Got address wrong first try - sending again. -- Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz> Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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- To: Mediterannean Plants List <m*@ucdavis.edu>, li
- Subject: Re: Native plants
- From: T* &* M* R* <t*@xtra.co.nz>
- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 13:47:17 +1300
- References: <3.0.1.32.19980304230947.00698ad0@ozemail.com.au>
Liz Runciman wrote: > > When I first arrived in Australia 20 years ago there > was a fashion for 'native' gardens. This gave rise to > many hideous 'low maintenance' gardens full of short-lived > mostly West Australian shrubs and small trees, with pine > bark mulch to keep the weeds down. That these plants were > just as foreign to South Australia as roses didn't occur > to people at the time. Undoubtedly the sentiments were > right, conserving water etc, but the choice of plants was > disastrous, aesthetically as well as ecologically. > Since then, although much work has been done by nurserymen to > encourage the use of plants, both indigenous and exotic, which > are more suitable to this climate, scant attention has been > paid to our specific climatic zones in South Australia. > For example, many Campanula species do not flower on the > Adelaide plains, as we don't have low enough temperatures > in winter. The same applies to many Med climate plants, > eg many of the species tulips from the eastern Med region. > >From my own experience, the bulbous plants from the western > Cape of South Africa naturalise more readily than the > easily available daffodils and narcissus. Of course this > makes them more invasive and indeed Sparaxis and > Freesia have become naturalised, as have Watsonia and Gladiolus > species. > > I would be interested to know which roses are successful in > other Med climate areas. David Austin roses are very popular > in Adelaide. Personally I have found they are not terribly > prolific as far as flowering goes, I wonder what other gardeners > think. Rugosas do well here, though they are not well known. > Microclimates, specifically altitude, come into play again, as > some roses do much better in the Adelaide hills than they do on > the plains. > Hi Liz And hello from across the Tasman! On the whole, I guess because we are a small country, a majority of our native species can be grown throughout, but because if our long spread across several latitudes we still have some northern plants which will only succede if confined to frost-free areas and some choice alpines from our southern mountains which refuse to transfer to the lowlands with their mild wet winters. You may be amused to know there was a great fashion here also some years ago for trying to grow some of the beautiful but totally intractable West Australian perennials, but this nonsense has died out now, leaving a residuum of really useful Australian species such as Brachyscome and some of the less fussy Kangaroo Paws which are widely grown and apppreciated. Of course there are also some useful trees and shrubs from "over the water" which have been established favourites here for a long time such as Eriostemon, Thryptomene and many Banksias. You mentioned Austin roses, whicgh are becoming established favourites here. I think the key to regular flowering probably lies in having sufficient moisture available, especially in hot conditions. In very hot areas, these quintessently English roses would probaby give better service if grown in partial shade. I am sure they could do reasonably well in the Adelaide hills (I had a son living there about ten years ago and paid a spring visit!) Moira -- Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz> Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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