The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

I thought I'd start a Gardening thread for people with guess what, gardening problems / queries etc in Australia (I can't be on me own).

(My query to follow)

The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Ok, now I don't profess to have the greenest fingers, but they're getting greener by the year (very therapeutic I find... :) ) My current problem is I planted 6 Golden Canes over a year ago, and they aint growing!

Well, they seem to be buffing up for want of a better term, but nothing goin on in the height dept, and am just curious as to why, and if or when they'll start heading north instead of east to west ?!? ... :unsure:

Pictures.

When planted...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps5a2c91ca.jpg

How they look now...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps536b6121.jpg

As I say, they seem to be buffing up and even some movement at the base...

No3...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps5da09a3b.jpg

No4...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psf8a4a5f6.jpg

But they haven't grown a single inch in height ... :confused:

They're supposed to grow to 20 odd foot, but not these.

Will appreciate any replies / advice ... :)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

When I saw the thread title "Down under gardening thread" it reminded me that I'm overdue for a wax at the beauty salon :rofl:

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

OMG I've clearly had too much to drink as I just looked for the 'like' button ... pmsl

Oh and yeah, can see why you thought that ... :lol:

So can you tell me when me Canes will grow or what? ... :D

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Oh and appreciate this will prob get more response during the Aussie daytime but will bump tomorrow. Not convinced it'll help tho! ... :lol:

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

You are in the same general area that we were living in, we found that it took up to 3 years for new plants to bed in and then they took off. I planted about a dozen golden canes and for at least 2 years they did nothing at all and then went ballistic.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Yeah 10 mins if my memory serves me (Tanah Merah?!).

I feel optimistic as like I say there is growth goin on, but just no height yet.

Maybe a year or two to go then.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Shailer Park.
Yeah ours thickened up but didnt grow up until about the 3rd year then as I say they literally went crazy and grew about 3 a year in height :lol:

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

That's the one!

Yeah neighbour has em and reckons they just went crazy from the off, but it's just not what I'm seeing. Well, in height anyway.

TBH there's no real rush, but just curious as to if anyone in the know can tell anything from the pics.

time will tell I spose.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

From what we saw all the growing at first goes into thickening and then they go up :)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

So prob all normal then ... :)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Golden Canes are bloody hard to grow mate. I have one that has been in for 2 years and doesn't look as good as yours.

Now fig trees mate - biggest success story and at $4 per fig in the shops I reckon mine is worth about a grand a year!

BB

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Yeah I'm starting to think I'm expecting a bit too much too soon.

They're all spouting new stems too so I guess I'll just sit and wait.

Cheers

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

I have had real problems with my trees- an orange and a grevillia just died, almost overnight. Think I've got a fungus, as one of the gums had to be taken down and had bracket fungus.

But my main problem is nothing seems to be growing this year- all my veggies are either bolting, eaten by rabbits, or going yellow/sulking. The peppers are the same size as when I put them in!! This is after 3 months. Half the tomatoes in pots have grown and the other half haven't. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Interesting I didn't realise these Northern or warmer based plants did this. I've got 33 Slender Weaver bamboo plants at our place and all their energy seems to be going into thickening up. I was under the impression that they would grow like billy oh in the height department and be poking their heads over a 2.2 meter fence by now.

We are doing our whole garden up... already laid the lawn and thats growing fantastic... been using heaps of water though.

Here's some Photos...

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Same in Adelaide veggie wise. Everyone I have spoken to has said the same.

Paulandnic, the height a plant will get to is very variable in oz. To start with the labels are the same ones used over the whole country. So the soil, water levels etc will all be different.
Have you fed your canes at all? Bushing out is good too though. You want them to be good and strong before they go up so the wind doesn't blow them over.
They look lovely though.

My garden wise, I ate my first almond this morning. Yay.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Yours look fine to me. I planted some, and other things, in 2009 (picture is April 2009). 2nd pic is Feb 2010. Too dark for a 3rd pic but they are now forming a solid wall screening the shed, practically full height. I spent half a day cleaning up their dead fronds not long ago.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

To be honest they got fed for the first time last week. I've been giving them plenty of water when dry, but no food ... :o

I was told by the local garden center to give each plant half a bag of this stuff that had all-sorts in it, and return after a few weeks. I popped in there today and see a diff person and they've recommended a fertilizer for tropical plants. Twice a year he said and they'll be off!

Thanks.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

The growth rate of golden canes depends on serval factors.

1. Are they getting enough sunshine. The should be planted in a full sun position otherwise their grow rate can be stunted.

2. What sort of soil are they planted in. If its clay or very pool soil, this can also have an effect on their growth. If you have poor soil, give them a good fertlise and see how they respond. Excessive moisture in the soil could also have an impact, they prefer a well drained soil.

