Flowering Trees in the neighbourhood.

Delicate flowers on this flowering tree.
I think? it is an Acacia of some sort!
Lovely to see on a morning walk.

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This Lovely Tree is a Poinciana.

Planted many years ago in a nearby council park.
Not native to Australia and in fact now classed as a weed!!!
You can follow this link to read more about
these beautiful trees from Madagascar.


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My New Baby Grass Tree house!

My Man of Work (husband) made this fantastic
purpose built home for my numerous seedlings.
I have moved them to the side of the house so
they can experience more natural weather conditions.
ie. in Aus ...drought and flooding rain!!!
However they do have some shelter from the
worst nature can throw at them
with their own shade cloth covering.

Here they are all lined up, getting used to the elements!

The shade cloth goes across the top
and can be rolled up or down and fits
into metal slots in the front. (left side)

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New to the neighbourhood!
There is another Grass Tree lover in our area,
this handsome plant has recently been planted
in a local front yard.
A conservative estimate would put this
tree at approx 20-25 years old.

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The Tally.
I had a re-count and discovered that I have 103 seedlings.
I must have failed to count some of the new seedlings
which sprouted earlier in the year.
So...
103 seedlings it is.
6 Adults in the garden.
2 youngsters in large pots.
= 111 Grass Trees.

Cheers Carol

July 2009 Update

Last year my GT No.7 produced this terrific stalk!
(photo taken 9th September 08)
At last something decent to post!!!

Now Again only 14 months later a new baby flower stalk has appeared!
You can see the old stalk still on the plant!
The photo taken 25thJuly 09 ...
I estimate 2 days after emerging.
(when I noticed!!)

*****

My seedlings are still chuffing along...
I have lost a few and a some late planted seeds have sprung up as well.
Totalling 98.
One in the front center is quite strong as you can see...
if you click on the photograph.

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Grass Tree 1.
The seeds on this flower stalk have still not opened and there are not many.
This is possibly due to the winter weather here in South East Qld.
Pehaps they will open when the the days are a fair bit warmer.
( I am just having a guess on this.)

**********
I have: 6 Grass Trees planted around the garden.
2 in medium pots.
98 seedlings.

Cheers Carol

Day 34 - for a flower stalk!
A Close up of the Tiny flowers which will become seeds eventually.
Sorry about the darkness in this pic...
however it does show the lace-like delicacy of the flower.
(click on any photo to enlarge)


Day 39 in full flower!
Those little black dots there are harmless native flies
and I imagine extremely important
to help pollinate these flowers.

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A new crop of seedling have sprouted for 2009!
These were planted on the 11/2/09.
They came up from the 1/3/09 until the 17 th March,
I still have more to show their cute little shoots!
So far on this date, I have 33 shoots
from both GT's 7 and 9.
out of a possible 48 seeds planted.
Very successful so far!

Enlarge to see the tiny shoots.

*********

As you can see insects have been having a lovely chew on
this Longifolia Lomandra #N.
This yellowy/green grasshopper
kept moving under this leaf as I tried to take his/her photo.

*************

The Tally
2009 Seedlings = 33
2008 seedlings = 66 seedling
6 in the garden 2 in large pots.
Total = wow 110 !
Some of the new ones are mere slivers of green of course!
Cheers Carol

Day 25 in the life of a Grass Tree flower stalk.

This stalk is now 89 & 1/2 inches tall. (227cm)
Measured from the ground level

The flower part at the top is now 24 & 1/2(62cm)
This is the tallest spear this plant has had so far!
( to my knowledge ... )
Amazing !

We had 11 inches of rain in two days!
I think moisture, rapid growth and lovely
sunny had this dramatic effect on the stalk.
However the next morning it was straight again.

A small interloper in a seedling pot!
This rather sweet little fungi/toodstool
and a few other little mates
has taken up residence with a seedling.

********

This beautiful orchid lives in the neighbourhood!
Along with approx another 60 -80 varieties grown
by a very nice man
who kindly let me photograph his flower.
He told me it was the National Flower of Singapore!

Honestly this photo does not do the flower justice... it is stunning!

The Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen from among 40 flowers,
30 of which were orchids, to be the National Flower of Singapore.
This makes Singapore the only country to have a
hybrid as her national flower.
(if you google - lots of info available)
********************

The Tally
is the same.
66 seedlings in black pots.
6 in the garden. 2 in large pots = 74

Cheers Carol

A Mystery Solved!

3 days ago I was lucky enough to meet a lady who knew the name of two trees I had posted about previously. One was a magnificent flowering gold and the other pink. Both trees are growing in a park close to where I live here in a northern suberb of Brisbane.

Tabebuia

In the same league as jacarandas and poincianas, once seen in bloom a trumpet tree cloaked in pink or golden flowers,is never forgotten!

I previously had a link here..and had heaps of trouble with the dashed link ...

if you want to know more

Check google.

The Gold version!

The Pink Version!

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An update on Grass Tree No.7

This is a slow process waiting for the Flower spear to produce seeds! The spear first emerged approx 25/7/08 The first flowers burst open 30/9/08
Now on the 3/12/08 I'm waiting for the little pods to open
...soon maybe 1 or 2 weeks!

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An update on the seedlings!
Here we have a photo of some of the re potted Grass Trees
... they are not looking too bad! (click to enlarge)

******************

And the very latest to pop up! Still in the old yogurt pot.
When the little plant is older I will transplant it to the black pots as well!

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The Tally! As I expected I have had a few Fatalities 2 in fact!
...I expected more really!

I have
76 seedlings in black pots
(2 are still doubtful...they had a rough trip over!
Still hanging in there though!)

I had 1 tiny seedling in the garden (on a previous post)
I had to transfer it to a yogurt pot...it had met with some unknown
fate and looked fairly crook!
I put it into a yogurt pot which had the Jamie Durie Native Australian
pot mix...this is a great mix 5/5 I think.
I have bought another Australian Native pot mix from a
Huge Hardware chain here in Au...
It was awful..don't buy any, full of sawdust!

1 seed which just came up (pic above)

8 adult plants - 5 in the garden 3 in pots (varying sizes also previous posts)

Total = 86 Grass Trees

Cheers Carol

Transplanting from Yogurt pots to Black pots!!

In my last post I planned to transplant all my baby Grass Trees to new pots!

This task has been completed...with varying success.

I also have learned some helpful information!

Firstly the seed raising pot mix I used was too sandy...many little plants

had not developed roots very well and in the transfer to the new pots,

the soil just fell away and it was quite a juggling exercise to hold

together the cut away bottom of the Yogurt pot

and replant to the larger pot!

Secondly the soil did not hold moisture well either!

I had prepared the new pots with Jamie Durie Native Plant Mix

($9.45 at Big W)

I used this fantastic mix to repot GT's 6 & 7 ...they are doing really well!

Thirdly I learned...Yogurt pots...not a good Idea!

When I next plant a batch of seeds I will plant straight

into the larger pots in the beginning and save the

trouble and risk to these contrary little seeds/plants!

I graded my efforts on a 1-10 scale and most only rated 5/5 for root disturbance!

However over the last two weeks none have died, in fact some of the ones

I thought would surely cark it ...Haven't! though early days yet!

I have about 4 plants which I expect to shrivel, but it's

really surprising that they are looking so good!

A few completely lost ALL the soil in my hamfisted effort and

I was left holding a slender stalk!! 1/10

So I planted it and there you go! Still living two weeks later!

This will be interesting to see how much grievious bodily harm I have inflicted on them!

**************
An update on Grass Tree No. 7

As you can see from the photo the seeds are looking great

...little buzzy bees have done a great job, nice plump developing seed pods!

**************

This is a rather unusual garden ornament...looks fantastic though!
(residing at the plant nursery )

The Golden Rooster!
************************

***************

The Tally

80 seedlings in new black pots - 12 pots with 2 seedlings in each pot.

(4 in doubt...a rugged transplant!)

8 adults (varying sizes)+ 1 seedling in the garden,
=
89 Grass Trees.

(Note: Between the last post and now approx 6 seedlings died due probably to soil conditions and lack of water and nutrients in the soil.)

Cheers Carol

Shock! Horror!

My lovely neighbour has been Fired!

