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Australian Gardening Thread

Australian Gardening Thread

Old Nov 19th 2009, 9:54 am
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Default Australian Gardening Thread

Hello,

I am relatively new to Australia and having settled into the house I now feel ready to tackle the garden. The only thing is I know nothing about gardening, and even less about gardening in Australia.

So, I thought I would start this thread to hopefully help other people in my position and maybe get advice from experienced Australian gardeners.

So, here are my questions:

I have established palms but no colour. I want to choose plants that require little watering but give good colour. I bought a couple of Gardenias but they are not doing very well in pots so I thought I might plant them into the ground. Other than that, I need a bit of help please selecting plants.

There are loads of ants in the patio area. Going to Bunnings tomorrow so would like some advice on what ant killer will give me the best results for outside.

I would like to buy a fruit tree, maybe a lemon tree but it would have to grow in a pot. Would this be OK? The space where I want to put it is in full sunlight. Would a different tree be better?

I live on the Gold Coast in Helensvale. Could anybody recomend a reasonably priced garden centre to get my plants from please?

The previous owners of the house were keen gardeners but all of their plants were in pots and they took them with them. They did however leave a large sort of tunnel in the garden which I would like to put to use but don't know what would grow in there. I will post a photo of the tunnel when I get chance to see if anyone has any suggestions.

Thats it for now but I know I will have loads of other questions once I get going.

Many thanks,
Ren (wishing my fingers were green :-)
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Old Nov 19th 2009, 10:29 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Originally Posted by RenShen
Hello,

I am relatively new to Australia and having settled into the house I now feel ready to tackle the garden. The only thing is I know nothing about gardening, and even less about gardening in Australia.
Subscribe to one of the gardening magazines for a year and you'll probably get enough hints and tips for the rest of your life. I subscribe to Organic Gardener, and buy Gardening Australia, Burke's Backyard, and Better Homes and Gardens occasionally.

I have established palms but no colour. I want to choose plants that require little watering but give good colour. I bought a couple of Gardenias but they are not doing very well in pots so I thought I might plant them into the ground. Other than that, I need a bit of help please selecting plants.
Gardenia, like Azaleas and Rhododendrons, prefers slightly acidic soil. Get a soil pH value test kit from Bunnings to see what you've got. You should be using pH 5-6. You can also buy compost mix specific for these plants. They can be grown in pots as long as you don't let them dry out.

The best way to find out what grows in your gardening is perhaps to have a look around your neighbourhood, see what everyone's growing and decide what you want in your garden. Gardeners are easily flattered - tell them you love your garden and they'll spend hours answering your questions, giving you loads of helpful advice.

I would like to buy a fruit tree, maybe a lemon tree but it would have to grow in a pot. Would this be OK? The space where I want to put it is in full sunlight. Would a different tree be better?
Lemon tree and many fruit trees grow well in pots in full sun. When the trees are root-bound, they actually fruit earlier than trees planted into ground.

I live on the Gold Coast in Helensvale. Could anybody recomend a reasonably priced garden centre to get my plants from please?
Look out for farmers markets if there are any down your way, you can usually get plants much cheaper than at garden centres.

Mrs JTL
P.S. My thumbs haven't turned green yet but I do enjoy reading up on gardening.
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Old Nov 19th 2009, 11:48 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Originally Posted by RenShen
I have established palms but no colour. I want to choose plants that require little watering but give good colour.
If you're looking for shrubs that need little water, love full sun, and have beautiful colour, try plumbago. They come in blue (the most common colour) and white. Here's a link:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1366383.htm

I can highly recommend them, they have a lovely growing habit, and seem to thrive on neglect!

Another standard is the bougainvillea:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1370572.htm

Again, loves full sun, thrives on no water or fertilizer, and has beautiful colour. It also climbs nicely over fences etc. The only thing is it has nasty thorns, but otherwise it's gorgeous.
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Old Nov 19th 2009, 2:28 pm
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Plumbago sounds like my sort of plant

Jan (whos gardening theory goes 'if it grows it stays, if it dies it goes' )
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Old Nov 19th 2009, 7:06 pm
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

What you have to decide is how much time you want to put into the garden.

Do you want a European/med type garden or a native Australian garden.

People think that native Australian plants look after themselves well they do but it you want them to look good they need as much attention as any other plant.

Grevilleas are wonderful plants as they attract birds to the garden.

A good idea to have a bird bath as well.

I live in Melbourne so its a different type of climate and we grow a lot of European plants because we have cool winters.

Pelagoniums are lovely they are like geraniums but come in multi colours take the heat and need little attention other than to cut them back once a year. If you want a pelagonium and you see one growing break off a bit and stick it in the garden they grow very easily.

