FFF331 - HAKEA

Hakea bucculenta is a large shrub up to 4 metres high with linear leaves up to 150 mm long x 3 mm wide. The species is similar to H. francisiana and H. multilineata and all have fairly similar cultivation requirements. They all belong to the Proteaceae family.

The flowers of H. bucculenta occur in large racemes about 150 mm long which are seen in the leaf axils in winter and spring. The flower colour is orange-red. Although the flowers occur within the foliage, the open habit of the plant means that they are well displayed, never failing to attract attention. Flowers are followed by woody seed pods about 20mm long containing two winged seeds, the usual number for all Hakea species. The pods do not shed the seed until stimulated to do so by environmental conditions (eg after a bushfire).

This species has been in cultivation for many years but is mainly suited to areas of low summer humidity. In humid areas it can grow successfully for some years but may collapse overnight. Grafting (see below) is recommended for these areas. The species is tolerant of at least moderate frosts and the flowers are attractive to honeyeating birds. The species grows and flowers best in an open, very well drained, sunny position but it will tolerate some shade.

Hakea bucculenta is easily grown from seed. Cuttings may succeed but these may not be particularly easy to strike and often do not produce a strong root system. Grafting of the species onto the eastern species H. salicifolia has proved to be very successful and has enabled the plant to be grown in previously unsuitable areas. Grafted plants are now appearing in specialist Australian plant nurseries in eastern Australia. This tree is becoming a very popular and attractive street tree in Melbourne.

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FFF330 - ROSA 'SLIM DUSTY'

Rosa 'Slim Dusty' is a Floribunda Rose released to commemorate the life of the Australian Icon and Country Music Legend, Slim Dusty. This rose was released in Australia by Landsdale Rose Gardens and part of the proceeds from the sale of this rose will go towards the development of the Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey, NSW, Slim’s home town.

The Slim Dusty Rose is rich golden coppery orange – a colour reminiscent of the Australian outback. The flowers are carried on strong-stemmed clusters and produced in massive profusion throughout the flowering season. The bloom possess an old fashioned tea rose fragrance. The bush is very compact to a height of around one metre and a group planting or rose hedge would make a stunning, eye-catching border of the rose garden.

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FFF329 - DAHLIA

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native mainly in Mexico, but also Central America, and Colombia. A member of the Asteraceae dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia.

There are at least 36 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 5.1 cm diameter or up to 30 cm ("dinner plate"). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids (that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes), whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons (genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele), which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity.

The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 30 cm to more than 1.8–2.4 m. The majority of species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly coloured, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue.The dahlia was declared the national flower of Mexico in 1963. The tubers were grown as a food crop by the Aztecs, but this use largely died out after the Spanish Conquest. Attempts to introduce the tubers as a food crop in Europe were unsuccessful.

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FFF328 - POM-POM TREE

Dais cotinifolia, known as the Pompom Tree, is a small Southern African tree belonging to the Thymelaeaceae family. It occurs along the east coast northwards from the Eastern Cape, inland along the Drakensberg escarpment through KwaZulu-Natal and the Transvaal, with an isolated population in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.

It flowers profusely during the summer months and produces a multitude of pink, sweet-scented, globular flowerheads about 10 cm across. Depending on the circumstances it can reach a height of up to 12m, although it rarely exceeds 6m in cultivation. This is a beautiful ornamental tree and the delicious scent of the flowers can make the whole area around the tree replete with fragrance.

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FFF327 - HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea (common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering plants in the Hydrangeaceae family, native to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m by climbing up trees.

They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous. Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is now very common, particularly on Faial, which is known as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island. Species in the related genus Schizophragma, also in Hydrangeaceae, are also often known as hydrangeas. Schizophragma hydrangeoides and Hydrangea petiolaris are both commonly known as climbing hydrangeas.

There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas:

1) Mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop.

2) Lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a centre core of subdued, fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers. The flowers of some rhododendrons can appear similar to those of some hydrangeas, but Rhododendron (including azaleas) is in a different order.

In most species of hydrangea the flowers are white, but in some species (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark purple. In these species the colour is affected by soil pH. For H. macrophylla and H. serrata cultivars, the flower colour can be determined by the relative acidity of the soil: An acidic soil (pH below 6) will usually produce flower colour closer to blue, whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 6) will produce flowers more pink. This is caused by a colour change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating plants.

Seen here is the Hydrangea macrophylla 'Forever' hybrid. It is from the ‘You and Me’ series,  and is a sturdy hybrid featuring lacecap like flowerheads when they first start to open but as they mature the central florets also open creating a complete mophead of double pale pink  or blue florets. A deciduous shrub of a compact habit. Best grown in neutral/ alkaline soils.

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FFF326 - PINK SUN ORCHID

Thelymitra carnea, the pink sun orchid, is a perennial herb with fleshy egg-shaped tubers in the Orchidaceae family. It grows from 8 to 40 cm and has a slender reddish-brown stem. Plants are scattered. It has an erect single narrow to rounded channelled leaf 4-18cm x 1-2.5mm, green with reddish base, sheathing at base of stem; 2-3 sheathing stem bracts.

Each plant has one to four pink flowers up to 15mm across. Sepals and petals are similar. Column pale pink, mid lobe with pink collar and yellow tip, short, narrow, not hooded; yellow column arms narrow, obliquely erect, margins scalloped; anther green. It flowers October to November. The plant grows in moist soils which dry out in summer on margins of swamps. It prefers full sun to semi shade. Flowers only open on hot humid days, self-pollinating in cooler weather.

