I am hoping that someone can help me out. I do not live in Australia; I am in the USA, in Florida. I think that many of your native plants are amazing & am working on getting some of my favorites, not an easy task over here. The tree waratah, Alloxylon flammeum, I have searched & searched for but it is impossible to find over here.

Another I particularly like that I am growing is Telopea speciosissima, the NSW Waratah. I grew it from seed about a year ago. It has two stems the largest is about 15 cm. It has not grown at all in the last 6-8 months. It does not seem to be declining, it just does nothing. Are they that slow? I am unsure of what type of fertilizer to use because of the issues with too much Phos. I have given it fish emulsion on occasion. It get a few hours of sun in the later afternoon, otherwise get dappled sun. It is planted in a pot.

Can anyone give me any advice?

Thanks much-

I have a T.speciosissima growing in my garden, just north of Sydney. They grow naturally in the bushland not far from me, in a heathland community. You could google "heathland" or "heath" to give you an idea of the growing environment these plants like. This is a vegetation cummunity in the Sydney basin. Incidentally - silly people, vandals really, always steal most of the flowers in spring, from out of the bushland...which is illegal.

The one that I have in my garden, I bought from a nursery. It is in full sun, well drained soil. It is rather slow growing. I have had it in the garden for about 5 years. In that time it has only flowered about three times, in spring. Only one flower at a time. The plant is about 2.4 m tall, now. I dont give it any fertilizer. I was always a bit worried about whether it would grow as they come from sandy soil, with an underlying sandstone layer. And my soil is not like that. But I guess they can adapt if you are nice to them!

I just LOVE it, I am really happy when it flowers. We are in winter at the moment, so the flower bud is forming and in about September I will get another red flower, dripping with nectar. It is just superb.

How exciting that you are growing the waratah in Florida. I would imagine your climate is rather tropical there, perhaps more rainfall than me.

Have you tried a Backhousia citriodora ? Another fantastic Aussie plant that likes tropical conditions. Although, not particularly spectacular in looks, it has the most glorious fragrance from the leaves. An idea for you.

Can you buy Aussie plants over there, in nurseries ?

Popi

I am in central Florida, south Florida is more tropical than this area. We do get rain, most in summer, with a total of about 1200-1300 mm. Mild in the winter, hot & humid in the summer.

Very difficult to get Australian natives here, the only ones that are somewhat easy to locate here are Brachychiton ssp. Australian natives are more common in California, but they have a more Mediterranean climate so they grow the Western Australian species which would never grow here. The Australian natives I have I have had to pretty much grow from seed-Telopea, Grevillea, Buckinghamia, several Eucalyptus, Sygyium, Banksia & Ceratopetalum. I did get, but had to pay a high price, for Xanthostemon chrysanthus, Deplanchea tetraphylla, and Stenocarpus sinuatus. As I mentioned above I have never been able to locate Alloxylon flammeum.

The Backhousia is very nice. I still continue to try to locate several of your beautiful natives.

David

I assume you saw my posting. I have Alloxylon flammeum seeds which I can send you as long as it does not contravene any quaranteen laws. Please contact me on this site if you wish to proceed. They will be flowering again soon here.

Tony

Good luck and enjoy

Tsmith-good luck finding one, it seems to be just about impossible. Seeds can be found but it is slow going. Sucha shame, they are so beautiful-

David

They went on to note that the promise of eucalyptus in California was based on the old virgin forests of Australia. This was a mistake as the young trees being harvested in California could not compare in quality to the centuries-old eucalyptus timber of Australia. It reacted differently to harvest. The older trees didn't split or warp as the infant California crop did. There was a vast difference between the two, and this would doom the California eucalyptus industry.[11]

One way in which the eucalyptus, mainly the blue gum E. globulus, proved valuable in California was in providing windbreaks for highways, orange groves, and other farms in the mostly treeless central part of the state. They are also admired as shade and ornamental trees in many cities and gardens.

Eucalyptus forests in California have been criticised because they compete with native plants and do not support native animals. Fire is also a problem. The 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm which destroyed almost 3,000 homes and killed 25 people was partly fueled by large numbers of eucalypts in the area close to the houses.[12]

In some parts of California eucalypt forests are being removed and native trees and plants restored. Individuals have also illegally destroyed some trees and are suspected of introducing insect pests from Australia which attack the trees.[13]

Did you ever find a US source for this?

Mike