Plumbago will take over and if you have a dog or cat the seed pods are sticky and will stick to their coat just the same as forgetmenot seeds.

It also depends how big your garden is be careful when planting trees that they do not have invasive roots which get into drains. Rubber plants are terrible plants.

If planting any of the grasses be aware that they are hardy and the reason is because they grow easily and spread all over the place.

I would take a plan of your garden to a local nursery and ask them to help you with the plantings. They are very helpful, once you have the basics in then you can experiment with other plants.

Lemon trees not a fan of them in pots as there is a lot of disappointment you only have to listen to the gardening shows on the radio to hear everyone ringing up about their lemon tree. All you need to do with a lemon tree is plant it in the garden and when you have a barbie get the guys to water it and it will grow and grow and give you so many lemons you will not know what to do with them.

Gardenias I believe they are also better in the garden as are most plants. Container growing takes work every day, feeding all the time and making sure the plant is watered, off the ground so little creepies do not get in the pots, time consuming.

Good luck, gardening is fantastic.
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Old Nov 19th 2009, 9:31 pm
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Location in Oz obviously make a huge difference to what you can grow and just as importantly your soil makes a big difference as well.

Fruit trees are always one of the first things we Poms put in our gardens. We just love the idea of tropical fruit off the tree.... then we find out that the birds and insects love them even more.
Unless you want to get into a routine of netting your trees and spraying them with all sorts of pesticides and insecticides I wouldn't bother with them.
The birds get all my nectarines and all my citrus is invested with fruit fly.

The soil in my garden has similar organic properties to wire wool... so I grow lots of things in pots now. They are great, but watering can be a long job if you get lots of pots. Watering restrictions can be a nightmare for pots as well. If you get banned from watering then your pots are gonners.

The tunnel thing left by previous owners will be either a polytunnel, used to bring plants on quicker, perhaps to top up all those pots you say they had, or perhaps a shade tunnel, where they could grow a selection of plants not suited to bright sunlight. My guess would be on the polytunnel.
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Old Nov 19th 2009, 9:50 pm
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

It all depends on what you like. Can I introduce you to the Australian Hibiscus Society which meets every sunday at the Helenvale Community centre at 12 noon. You can pick a lot of tips and even plants. They hold annual shows in Brisbane and elsewhere where you can pick the most beautiful hibiscus plants. If you are into roses, we have a gold Coast rose society and likewise we have other societies like bromeliads, etc. Just google for them. What I like about these societies is that they sell the most exotic plants (often develpoed by one of the members or former members). You will never find these types of hybrids in Bunnings and other nurseries.

As for friut tress, go for the dwarf variety.
http://www.kendallfarms.com.au/
or if you want something closer,
http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/

It is very hard to write about everything without knowing what your preferences are for your plants.

On the way to the Tambouine mountains, there is a plce called "bamboos down under" which sells the clumbing variety of bamboos. They have a few nurseries specializing in Palms (all kinds), etc. If you are into specialized palnts (e.g King Protea), you can find them from nurseries in Beenleigh and so on. There is always Carara market for plants and pots, apart from Bunnings...

Hope this helps..
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 2:02 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

There is a decent and reasonably priced nursery on the Old Pacific Highway in Oxenford. I think it is called Oxenford Pots and Plants, but I may be wrong. Head North past the town centre and the Pacific Highway entrance and it is on the right. There is also Nielsen's Natives if you fancy a bit of a drive - http://www.nielsensnativenursery.net/ - they are also quite reasonably priced and have staff there to give advice. They are off junction 30 towards Cleveland.
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 3:02 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

have a look here:

http://www.diggers.com.au/


it is a link to a seed retailer but it has a useful region/climate map which shows you what is suitable for your area.

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Old Nov 20th 2009, 3:06 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

If you are interested in growing your own vegetables, www.gardenate.com is a good site, it tells you when to plant each vegetable for your climate zone, and even sends you a mail to remind you what you should be planting each month.
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 3:15 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Originally Posted by RenShen
Hello,

I am relatively new to Australia and having settled into the house I now feel ready to tackle the garden. The only thing is I know nothing about gardening, and even less about gardening in Australia.

So, I thought I would start this thread to hopefully help other people in my position and maybe get advice from experienced Australian gardeners.

So, here are my questions:

I have established palms but no colour. I want to choose plants that require little watering but give good colour. I bought a couple of Gardenias but they are not doing very well in pots so I thought I might plant them into the ground. Other than that, I need a bit of help please selecting plants.

There are loads of ants in the patio area. Going to Bunnings tomorrow so would like some advice on what ant killer will give me the best results for outside.

I would like to buy a fruit tree, maybe a lemon tree but it would have to grow in a pot. Would this be OK? The space where I want to put it is in full sunlight. Would a different tree be better?

