getting concerned about our safety.

We gained the clear impression that both G.lanigera and G. chrysophaea were ubiquitousthroughout the region from the coastal plains tothe high plains. G. chrysophaea ranges in heightfrom the 20 cm in Holey Plains to (reportedly)over 2 metres in the mountains along theHugget road above the Avon River accessiblefrom the eastern side of Lake Glenmaggie.Clearly, further exploration would be needed todetermine the its full range of occurrence andmorphological variation.

continued

Friday morning, we all departed for home.Regina and I decided to detour throughLabertouche. We passed the population ofBoronia muelleri low form at about 3 km fromthe Labertouche turnoff and the tall form at 15km. Nearby was the rare tree, G. barklayana.Along the Falls walking track were trailingplants of Tetratheca stenocarpa, Bauerarubioides white to palest pink, and Epacrisimpressa. We started climbing back through theBunyip State Park to the Yarra Valley when theyellow fuel gauge light came on. We continuedcautiously along the range past the Seven AcreRock carpark and the Oxylobium arborescens,until, thankfully we were descending towardPowelltown. We continued another 30 kmdownhill to Yarra Junction without the enginecutting out (got to be lucky!).

Licola to Jamieson via theHeyfield-Jamieson Road

Peter Olde

The trip north along the Heyfield - Jamiesonwas truly one of the most inspiring tracks of thetrip, affording spectacular views from Mt Skeneas well as exciting and unexpected finds. Thefirst surprise were large plants of what lookedlike G. miqueliana on the side of a hill incandlewood forest c. 39 km from Licola towardsJamieson. A close inspection of the leaves withtheir appressed silky indumentum on theundersurface revealed these plants to be G.victoriae ssp. victoriae . The plants were morerobust and floriferous than G. miqueliana ssp.moroka. We travelled to the top of Mt Skenewhere we saw an abundance of G. australisclumping around rocks in a meadow-likeenvironment. These were not in flower but gavequite an attractive appearance to thelandscape. Below the lookout we found anotherpopulation of G. victoriae, but these plants hadmuch narrower leaves and seemed almost tobe a separate species. Finally after severalhours of dusty road with beautiful verges andscenery, we arrived on dusk at Jamieson wellsatisfied with the last leg and the trip overall.


G. victoriae, The Grevillea Book,Vol. 3 (N. Marriott)

Grevilleas in Tassie

Our small group of Grevillea enthusiastshaven't got together for quite a while, althoughwe all take advantage of visiting each other'sgardens when the opportunity occurs. An APSSociety member who transferred to Tassie fromSouth Australia has joined the list of grevilleabuffs. Nigel Clarke is a keen collector and withhis wife Sue they have started a garden on alovely site at Fossil Cove with impossible soiland a much-loved family of native animals.Despite this Nigel is now growing over 100species or cultivars and is always on thelookout for new gems. Last year for the second

Grevilleas in Blackburn

Here is a survey of the growth conditions of a number of Grevilleas that I have or have had growingin an eastern suburb of Melbourne. The plants with poor growth or flowering will be replaced withalternatives as a further experiment.

Grevillea Grafted Soil Growth Flowering in October

beadleana Yes Heavy clay Excellent Excellentbracteosa Yes 30cm sandy over clay Excellent Excellent

(trunk horizontal for 20cm)candelabroides Yes (grew too large 30cm sandy over clay Excellent Excellent

for position, removed)erectiloba Yes Heavy clay Fair to Good Someeriostachya Yes Heavy clay Fair Fewexcelsior Yes Heavy clay Very good Spectacularfililoba No 30cm sandy over clay Excellent Excellentgeorgeana Yes Heavy clay Excellent Excellentinsignis Yes Heavy clay Very good Excellentjuncifolia Yes (centre of Heavy clay Fair Fair

bush looks dead, black)'Long John' No (blew over, cut back Heavy clay Excellent Excellent

to 30cm now 3m high)oligomera Yes Heavy clay Fair to good Excellentparadoxa Yes Heavy clay Fair to good Goodpetrophiloides Yes Heavy clay Excellent Excellentpimelioides Yes 30cm sandy over clay Half dead Somerigida Yes Heavy clay Excellent Excellent

(about 0.5m high)spinosa x juncifolia? Yes (young, possibily too Heavy clay Fair - good Some

much shade from georgeana)tetragoniloba Yes Heavy clay Excellent Excellentthyrsoides Yes (on a standard rootstock, 30cm sandy over clay Excellent Excellent

my oldest grevillea,about 7 yrs)


Paul Niehoff

time we visited the garden of Jim and SarahKitchin at Sandford and they have adelightful garden very near the beach withexcellent drainage. Along with many lovelyAustralian plants they are growing a largerange of grevilleas.