Either the owner,gardener,or a vandal has set fire to my

favourite neighbourhood Grass Tree.

As I walked past there last weekend I saw the poor thing,

burnt and the tree behind looks crook too!

In the wild, fire often burns these lovely trees and they survive fairly well.

However it is not necessary to burn them deliberately to

promote growth or open the seed pods...

In fact in a very hot fire it would seem reasonable to assume

fire could destroy the seeds...even the tree!

A bit like roasted peanuts!

This tree will survive, however this was a useless exercise

and may have severely damaged a lovely tree!

*click on the photo to enlarge*

Our misguided tree owners

have planted another smaller tree...

Isn't it sweet! Just a baby!

( I think it was the owners because the whole garden has been renovated!

er... fired up! I hope this one does not suffer the same fate!)

**************

GT No. 9

Still going up, sorry the photo is listing to the right! The permanent bend has straightened marginally, doing OK though! I will plant this when the flowers have finished I think!

*************

Another seed popped up 4 days ago!

Planted 13/6/08, up 20/9/08 - 14 weeks to germinate!

The other seed in the pot took 10 weeks...

*********

The Tally...

...89 in yogurt pots+ 8 adults (varying sizes)

+ 1 seedling in the garden,

= 98 Grass Trees

(3 now doubtful...I'm fairly sure 2 will croak!)

Cheers Carol

An Orchid

( E or N ?)

in the local vicinity

(I think it's an Orchid!- click to enlarge Photo taken 18/8/o8)

The sign on the tree ...well it's a joke!

there aren't any crocs in this area,

Well! not wild ones anyway.

Australia Zoo has plenty, but that is about a 1/2 hour

drive from where I live.

12 days later this beautiful flower is in bloom! (30/8/08)

Creamy white with a faint perfume best described as vanilla-ish !

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This baby Grass Tree (the one in the front) will probably perish!

It is from the first batch Grass Tree No.1, Planted 30/10/07. The little plant has not thrived in the last two months and now the outside leaves are browning off. It has taken 10 months for this plant to appear unlikely to survive. The strike rate in the wild must be fairly high I expect.This may account for the idea that Grass Trees are hard to grow! My small plot has been fairly easy to germinate, however growing the plants to a decent size will be more challenging.

***************

The Tally

88 in yogurt pots + 8 adults (varying sizes) + 1 seedling in the garden,

= 97 Grass Trees

Cheers Carol.

The Newest Seedling!

You may have to *click on this photo to enlarge*

to see this tiny sprout!

It took from the 13/6/08 until 22/8/08 to appear

-10 weeks to germinate!

It has been winter so I am quite surprised and delighted

to see this little plant.Thanks go to my dear neighbour H.

for watering the empty little pot.

(while I was away for 17 days)

She had no idea if there was even a seed in there,

but kept watering it anyway.

Thanks H.

*****************

Here we have an Opportunist Creeper.

This Gum Tree was cut down in the bush area near where I live.

I'm not sure if the creeper is native or exotic, It looks very healthy!

**********

I won!

My husband has conceded defeat...the stalk on this is closer to

the top of the fence than the mid line between the rails!

The prize...he shouted my ticket to the movies...

'Taken' with Liam Neeson 4/5 a really good action

movie with lots of blood and guts.

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GT No.9

This plant is stuck with a left hand turn ! It has 'Character' and
is continuing to grow despite a rocky start. The quote about

"when the going gets tough, the tough gets going ...comes to mind!

I love this Plant!

**************
The Tally

88 in yogurt pots + 8 adults (varying sizes) + 1 seedling in the garden,
= 97 Grass Trees

*************

BTW...my mystery tree/s is still un-named, however I have asked another horticulturalist about identifying the aforementioned tree, so I am hopeful of news soon!

Cheers Carol

I had a surprise today... with my Grass Trees!

Approx 2 months back, when I was replanting a few yogurt pots after some seedlings died. I spilled a few seeds. I thought I had picked them all up. The next day when I watered the seedling I found a seed lying on the top of a pot, and because I was lazy I just planted it over there in the garden...Today I found it, the little seed has come up! it's pretty cute!