I live on the Gold Coast in Helensvale. Could anybody recomend a reasonably priced garden centre to get my plants from please?

The previous owners of the house were keen gardeners but all of their plants were in pots and they took them with them. They did however leave a large sort of tunnel in the garden which I would like to put to use but don't know what would grow in there. I will post a photo of the tunnel when I get chance to see if anyone has any suggestions.

Thats it for now but I know I will have loads of other questions once I get going.

Many thanks,
Ren (wishing my fingers were green :-)
Hi there. Gardening is my favourite pastime, although I knew very little about it until a couple of years ago. Now, I propogate most of my own plants, which is not only rewarding but saves lots of dosh as well.

I have about 20 Gardenias and although in my opinion they are quite high maintenance to keep them looking their best, the result is rewarding with their double white scented flowers. As others have said they are best grown in the garden as pots tend to dry out too quickly. They need to be positioned somewhere where they can get a little morning sun but shelter from the hot afternoon soon. If the leaves start turning yellow this means that they are suffering from either iron or magnesium deficiency and need to be treated accordingly with iron chelates or magnesium sulphate. Someone also gave me the tip of giving them a little Epsom salts if the leaves start turning yellow and this seemed to work a treat. Other than that, I feed them once a fortnight.

Other plants you could consider are as someone has already mentioned the Pelargonium’s. These are very hardy drought tolerant plants, and provide an abundance of colour. They are so easy to propagate as well. When buying plants a little tip to consider is try and find pots where the plants are putting out little shoots at the bottom, because the chances are you can divide it up and get 2 or 3 separate plants from it. I do this all the time. A few weeks ago, I bought one Pelargonium pot, divided it up into 4 plants, took some cuttings off it, and now have 2 more. So out of one pot, I’ve now got 6 plants.

Canna Lilies are also a good choice, providing not only spring/summer colour, but with the many varieties available some of the variegated foliage can provide colour all year round. Again, these plants tend to produce new off shoots very quickly. and now I have more than I know what to do with. I keep having to palm them off to people to make room in my garden! But they are very hardy and don’t require a lot of water.

If you’re looking for a groundcover, I would suggest the portulaca. Again, so many colours to choose from and so easy to propagate. I have both sides of my driveway covered in them, and I didn’t’ buy one of them.

Another favourite is the cordyline, although most varieties need protection from the hot afternoon sun. They are also easy to propagate, just snip off the growing tips and that will encourage fresh new growth from the bottom.

If ever I need to buy plants, I quite often prefer Bunnings. I have found the one in Nerang has the best choice over all. I work just around the corner, so I go down every couple days and have a walk around. They always have a poorly plant rack where you can quite often grab a bargain. Another nursery I like to go to is Neilsens up at Shailer Park just around the corner from the Hyperdome. They have a wide variety of plants to choose from.

As for fruit trees, I’ve just started growing these the last couple of months. All mine are in pots, and most of them are the dwarf variety. I have raspberries, nectarines, passionfruit, strawberries, lemons and a lemonade tree, and most of them are fruiting already. They only get afternoon sun, despite being told that they need full sun, and all seem to be thriving. If buying pots for your fruit trees, I recommend the self watering ones. Just fill them up and they usually last about a week.


Hope that’s helped a little.

Happy gardening.
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 4:14 am
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Interesting to see people recommending pelargoniums. When I first moved into my own home in Oz I propagated a dozen or so of them from one I found in the garden. I was impressed that it was so easy to propagate plants that are tender in the UK.

I am now pulling them up by the dozen every time I'm weeding. Damn things get everywhere.
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 6:37 pm
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I assume Avo trees grow really well in Oz. Anyone have one that yields avos bigger then the pips we get imported into England?

Last edited by Alfresco; Nov 20th 2009 at 6:42 pm.
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 11:39 pm
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Originally Posted by Daydreamer123
If you are interested in growing your own vegetables, www.gardenate.com is a good site, it tells you when to plant each vegetable for your climate zone, and even sends you a mail to remind you what you should be planting each month.
Ive got to work out what to do with the following now they are outgrowing their initial seedlings tray
  • Pumpkin
  • Watermelon
  • Carrots
  • Strawberries
  • Mint
  • Tomatoes

Funny how kids are enthusatic for first 3 days then poor dad ends up doing the watering etc
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Old Nov 20th 2009, 11:57 pm
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Default Re: Australian Gardening Thread

Hi, i don't have a garden but i do have two balconies. I'm into growing herbs, what am i doing wrong with coriander, it's dead after a few days, i've tried partial sun to full sun to shade, nothing seems to work

Any help much appreciated

Kim
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