We were invited to Kitty Courtney'sextensive garden at Tinderbox recently whereshe is growing exotics as well as natives. Thegarden was ablaze with colour and the manycallistemon species were putting on a greatshow late last year when we visited. Kitty andher husband have built a lovely home on asteep slope that overlooks Northwest Bay with

Jeanette Closs, Kingston

continued

a mind-blowing view. She has many grevilleasand was concerned that some were not doingwell. It was hard to decide what the problemwould be as the site was well drained andsunny. Winds may have been part of theproblem and maybe the soil structure wasn'tideal. However she was happy with our visitand our comments. Rob Massom is building uphis collection of grevilleas and promises us avisit to his garden at Taroona when the time isright. Some of these folk are not members ofthe Australian Plants society or of the GrevilleaStudy Group but are Grevillea enthusiasts andmaybe in time will join us officially.

One of our keenest members is Ian Picken,whose property in the hills to the west of Hobartis exposed to snow and other plant unfriendlyconditions such as very poor soil, hares,possums and rabbits. Ian does a lot ofpropagating and is a successfully growing manyspecies that would be unlikely to success in hisconditions,. He has even managed to flower aG. banksii var. forsteri in a shaded position. Weplan a trip to his garden next September andwe shall endeavour to send a report of thisouting to the newsletter.

My garden at Kingston is still displaying a largerange of grevilleas along with lots of otherspecial Australian plants. I did have 150 struckcuttings stolen from my pots in my mini-nurserylate last year. They were well struck and fairlyrecently potted cuttings. The rotten thievesmust have known what they were doing as theyselected the best and most interestinggrevilleas and only three other species, leavingbehind the few sick looking plants.

Recent additions to the garden are G. 'Firesprite'and G. 'Bonfire' purchased from a chain store inHobart. The first sounds like good value asdescribe in Newsletter No 63 but I have notfound a reference to the latter - the label saysthat it grows to 1.5m x 2m. Can anyone tell memore? G. bedggoodiana and G. maccutcheoniicame from Redbreast Nursery at Margate. Ittook me some time to find a reference to therare G. maccutcheonii but I eventually found it inGrevillea Newsletter No 46. They are doing well.

My friend Les Payne from Pulchella Nurserypanders to my collector's passion and last yearprovided me with G. wilsoni, G. rogersi, G.quercifolia, G monticola and G. diffusa ssp.filipendula . Cuttings from friends produced G.'Lemon Surprise' and G. sp. 'Woodlands". Both


have greyish lobed leaves, but I can find verylittle information. Peter Olde suggested that G.'Lemon Surprise' may be a G. olivacea crossregistered in SA. Can anyone provideinformation? When they flower, it may be easier.

Amongst the plants that I purchased at theGrevillea seminar in the Grampians was agrafted G. 'Billy Bonkers' and G. rhyolitica, bothof which flower most of the time. G. rhyolitica isa great favourite of mine and I have struckmany cuttings as all my friends are asking forplants. I have a large plant of G. 'Winpara Gem'and one of G. 'Winpara Gold' which have neverflowered. I had read that if they are pruned theywill flower and when the wind badly damagedthe former, we cut it back, but did it flower?No11 But the 'Winpara Gold' did. How can weexplain that? The flowers were lovely buthidden in the foliage.

A concern that someone may be able to helpme with is my G. 'Moonlight' plants. Theyproduce flower buds galore, but in almost allcases the buds just drop off. I can see noinsects that might be eating them and I havetried recently feeding them with a seaweedfertiliser, but so far no improvement. My friendNorma Ali brings beautiful flowering specimensto our meetings and I am green with envy.