*click on the photo to enlarge *

Also today another emerged, actually it was yesterday but I didn't notice until today!

It was planted on the 26/4/08 and emerged 12/6/08... 48 days,.

Quite a bit longer compared the seeds germinating in the summer months.

The new plant is on the left in the photo below.

The plant on my doubtful list carked it yesterday.Below on the right.
*click to enlarge*

********

The seedling below is quite small (center pot on the right) I'm hoping it will survive. I have had a few seedling like this that have picked up with a little TLC. Some seedlings seem to have very fine leaves/spines.

Tally 1 death, 2 new... 92 +7=99 (yikes 99!)
Now do I add the little one in the garden to the seedling or to the garden?

Cheers Carol

Two new seedlings... late in the year too!

*click photo to enlarge*

Left & center front pots.

The second row right side is the only doubtful plant, the other died 2 days back! So my tally is still going up even though I'm losing the odd one or two. They still seem to fail to thrive and rot away and break off at ground level.

*********

I am so lucky to live where I do,

this lovely Koala was up a Gum tree in the park less than a km from my home.

He/she is climbing up this huge gum tree, if you enlarge the pic you can see the sharp claws grasping the tree. This koala has a really dirty bottom!! No doubt gum sap and a bit of poop.

I was in a perfect position to see this wonderful animal, they seem to think if they can't see you you don't exist and turn their backs on you if they can.

Please note that beautiful Queensland blue sky, this was 9.00am 10 days ago.

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Tally 90 seedlings + 7= 97
Cheers Carol

Updates:

This update is of the Grass Tree who lives down the road...

It has been flowering for about 3 weeks, with more little flowers opening each day!

*click on photo to enlarge*

This photo shows my total number of baby Grass Trees in yogurt pots!

89 in total, nearly all a single plant in each pot.

Some of the pots have 2 seeds in one pot and one with 3 seeds.

2 pots are in waiting !

This photo shows the newest sprout there in the center front.and directly behind it is one in doubt ... it is not thriving ! Quite a thin stringy little seedling especially when compared to the one on the left of it. Now that is a strong little one !
*click to enlarge photo*

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Tally 89+7= 96

Cheers

Two new Sprouts... are 86 and 87

*click to enlarge*

1. Planted 5/Apr./08 - Up 3/May/08 = 29 days...gosh!

2. Planted12/Apr?08- Up 5/May/08 = 24...not as long!

It's is cooler at night now 10-16 C. so I think this is a fairly acceptable period of germination. I have been setting my seedlings out in the early morning sunshine for an hour (approx.) The plants normally live under my back veranda in the shade. I usually water them daily with a spray bottle or give them a tablespoon of water for a good drenching once a week. This is a hit or miss affair and I just go with how I think they are looking...maybe if they look a bit dry I give a few extra squirts!!

They are pretty cute though!

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This Photo from the WWW it's called Dancing Blackboys...sorry I've mislaid the link. Google 'grass trees blogs' and it's in there?

This one also from the WWW and called Persistance, see how the plant is growing out from the rock! Tough little dude!

This trio is clearly very old...

I wonder if they are ok... it looks as if there is a fence and concrete in the background of the photo so they have may transplanted to this site!! The one on the right looks pretty good though!

*Click to enlarge*

**********
Tally still 94 in total.

Cheers

Yesterday ...

I added this photo to show this tiny little plant which is the one most likely to fail!

(go on prove me wrong, ...please)

It was planted at the same time as his/her pot-partner!,

Alas I tried to delete a line and the whole blooming photo disappeared!

(click to enlarge)

*****

Caterpillar update -

This photo shows the white spots on this resident in the insect house.

That leafy thing there on the stalk is a pupa wrapped into the dry leaves found hanging on the plant. I added the whole stalk to the insect house.

Here we see a green leaf added to cocoon, under that leaf is the white spotted caterpillar from the previous photo, and it happened overnight! What a little cheater, used most of his companions cocoon and only added 1 leaf!!! (the small green leaf above the flashed yellow leaf)

You can also see another (3) Caterpillar having a chew on the leaf at the top of the photo, this one has No white on it's head.
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Tally still 84+7=91

Cheers