It is found in Southeastern Australia and New Zealand. It is not threatened in the wild. The use of native orchids in gardens is not recommended, unless they already occur naturally, in which case they need to be protected. Removing orchids from the bush usually results in their death and further depletes remaining wild orchid populations. Take only photographs, not plants from the bush!

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FFF325 - CERATOSTIGMA

Ceratostigma, or leadwort, plumbago, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus Plumbago.

They are flowering herbaceous plants, subshrubs, or small shrubs growing to 0.3–1 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 1–9 cm long, usually with a hairy margin. Some of the species are evergreen, others deciduous. The flowers are produced in a compact inflorescence, each flower with a five-lobed corolla; flower colour varies from pale to dark blue to red-purple. The fruit is a small bristly capsule containing a single seed.

Ceratostigma willmottianum shown here is a species of flowering plant native to western China and Tibet. It is an ornamental deciduous shrub that grows to 1 metre in height, with pale blue plumbago-like flowers appearing in autumn as the leaves start to turn red.

Ceratostigma is derived from Greek, meaning 'horned stigma’. This is in reference to the ‘shape of the stigmatic surface’. Willmottianum was named for Miss Ellen Ann Willmott (1858-1934), a keen gardener and plant introducer from Warley Place, Essex.

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FFF324 - STEPHANOTIS

Stephanotis floribunda syn. S. jasminoides (Madagascar jasmine, waxflower, Hawaiian wedding flower, bridal wreath) is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Madagascar. Growing to 6 m or more, it is an evergreen woody climber with glossy, leathery oval leaves and clusters of pure white, waxy, intensely fragrant tubular flowers. Grown commercially, the trumpet-shaped blooms are in season year-round, provided they are given enough light and water, and are a popular component of bridal bouquets.

It is a vigorous climber, tough-stemmed, bearing dark green leathery leaves, which grow in pairs at regular intervals along the vine. It grows best in sunny, tropical conditions, or inside. They can grow from 2–6 meters, and are widely cultivated as garden plants. They can flourish for years, grown indoors on a sunny windowsill. They can be moved outside or into a greenhouse during the summer.

Few resources are published relating to the culture of this woody vine. In areas where the outside winter temperature drops below 4 °C, Stephanotis floribunda can be wintered over in greenhouse or household settings. During the summer growth season, this vine requires full sun, abundant water, high humidity and a balanced fertiliser. The vine will need to be trellised due to the vigorous growth habit. As temperatures begin to cool, pots should be brought indoors and placed in the sunniest location available. If the temperature in the home is on the cool side, the vines slow in their growth and thus should be watered very infrequently. Kept on the cool, sunny and dry side, the plants will "rest" until the outside temperatures begin to rise again, at which time they may be eased back into full sun.

They may continue to grow during this period, but growth is often slower and less vigorous. When the weather warms, moving the vines into a full sun exposure too quickly will result in leaf blister and sun burns on the plant, rendering it less attractive and damaging the plant's ability to produce food. In ideal conditions, these vines may be kept in bloom all year, but this is difficult in the home setting, especially where Australian possums, to which the leaves are highly attractive, are present.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Stephanotis floribunda appears to do best if root bound, thus it is best to not plant the vines in an over-sized container. The soil mixture used should have a high content of loam and peat moss with generous drainage material such as perlite or coarse sand. A citrus-type soil mixture works well in most home situations. A soil mixture that retains too much water will lead to root rot.

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FFF323 - CANNA

Canna (or canna lily, although not a true lily) is a genus of 19 species of flowering plants. The closest living relations to cannas are the other plant families of the order Zingiberales, that is the Zingiberaceae (gingers), Musaceae (bananas), Marantaceae, Heliconiaceae, Strelitziaceae. Canna is the only genus in the family Cannaceae. The APG II system of 2003 also recognises the family, and assigns it to the order Zingiberales in the clade commelinids, in the monocots.

The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from the southern United States (southern South Carolina west to southern Texas) and south to northern Argentina. The species have large, attractive foliage, and horticulturists have turned it into a large-flowered and bright garden plant. In addition, it is one of the world's richest starch sources, and is an agricultural plant. Although a plant of the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world as long as they receive at least 6–8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter.

The name Canna originates from the Latin word for a cane or reed. The flowers are typically red, orange, or yellow or any combination of those colours, and are aggregated in inflorescences that are spikes or panicles (thyrses). Although gardeners enjoy these odd flowers, nature really intended them to attract pollinators collecting nectar and pollen, such as bees, hummingbirds, sunbirds, and bats. The pollination mechanism is conspicuously specialised.

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FFF322 - INDIAN HAWTHORN

Rhaphiolepis is a genus of about fifteen species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical eastern and southeastern Asia, from southern Japan, southern Korea and southern China south to Thailand and Vietnam. In searching literature it is well to remember that the name commonly is misspelt "Raphiolepsis". The genus is closely related to Eriobotrya (loquats), so closely in fact, that members of the two genera have hybridised with each other; for example the "Coppertone loquat" is a hybrid of Eriobotrya deflexa X Rhaphiolepis indica.

The best known species is Rhaphiolepis indica (Indian hawthorn) from southern China, grown for its decorative pink flowers, and popular in bonsai culture. Rhaphiolepis umbellata (Yeddo hawthorn) from Japan and Korea has blunter leaves and white flowers. It is the hardiest species, tolerating temperatures down to about −15 °C. Its fruit is edible when cooked, and can be used to make jam.

Indian hawthorn is a mainstay horticultural specimen in temperate climates. It is often found in commercial as well as in private landscapes. Often it is trimmed into small compact hedges or balls for foundation plants. It has been successfully pruned into a standard form as well as small dwarf-like trees up to 3 metres in height. It is apt to develop leaf spot.

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