Yackandandah Update

By Martin Rigg and Diana Leggat

Our garden has survived the drought by 9months of hand and hose watering. Rain hasnow stimulated new growth, budding and earlyflowers. Plenty of sun and daily warmth inbetween reasonable rain over the past monthhas encouraged the "patient plants". No frost sofar now it is June but the first cold break is duelater this week, including gales.

The drought did get even on me - my youngcentrepiece, Grevillea flexuosa , did the switchoff trick in January -DEAD. This cutting grownplant grew rapidly to 2 m and the flowers werewonderful last season. Was it drought affected- no natural rain (but plenty of hand watering),and high continuous heat? Maybe the soiltemperature was too high? Or was it faultywiring, destined never to endure? I shall haveto source another and keep it long enough to doa graft or two for better survival. Most otherGrevilleas are doing fine.

A new member in Coonalpyn, SA

By John Edmonds-Wilson

I am an APS member with the Parrakie Groupin country South Australia. Along with my wifePam and parents we run a 5,500 acre farm onwhich we mostly crop winter crops such aswheat, barley, canola, beans, lentils, lupins,oats etc. We also run some cattle as well. Oursoil types range from sandy clay loams to quiteheavy clays on the flat country (our croppingcountry). The soils there are neutral to slightlyalkaline in the topsoil becoming (generally)highly alkaline at depth. However, on the sandhill country (which is where we mostly run ourcattle), the soil is an acidic to neutral pH, non-wetting white to yellow sand up to 15 foot deep.Our average annual rainfall is 450 mm althoughwe didn't get even close to that in 2002.

We also have within the 5,500 acres, 1,000acres of heritage listed mallee scrub. Thespecies within it are quite diverse as a result ofthe variable soil types and topography. Includedwithin it is Grevillea ilicifolia, and not far away isa very nice form of G. lavandulacea.

In and around our house and garden I have,amongst other things, a range of differentGrevillea species, although never enough (mywife might not agree with that statement!). Themajority of species that I have chosen to grow(mostly Western Australian) appear to be rightat home in our soil type and climate. Somehowever show some signs of lime-inducedchlorosis, which if I treat and can get them tolive for the next couple of years, appear to growthrough the problem. Presumably they acidifythe soil around their roots? I am fortunate thatwe have some heavy earth moving equipment,so if I wish to grow something near the house Ican get a truckload of the right soil and make agarden bed to suit the plant.

I have also been including Grevilleas in my treeplantings in the paddocks, where thay have gotzero watering or extra attention. Successesinclude G. magnifica, G. pterosperma, G. albiflora,G. leucopteris, G. triloba and G. superba.

I consider myself a very keen (but learning)novice when it comes to Grevilleas so I havejoined the Study Group so that I can learn a bitmore about these magnificent plants.


G. lavandulacea, The Grevillea Book,Vol. 2 (N. Marriott)

Thanks very much to Alison Baileyfor all the work she did in publishingthe newsletter for the last 15 years.

She produced a high qualitynewsletter with flair and initiative,

and usually at short notice!

Alison's work commitments have now left theway open for Belinda Guthrie to take overthe job. Please email any articles for the

GSG newsletter to Belinda -

[email protected].

Articles are needed in early February, Juneand September each year.

candelabroides plurijuga uprightcrithmifolis polybotryadecora pterosperma SADryandri ssp pterosperma WAendlicheriana pteridifoliaeriobotrya pulchellaglauca pyramidalisgoodii quercifoliahuegelii refractaleucopteris robustamoniticola stenobotryapetrophiloides teretifoliapilulifera

A. The mix I used is sterile anyway and I have used no further fungicide and not had any trace of fungus on any of the seedlings. I havepotted on using the small Yates peat pots, usingthe same type of mix, then planted straight into the garden soil when there is four or fiveleaves on the seedlings. I remove the bottomof the peat pots and let the young roots growstraight into the garden soil. What is this aboutTassie's dubious summer !!!? The weather thisyear has been beautiful and warm, with low humidity, what more can a young plant ask for?

kbranksome @aol.com

A. What are these peat pots you talk about? They're not the compressed ones obviously. And you continue with peat/vermiculite/ perlite mixture? I've always gone over to the potting mix/perlite mix, and that's usually when I lose them [if they’re going to cark]

Margaret Moir

A. I have been taking cuttings of grevilleas among other things for over 15 years professionally. I use a mix of one part peat to 3 parts pearlite. Keep warm and don't let it dry out. Perhaps cover with a plastic bag. If cleanliness is observed and cuttings are disease free fungicide isn't necessary.

