Australian Plants Society Victoria Open Forum Google Group

Maurits, please introduce yourself

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:32:33 UT

Hi Maurits - thanks for posting the photographs. Please tell us about
yourself. Are you growing these Australian plants in the Netherlands?

By the way, the Phormium is not actually Australian, it's from New
Zealand.

Best wishes and happy gardening
Elaine

Orchid ID

koo...@hotkey.net.au (Cathy) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:50:22 UT

Hello Vinny
The orchid image you have posted looks like Cyanicula caerulea (common name - Blue Fingers).
If you are interested in orchid ID, I can offer some insight by referring you to my website which is located at [link]
Cathy

Purple orchid I.D?

half_roo_half_...@hotmail.com (vinny) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:01:13 UT

Went for a wander through some bushland near Bendigo and noticed lots
fo things are starting to flower :).
Observed heaps of Ptereostylis and Diuris pardina orchids aswell as a
few Acacia's (gunnii, acinacea, williamsoni, pyncantha & hakiodes) and
pea a flower (Davesia ulicifolia).
But I came across one orchid in particular I couldn't put a name to, I

Ash, what plant are your beautiful photos?

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:39:47 UT

Ash, you have posted three photographs of a fluffy red flower on a
plant with pinnate leaves. What is the plant? If you can, please
change the file name to the plant name, or can you tell other members
what it is and we can change the file name for you?
Thanks, Elaine

Eucalypt hybrids

half_roo_half_...@hotmail.com (vinny) — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:38:56 UT

Walking through some forest not far out of Wallan not long ago I come
across a Eucalypt I couldn't put a name on, E. rubida and E. obliqua
were both present in the area and the unknown Eucalypt seemed to
possess traits of both.
Is anyone familiar with such a Eucalypt hybrid? Any information about

Brachychiton populneus

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:40:06 UT

Does anyone know a source of tubestock of Brachychiton populneus in
the general vicinity of Bunyip?

Bio-diesel producing plants/seeds.

d.vrushal...@gmail.com (Shali) — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:52:04 UT

Goodafternoon,

I am looking for plants/seeds which will be easy to grow in Victoria
climate mainly in barren lands without disturbing the fertile land
(used for food consumption). Some examples i know of are rapeseeds,
castor seeds, jathropa plant, mainly oil producing plants/seeds but
want to know if they can be grown here in Victoria? Is there any

Green Roofs Plants

antonino.gig...@gmail.com (Antonino Giglio) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:01:05 UT

Dear friends,

I wish to experiment with green roofs and I wish to know if you can
suggest me Victorian native plants like grasses, tussocks, prostrate,
groundcovers, alpines, succulents, small shrubs, etc. that would
easily grow in 5cm/10cm (max 15cm) of media and that could withstand
period of dryness.

edible mushrooms

koo...@hotkey.net.au (Cathy) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:05:11 UT

I quote from the publication Fungi Downunder
" While it is commonly believed that anything called a 'mushroom' is edible, and a 'toadstool' poisonous, this is a fallacy. . . . Importantly, it should be noted that fruit-bodies of many species are indeed poisonous, and there is no general rule for determining edibility or otherwise. Unless you have reliable advice . . ., it is best not to sample any unknown specimen, regardless of what it is called.

Are these mushrooms edible?

s.heidri...@gmx.de (Steffen595) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:11:48 UT

Hi there,

are these mushrooms edible? Are in my backyard. Smell nice. Its just,
if they were edible they would taste better than bought ones.

[link]

Cheers,

Steffen

Acacia Chinchillensis

c...@ozramp.net.au (Peter) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:32:00 UT

I live in Melbourne and am wanting to buy a specimen of Acacia
Chinchillensis. Can anyone tell me where/how I can purchase this?

wildflowers in meredith, vic

amy.holl...@gmail.com (amy) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:34:20 UT

Hi flower people! Can anyone tell me what sort of wildflowers grow
around meredith in victoria? Thanks!

low light loving plant?

