Frost Hardy Plants

This is the coldest winter we have had for a few years. Recently there have been 5 frosts in a row and this seems to be the pattern. Apart from 7.5mm last Friday there has been no rain so the potential for damage to plants is increasing as this dry weather continues.

It is a standing joke amongst Australian native plant growers that if it will survive in Canberra during the winter, it will survive anywhere. When we first moved here, the small publications published by the National Botanic Gardens were a bench mark for frost hardy plants.

Many more plant species have been available since these books were first published (from 1971), so the original list is quite small in comparison with what is known today.

The plants listed in Volume 1 are as follows:
Banksia ericifolia (Heath leaved Banksia)
Banksia marginata (Silver Banksia)
Banksia spinulosa (Hairpin Banksia)
Banksia serrata (Saw Banksia)
Banksia integrifolia (Coastal Banksia)
Banksia media
Banksia robur
Banksia baxteri
Eriostemon myoporoides (now Philotheca myoporoides) Long-leaved Wax Flower
Melaleuca wilsonnii (Wilson’s Honey Myrtle)
Isopogon anemonifolius (Drumsticks)
Goodia lotifolia (Golden Tip)
Acacia drummondii (Drummond’s Wattle) -needs protection from frost until about a metre tall.
Indigofera australis (Austral Indigo)
Grevillea baueri
Hypocalymma angustifolium (Pink-flowered Myrtle)
Boronia heterophylla
Melaleuca incana (Grey Honey Myrtle)
Micromyrtus ciliata (Fringed Heath Myrtle)
Westringea fruticosa (Coastal Rosemary
Thryptomene calycina (Grampians Heath Myrtle)

I will add to this list later and find more cultivation information.