Mark Ross


Your Questions & Answers

Q. I want to start doing some cuttings for a friend. What's the best mix to use and do I need to use fungicide? I have the hormone gel for semi hardened off cutting.

Brenda Galey, Vic

A. No real secrets, seed mix 1 part peatmoss, 1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite - kept moistonly. Seeds are soaked overnight in hot to start water with a little fungicide (mancozeb)weak strength, added. I propagate in a Yatesmini greenhouse during Dec, Jan, Feb. Success with grevillea's, refracta, wickhamii, nematophylla, eryngioides, leucopteris, quercifolia. I have potted all these on and now transferred to the garden, all growing well.

[email protected] (Tasmania)

A. It's interesting that you soak the seeds infungicide. Have you treated the seedlings as well,or does this prevent fungus forming in them?

Secondly, what sort of potting mix for the youngplants? I often have my first problems when Imove from the sterile vermiculite type seed-raising mix onto the "grower" stage. I've trieddifferent blends of potting mix with perlite etc,but never been really happy with them. Lastly,I assume the mini-hothouse is to compensatefor Tasmania's dubious summer.......probablynot necessary where summers are hotter?

Margaret. Moir

Seed Bank

Judy Smith has been the Seed Bank Officerfor many years and she would like to have abreak. The job doesn't require a lot of time soif anyone is interested in taking over from Judyplease contact Peter Olde.Thanks to Judy for all the work she has done.

$1.50 + s.a.e.

Please note new phone number for Judy Smith(Seed Bank) 9579 1136Please include a stamped self addressedenvelope to Judy Smith,15 Cromdale Street Mortdale, 2223

Free + s.a.e.

G. banksii tree longistylabanksii grey leaf petrophiloidesbarklyana phanerophlebiacaleyi rivularisCaloundra Gem robustaCopper Rocket scortechiniiendlicheriana Sid ReynoldsExcellence stenobotryajohnsonii Superbajuncifolia thelemannianaleucopteris trilobalinearfolia white trifidalongifolia venusta

White Wings

Financial Report - July 2003

Income

Subcriptions $740.75Seeds 9.00Interest 0.94Donations 15.00

$750.69

Expenditure

Newsletter Publishing $620.00Postage 142.00Stationery 13.65

$775.65

$10,441.89 in Interest Bearing Deposit tillJanuary 14 2003.

$9,021.22 in Business Cheque Account fromAutumn Plant Sale.

Balance in Current Account as at 4/7/03 is$3,879.32

Office Bearers

LeaderPeter Olde138 Fowler Rd, Illawong 2234(02) 9543 2242 [email protected]

Treasurer and Newsletter EditorChristine GuthriePO Box 275, Penshurst 2222Phone / Fax (02) 9579 4093

Curator of Living CollectionNeil MarriottPO Box 107, Stawell 3380 Vic

Curator of Grevillea Park BulliRay Brown29 Gwythir Avenue, Bulli 2516(02) 4284 9216


If a cross appears in the box, your subscription of$5.00 is due.Please send to the Treasurer, ChristineGuthrie, PO Box 275, Penshurst 2222.Please make all cheques payable to theGrevillea Study Group.

2002 2003

Email Group

This email group was begun by John and RuthSparrow from Queensland. Free membership.

To subscribe, go to groups.yahoo.com and register,using the cyber-form provided. You must provide auser name and password as well as your emailaddress to enable continuing access to the sitewhich houses all emails and discussions to date.

You will receive a confirming email back andthen you are able to access the site whereinyou can select the groups to which you wouldlike to subscribe. In this case search for"grevilleas" and then subscribe.

Following this you will receive the latest emailsregularly in your email to which you canrespond. This is a good way to encourage newgrowers and those interested in the genus.

Postmessage: [email protected]

Subscribe: [email protected]

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URL to this page:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grevilleas

On-line Contact1. President’s email [email protected]

2. The email [email protected]

3. URL for Grevillea Study Group websitehttp://users.bigpond.net.au/macarthuraps/gevillea_study_group.htm

association of societies for growing australian plants

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