half_roo_half_...@hotmail.com (vinny) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:06:43 UT

hi guys,

Got a room which only has a small sky light as a source of light, on a
bright day the room receives plenty of light but on a cloudy day
(nearly always in Melbourne :) ) it can be quite dark.
Does anyone know of anything that might still grow well under these
conditions?

cheers,

Doryanthes Palmeri

meade...@bigpond.com (dave) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:57:51 UT

Please excuse my ignorance, but I'm new to this forum and I was hoping
that someone may be able to help me with my Doryanthes palmeri. I have
two plants the smaller one has developed a flower spike just prior to
Christmas. The spike is now about two metres.
Is this common for Melbourne? How long before the flower head blooms?

chungi...@gmail.com (Chungii) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:14:21 UT

OMG thank you so very much, I am in Hervey Bay, Queensland so that's why I guess I can grow this one it's definitely G. agrifolia subsp microcarpa as soon as I saw the name bells went ding! ding! ding!
You have been most helpful, thanks again. They are two that have been bothering me for a while now and even some of the local growers haven't been any help. I generally keep tags and put names to photos I take to help myself remember, but that one had me stumped.

re: lady O

chungi...@gmail.com (Chungii) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:57:28 UT

Thank you very much, I have one at home and it's something I've been trying to figure out for a while. Billy Bonkers is a neat little bush too. Can you recomend somewhere I can get a Grevillea identified, is it possible to post a photo here maybe?
It has leaf similar to G. wickhamii but creamy white spider flowers. It's a grafted specimen I picked up somewhere but I've misplaced the name along the way. The leaves are actually more like a holly leaf and just as spikey.

Re Grevillea Lady O

koo...@hotkey.net.au (Cathy) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:54:02 UT

The following was found on the internet
Hybrid (G. rhyolitica X G. victoriae ). Small shrub: 1.5m high x 2m wide. Masses of red flowers for most of the year. Frost Hardy
at this site
[link]
Cathy

Naming of Grevillea 'Lady O'

chungi...@gmail.com (Chungii V) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:24:01 UT

Hi,
I am new to this forum and hope to get the odd question answered here
and there if possible. My first question is where did Grevillea 'Lady
O' get it's name? Any ideas? The main reason I ask is because I came
across this and it's left me wondering is this it:
[link]

Lilly Pilly burnt leaves and branches

we...@wmcpr.com.au (Wendy McWilliams) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:26:01 UT

I hope someone can help with this query please.
I have two Lilly Pillies, one 1.5 metres tall and the other about 2
metres high.
Both copped it badly with our high temps last week and the leaves are
burnt (brown) and the stems look sizzled as well. It's not all over
the plant, but at least 50%.
What should I do? leave them and do nothing and wait to see where the

Dieback in Proteaceae

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:23:57 UT

Does anyone have any suggestions? The same thing is happening to my
Grevillea lanigera 'Mt Tamboritha' and Grevillea trachytheca. Both are
growing in very poor soil and get watered when I can. Other grevilleas
growing under the same conditions are surviving and do not appear all
that stressed.

A book on the native plants of hawthorn/melbourne

rowanslatt...@hotmail.com (Rowan) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:58:50 UT

Hi, I'm looking for a book, preferably with photos, on the native
plants of hawthorn (melbourne). Anybody know of any? Thanks.

lilly pilly has leaf gall

mikn...@bigpond.com (mikkus) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:35:21 UT

advice please about eradicating this on-going problem. pruning or
spraying?

Suburban climbing tree

gonativ...@gmail.com (nonimouse) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:20:42 UT

Does anyone have suggestions for a fast growing small tree for clay
soil in Melbourne, good for children to climb? Needs to have strong
branches and a canopy for some shade too.

Hibiscus trionum

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:04:48 UT

Is Hibiscus trionum Australian or introduced? Wrigley & Fagg say it's
from all Australian mainland states, Asia and Africa, but the plant
illustrated on the ASGAP site is not the red-centred cream that I grow
and W&F describe. Lamp & Collet 'Field Guide to Weeds in Australia'
describe it as a weed of cultivated land without giving its origins,

Wattle id

jlul...@optusnet.com.au (weedie) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:29:07 UT

Just wondering if anyone can id this wattle I photographed (only with
a phone camera, sorry)? Photographed today in full flower in someone's
garden in Melbourne. See 3 Acacia photos in Plant Photographs link.

