Re: Chamelaucium uncinatum

Linda Starr wrote:
Hello,
I am really liking all the Australian plants coming to the California nurseries, but my Chamelaucium uncinatum, wax flower, may be coming to an end. I planted it into the landscape in March and disburbed the rootball a little too much, I think, and it has suffered ever since, having dropped almost all of its leaves but still has a flower or two blooming. I am sure all the rain we have had has not done it much good either. Perhaps now that a warm spell is here it will recover. Does anyone have any advice, shall I give it a weak dose of fertilizer or should I just leave it be?
Linda
Chamelaucium is a West Australian genus and plants from there are among the most beautiful but also the most difficult in the world to grow elsewere.

Here is what my Botanica (NZ edition) has to say about the genus in general :-

"The shrubs have a reputation for being difficult to grow since they do not tolerate cold winters, wet summers or high humidity.

Try them in full sun and slightly alkaline gravelly soil with perfect drainage (pick freely) and prune fairly hard after flowering, but do not be surprised if they are short-lived despite all your best efforts. AVOID ANY ROOT DISTURBANCE (my emphasis).

(If it _does__ survive for you, you can expect this shrub in time to reach a fair size. The book says up to 10ft wide and high!)

Propagate from cuttings in summer".

I would definitely discourage the use of fertilzers with any of these WA primadonnas. They have very modest food requirements and don't any of them take kindly to chemical fertilizers while the majority would not thank you even for a mulch of compost either.

I have only myself come across one plant of C.uncinatum locally. When I use to do garden maintenace I tended one growing vigorously in a hole in an old abandoned asphalt tennis court. This was used by the owner of the property (a skilled gardener herself) as her preferred place for growing many fussy Australian and South Afrcian shrubs, which seemed to flourish mightily in the spartan conditions.

Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS ADDED 20/Feb/2005

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