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Austrostipa Species

No Comments »12th November, 2006; Category: Drought Tolerant Plants, Native Grasses

Austrostipa species (Spear Grass)

Austrostipa species (Spear Grass)

I am impressed by the new grasses book, ‘Grasses of South Australia’ by Jessop, Dashorst and James. I am still studying the glossary to learn the terminology used. I think I will photocopy the glossary and laminate it so that I can hold it in my hand to refer to instead of referring backwards in the book.

I intend to master this book as I would like to be able to go further than say ‘that is an Austrostipa’.

I still have not found a suitable species to use as a native grass lawn. Our naturally low rain fall is the problem. There is no point in trying to establish something that uses as much water as some of the lawn grasses available. I have heard that there will possibly be a need to run a sprinkler once a month to keep the lawn looking like a lawn in the summer. That is a a problem in a particularly dry year as we are having. I guess the decision has to be made about whether we want to have a green patch or not. What would be the purpose of a native grass lawn?

More information on Australian Native Grasses may be found here.

New Grasses Book for South Australia

No Comments »11th November, 2006; Category: Native Grasses

Grasses Identification Workshop

Grasses Identification Workshop

A new book on grasses called ‘Grasses of South Australia’ by Jessop, Dashorst and James is now available. Or, technically, will be available again soon. It sold out fairly quickly and is expected to be available again by the end of November. It is an illustrated guide to the native and naturalised species of grasses.

I still haven’t had a good look at it, or tried using the key for identification. That is something I want to try this week before all the Austrostipa (Spear Grass) seed drops. I hope I can get closer to an identification before I have to measure hairs on seed that might only be .3mm long!

The book contains the information from the 1986 Flora of South Australia by Jessop and Toelken, with corrections and updated information, including 61 extra species. Certainly a great resource for those interested in growing native grasses.

Grass Identification

No Comments »10th November, 2006; Category: Native Grasses

Grasses Identification Workshop

Grasses Identification Workshop

I’ve been watching the grasses around here this past month. There is not the growth that we had last spring but they still flowered even if they were a bit sparse.

I have been able to go to two sessions on grass identification at Mt Pleasant in the northern Mt Lofty Ranges. These were aimed at beginners and were as basic as deciding whether a plant was a grass or not, parts of grasses so that we could understand what is talked about in the Flora guides and deciding such seemingly simple things like the difference between a panicle and a raceme. It took me ages to ‘get it’.

Fortunately our tutors were able to speak layman’s language and make it all understandable and take us to the next stage of using the botanical terminology. In a few weeks we will have a field trip to help us recognise the plants rather than the pieces we were using indoors.

I always fear finding myself propagating introduced species of grasses. I am on a quest for a suitable grass to use as a lawn substitute that will not require excessive water to look good. I heard ‘lawn’ mentioned in one of the conversations, sat up to take notice of what was being said, only to have the other tutor say ‘oh, but…’ and sure enough what was being said applied to a higher rainfall area. Even though we are only 40 minutes drive away, we are in a definite rain shadow here.

Planting More Eremophilas (Emu Bushes)

No Comments »9th November, 2006; Category: Drought Tolerant Plants, Eremophila
Eremophila splendens

Eremophila splendens

More plants found a spot in the ground today. Eremophilas seem to be the best option at the moment. Those I planted were Eremophila splendens, Eremophila ionantha, a very prostrate form of Eremophila glabra with deep red flowers, Eremophila debilis, a yellow form of Eremophila hillii, Eremophila glabra ssp. carnosa, Eremophila denticulata, Eremophila polyclada and Eremophila calorhabdos.

I was very aware of how ‘non wetting’ are some of the spots in the front yard. I’ve been told that potting mixes which have been wet very well will, on drying out, become water repellant. I am sure that must also happen to soil. So the next job needs to be treating the ground with a soil wetting agent and doing the same to the potted plants. With water at a premium this year, every drop needs to be accounted for.

More Information On Growing Eremophilas

Planting Banksias

No Comments »8th November, 2006; Category: Banksias
Banksia praemorsa

Banksia praemorsa

Todays’s jobs have been outside and included planting out a box of 24 Banksia plants in the front entrance area of our place. The spot was chosen for several reasons. Firstly these are spectacular plants when in flower so I wanted them to be where we could see them from the house. People driving or walking past would also get pleasure from the sight of the flowers. The area is well drained, deep, sandy loam, although inclined to be water repellant. Some of the plants will be quite large and will form a screen and windbreak which I want in that location.

Species planted were Banksia caleyi, praemorsa, marginata, sphaerocarpa, ashbyi, dryandroides, lemanniana, oblongifolia, repens, hookerana, candolleana. How successful they are remains to seen. The high pH of the soil may be a problem. I want to grow them without any external interference, other than water, if I can. I soaked the plants in a bucket of water containing a soil wettting agent. Tomorrow I will add some granular soil wetter to the planting spot just under where the dripper water will hit the ground.

More information on Growing Banksias

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