Goodenia ?sp.

half_roo_half_...@hotmail.com (vinny) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:34:39 UT

hello all,

On a short walk round some bush just out of Bendigo not long ago I
chanced across a little sub-shrub I recognized to be Goodenia but I
haven't the books to identify it down to the sp. level.

It was approx half a meter tall, the same in width and quite dense. It
had the characteristic yellow flowers of a Goodenia and small

rubble method - European wasps

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:15:50 UT

A warning to all who might be considering, or who are using, the
rubble (John Hunt) method of water harvesting in their gardens. A
trench filled with rubble makes ideal European wasp habitat - I've
just found and destroyed a small nest.

That said, my plants seem very pleased with the way the trenches

taxonomy of Ozothamnus and Cassinia

half_roo_half_...@hotmail.com (vinny) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:56:43 UT

After a recent trip to Tasmania, I've become confused over the
relationship between Ozothamnus and Cassinia. At first I thought they
may actaully be the same thing going under different names ( Some of
my books are a little old).
It appears now however that they are distinct taxonomic groups, I was

Grevillea 'Simple Sarah'

mikwilli...@optusnet.com.au (Squid) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:56:13 UT

I have a request from a contact who wishes to purchase this Grevillea.
As far as I know Kuranga have not got it in stock where else can it be
found?

Grevillea simplex

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:41:05 UT

Can anyone tell me how big Grevillea simplex will grow? I've struck a
few from cutting but I can't find anything about it on the web except
that it is supposed to smell like banana custard. I don't know now
where I got the cutting material.

Die back in plants

mikwilli...@optusnet.com.au (Squid) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:48:27 UT

I have Grevillea patentiloba growing in my garden it is a contrast
between healthy and dead the dead is branches that die completely why
does this happen? The same thing is happening with a friend's Banksia
spinulosa is this something that happens with the Proteacea group?

Just saying hello

debw...@gmail.com (Ochre) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:11:18 UT

Hi everyone,

Thank you for such a great group. I don't have any questions at this
stage but I'm sure you'll hear from me when I get my collection of
seeds out & want to know when I should start certain species.

I've enjoyed the photos too.
Thanks again.

Cheers,
Ochre

spammers on the open forum

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:37:04 UT

How does the open forum exclude spammers, and how does it get rid of
spam (such as the message from Victory) when it gets through?

Book search and plant id

jill.lul...@gmail.com (newbie) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:23:24 UT

On another blog: blognow.com.au/gumnuts/98446/ there is a request
for a secondhand copy of "Flora of the Kimberley Region" by Wheeler et
al, and for id of a plant that was thought to be Prostanthera
phylicifolia.

Can anyone help?

Native grasses

lprid...@bigpond.net.au (gato) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:24:43 UT

I am considering planting out my nature strip with a small native
grass. Any advice about doing this would be appreciated. The present
growth is now dead and I would like to use something that will not
need mowing but will not be more than 15cm, pref. less, in height. It
will be in full sun.
I live near the Gippsland Lakes.

Brown spots on a eucalypt

whoca...@tca-online.com.au (Gillian) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:45:14 UT

I have a fairly young (planted May '07) Eucalypt "Illyarrie Red
Cap" (E.erythrocorys) which has been growing beautifully here in
Victoria's south west (Camperdown). However, just in the last few
weeks it has developed brown spots on most of its leaves. They go
right throught the leaf and can be 'flipped' out, leaving quite a

Roadside Creeper

whoca...@tca-online.com.au (Gillian) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:23:13 UT

It looks as though I have an identification. From Brian Walters of
ASGAP and from Murray Fagg at Canberra Bontaic Gardens - both
suggesting Lotus corniculatus. I’ve just had a look at some of the
images (Googled) and I’m pretty sure they're right. Sadly, it seems
it’s not Australian but appears everywhere from UK and Europe to right

Rodside Creeper - Photo

whoca...@tca-online.com.au (Gillian) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:04:52 UT

I have found out how to add my photos so they are now in the gallery.
Cheers, G.

