Propagating Australian Native Plants

There has been relief from the heatwaves and I have been potting on struck cuttings as fast as I could. I wanted them in their pots and in the hot house before the next burst of heat. New roots dry out so quickly when planting on. Sometimes I have taken potting mix, seedlings, pots and boxes for the plants inside to work, but the hassle is still finding somewhere to store the newly potted seedlings. Not to mention the mess to clean up and the lugging of boxes of plants to the hot house.

The hot house has allowed me to keep the survival rate very high as the humidity keeps a blanket of moisture around the soft leaves. The next step is gradual hardening off.

I have a number of plants I am looking forward to planting out next month, taking advantage of the warm ground to get them growing well before the frosts slow things down. Unfortunately it means bucketing extra drinks to the plants until the rains in late autumn, but it will be worth it to have them well established before next summer.

I want to do a survey around town to see what has survived this summer and under what conditions, drippers, hand watering or none at all.