3. They seem to be planted fairly close together which could cause the palm to have a stunted growth pattern due to the palm having to fight for soil space and nutrients with the palm next to it. They should be at least 1.5 metres apart to allow each plant room to grow and mature.

Hope this helps

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

for gardening questions try the homeone forum, garden and landscaping.
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewforu...63109703bd6f2c

Fu Manchu (from Perth) will be happy to answer your question. He is the gardening expert for WA.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Probably a good link.... I would love to see people swapping their experiences on here. My Wife belongs to a gardening forum already and I could get her to ask this question for me. Seeing as it's my query I'll try here first.

Does anyone know of a strong as in flavour garlic breed I can grow..... plus where to get it. Online would be good.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Try www.diggers.com

They have a forum and you can access old fashioned and unusual plants through them

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

That could be handy.... I'd like to add a strong garlic to my Chilli, Basil and Lemon Grass plants, Got 3 different types of strong Chilli growing at present Scotch Bonnet, Habenero and Birds eye.... I may be able to source that chilli that originated in Dorset through them.

It's actually the Wife that's the main gardener in our household... I just dabble with certain plants. Grass.... as in lawn. Bamboo and my stronger herbs.


.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

The range of seeds etc you can get isn't as wide here, but it is getting better all the time, especially for edibles. :-)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Wondering if anybody had experience of trying to protect newly laid turf in extreme heat?
We pre-ordered turf before christmas, and installed it Sat just past, and of course now this week its going to be a flippin heatwave :frown: (we are in north Melbourne)
We are of course watering it well (2xdaily) but as it is a relatively small area was wondering if it would be worthwhile trying to cover it up during the hottest part of the day?
What does anybody think? I've got enough tarpaulins I could chuck over it, thin enough to let it breathe but possibly stop it scorching? Any thoughts? :fingerscrossed:

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

What kind of turf is it?

We laid our Palmetto in extreme heat (couldn’t have been a worse time), and it turned brown within 12 hours, despite constant watering. Onc it took hold and put down roots it recovered very quickly.

All you can do is make sure it is always kept really moist and make sure you do not water during the hottest part of the day as it will evaporate very quickly. Maybe also sprinkle some water crystals over it as well, which will help retain the moisture. Best time for watering is early in the morning between 5 and 6 or after the sun has gown down. It is better to give it a deep watering less often, then watering often but for less time, as this will encourage the roots to go in search of water and therefore encourage a healthy root system.

Do not cover it with a tarpaulin, unless you want to kill it all together. If it doesn’t get any light it will die altogether not to mention the extreme heat underneath the tarp. We laid a tarp on ours (just temporarily) while we had some top soil delivered. Within a few hours the grass was already starting to go yellow!.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Thanks Sassie, that's a great help.:thumbsup: It is Kikuyu turf, which i'm told is supposed to be good in dry conditions anyway.
I have no idea when it comes to gardening (does it show) - we are just doing this to get ready to sell up so really don't want it dying on us before we get it sold.:fingerscrossed:
Will refrain from putting tarp on it..

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

It'll be fine.

Do you have an edging tool? if not, get one now. Just an old style one will do.

Otherwise the grass will take over.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

I personally reckon I would try and work out a system where I could place some raised shade cloth above the turf.. the one that lets air and light through... for the hottest part of the day... circa 3 or 4 hours. Make sure it breaths and lets air in though.

You would have to be very dedicated and disciplined to do this.

My turf (circa 70 sq meters) is about 10 weeks old and going really well... luckily we just beat the heat and boy am I throwing water at it.... darn the cost. Managed to keep it 100 pct green thus far... except for dog pee spots... we've got dog rocks now... not worked yet.

One thing it has done is throw up seed heads at a very low height.... It's a buffalo grass "Kings Pride" I've read that is a symptom of lack of nutrient... so I'm feeding it very lightly at present and testing it out.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Thanks for all replies, but this one is good for me ... :)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Thanks for the links, will check them out, but like Ozzie says I'd like to see a 'Gardening' thread on here if possible .... :)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Yehp shared experiences etc etc.

I'm going to try and kick start my tardy bamboo.... It's doing ok, but I was led to believe it would be a lot faster.

Hence I'm going to let it really dry out before watering it next time around and hopefully that will give it a boost, like a desert explosion after a drought..... I've been told to keep it moist, so going against advice with this idea. I know it's a tough plant, so should be able to cope. I think this stuff that was raised in Queensland needs a kick up the rear to bring it into line with Victorian conditions.

.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Now this isn't the first time I'd heard this about 1.5m minimum, and always had me worried it 'might' be causing them to stunt.