Roadside creeper

whoca...@tca-online.com.au (Gillian) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:37:13 UT

Hallo, I've just joined this group and am very glad to know it exists.
I'm a very keen Australian Gardener - living in Camperdown, with one
acre and busily filling it up with many, many Australian natives. Not
all of them, I'm afraid to say, are indigenous to the area but lots
are.
On trips to Port Campbell every spring, I noticed some lovely yellow

alpine mystery plant

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:56:12 UT

Dear All

I was sent the following request from o'seas - can anyone help? A much-
reduced pic of the plant is on the forum as 'alpine mystery plant'; I
can send a much larger copy of the pic off-list to anyone who is
interested.

Best wishes, Elaine

Hi ,

Whilst traveling with members of the British Alpine Garden Society in

Cultivating the yam Daisy, Microseris lanceolata

smar...@bigpond.net.au (Smartie) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:12:07 UT

Can I grow the Yam Daisy as a garden plant? I have had reasonable
success in pots but not in the ground. Any adice would be appreciated.

Acacia chinchillensis - frost damage

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:26:31 UT

Does anyone grow Acacia chinchillensis successfully? My young plant
formed lots of flower buds this year and last year, but both seasons
these have been so badly burned by frost that I get no flowers. It has
beautiful foliage and otherwise is growing well.

I don't know whether to persist with it, or whether I should replace

Identifying a Eucalypt in my Garden.

jacksburningr...@gmail.com — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:29:23 UT

Hi, I have had a few gums come up in my garden after having some mulch
delivered and I want to know what sort they are. Here are some photos
of these gums.

[URL=[link]
image=wholetreereducedcompresf f7.jpg][IMG][link]
img211/3490/wholetreereducedco mpresff7.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Source for Aphanopetalum resinosum

prob6...@bigpond.net.au (Philip) — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:52:19 UT

Our local Native Plant nursery no longer stocks Aphanoletum
resinosum.
Does anyone know offhand, a nursery that still stocks it.
Thanks
Philip

Bunnings and your local APS group (increase your membership)

eva_ko...@yahoo.com.au (fleur) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:53:24 UT

Bunnings and your local APS group

APS members may not be aware that opportunities exist at all Bunnings
Warehouse stores to promote the APS in order to gain new members and
to help the district groups in their community efforts.

Each Bunnings store has an activities officer to help with charities

propogating with honey

jeeps...@bigpond.com (Jennie Epstein) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:10:43 UT

I've heard that honey can be used to induce roots when propogating cuttings. Has anyone had any success with this?
Jennie

Which eremophila?

ga...@pacific.net.au (Elaine) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:52:31 UT

I've successfully struck a number of different eremophilas from
cuttings I was given in spring. I'll keep at least one of each of the
small species, but I have room for only two of the medium-to-large
shrubs. All have lovely flowers but I do not know what the mature
plant looks like in cultivation. If any members have experience of

West Australian Natives

dante...@aapt.net.au (GD) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:16:35 UT

I have prepared a raised garden bed (500mm) by building a retaining
wall. I guess it is essentially a huge pot. The soil below is clay
that I have broken up to 100mm deep to aid blending when I bring some
soil in. The aim is to be able to grow WA plants in this section
however I am wondering about drainage and soil type. Nurserymen say

Kangaroo Paw

we...@wmcpr.com.au (WendyMac) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:30:33 UT

We have been trying to grow Kangaroo Paw in our Glen Waverley garden
(with heavy clay-type soil) now for more than ten years. We get
reasonable leaf growth, but flowers are virtually non-existant. Does
anyone have any tips for how we can get flowers? At the moment the
best result we have had is in a largish pot (two spindly stems with

Gardening on salt affected soil

jeeps...@bigpond.com (Jennie) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:34:37 UT

Hi,

I have an acre in Little River and have had a hard time getting plants
to establish -even indigenous species! I only recently realised the
soil has saline patches. It has a hard crust in dry periods and has
very little organic matter and no worms. pH is about 6.0. I have
bought in soil to plant in - a garden mix, and added old horse manure.