Sooooo at midday in 38C heat yesterday, I decided it would be a good time :blink: to pull one out, move it a metre to the right, and it turn leave 2m between the next (then was gonna pull every other to leave 4 canes with 2m apart all of them)

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4aeb851b.jpg

Then! ... I had a brainwave :blink: about checking next door's to see the distance apart as I've never noted.

Popped next door and this is theirs...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psba8fcfd5.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps46d3b6e7.jpg

That's my Cactus on the right of 2nd pic ... :)

And then the distance apart...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdb5dd3fd.jpg

Some have as little as 7-800mm apart!!! ... :eek::eek:

Sooooo, have decided that distance apart CAN'T be that important as these have blossomed well and look lovely IMHO. They planted at 4' and fed furtiliser from the off regularly. Once they took off (3 yrs later I now know) they left alone and haven't touched for years!

Sooooo, am now back to this...

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps950b3174.jpg

I threw that lil fella in as I now had a spare hole and might as well fill it!

I dossed them up with fertilizer last night and soaked all of them for prob an hour in total.

See how we go!

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

From the photo's you posted, it looks as if the time of day was about midday and your neighbours plants were in full sun while yours seemed to be in full shade. Also the neighbours property seems to be a couple of foot higher than yours, so a couple of questions spring to mind.....

Are your plants getting enough sun and are they are getting too much water/ fertiliser caused by the run-off from the neighbours garden ?

With so little sun and so much water, you might be killing them with kindness.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Can't you just swap yours for the neighbours ?:sneaky: (not during daylight hours of course :lol:)

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

The neighbour also suffers from the nationwide Aussie fetish of trying to torture his grass to death by cutting it too short.

You could be onto something their re the sun.... although I reckon it's either 10.30am or 1.30 pm as there is a little bit of shadow fromt he roof rather than directly overhead. Still should be more sun on the palms than that.

I had hell with my canary island date palms... viscious things they are with their murderous spikes. So I'll never own another palm.

Be interesting to see how formal hedging would go up in Queensland.... would it be too fast and a labour of love.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

I wholeheartedly agree with this and just to add also, how long did it take for the neighbours palms to reach this height? I'm not saying the OP's palms won't grow at all being so close together, but given room to grow and mature will speed up the process!

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Ok mine are not just over the fence, but on the other side, so both are on the left as you walk away from house and face mostly East. Our garden faces North with a hint of North East.

The canes will get the same sunlight as the neighbours, and I reckon with them losing it around 2pm at the earliest (will check for sure tomorrow if home early) and getting it at 5am or, that's 9 or possibly 10 hrs if they still have sunlight at 3pm. We get sun in the garden till 6pm ATM, but only on the other side of the garden after say 5pm.

Oh and I've only watered a fair bit over last fey days as I've moved that one about, plus I've added some fertiliser which said to soak through after application. Normally if they've not seen any rain for a week, I'll give each tree a min or so of water in the evening.

I 'think' the neighbours have had theirs in for 7 or 8 years, but will ask them next time I see em. The max they could have been in is about 10 years as my house was built in 2001 and there's a year or so later. Was a case of first and almost last in the street, which only has about 25 houses in it. She def said tho that not a lot happened in the first 3 years, but once the main stems started rising, they was off! They reckon theirs haven't grown for a year or so now too.

Oh and we're actually a foot or so higher than this neighbour, a foot or so lower than the other side which is where my canes are.

And lastly, neighbours pics were taken at 10.30am this morning (Sunday), and I took my pics Friday evening between 4 - 6pm. I did start early, but have a sun canopy that covers this area anyway, and put it down once the sun had popped behind the fence.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

Here's the current state of our golden canes. They are fairly close together (the shed is 6m wide) and they have neither been watered nor fed after planting. (Our garden has to self-supporting). The shed faces east so these don't get sun for most of the afternoon. Palms naturally seed very close to each other and grow like that. We've found that stuff we plant is slow to get going until it establishes its own patch of microclimate with other plants, then they all take off.

The only thing not mentioned so far is mulch. All our stuff gets mulched, then we don't water it. We get the free mulch from the green waste, and we get trailers and trailers full of it. Mulch and kill weeds.

We have planted 1000s of trees and shrubs since we moved here 6 years ago, but cleared millions of weeds. Some things can be short-lived naturally (eg some grevilleas, acacias, wax-flowers etc) but palms are quite difficult to deter.

Re: The 'Down Under' Gardening Thread
 

I am not much of a gardening expert - has been just over a year since I discovered this passion :)

Am growing a fair bit of herbs, veggies & fruits growing in our gaden (citrus, fiejoa, peaches, egg plant, baby potatoes, ginger, garlic etc)

I'll try to keep up with this thread - am just very busy for the next 1 month and hopefully will be a more active participant after that.

Meanwhile this is a link to photos of my garden :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7017220...7631233024842/