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Buying
Australian plants
A lot
of people buy plants like they buy spinach -
they go for the biggest bunch and the greenest,
lushest leaves! This is a good strategy if you
are going to eat the plants or feed them to
the goat but not always the best one if you
are intending to plant them in the garden.
I suggest
that the aim is to buy a healthy plant which
is a good example of the species and form you
want; one which will transplant readily, grow
and flower as quickly as possible and grace
your garden for a long time. As with any purchase
you also want value for the money you spend.
Having bought many plants over many years for
many dollars I am now able to pass on a few
tips for successful plant purchasing.
I will
assume that you have already decided on the
species suitable for the spot in the garden
you intend to fill. Of course if you go out
and buy the perfect plant after reading this
there is no guarantee that it will succeed.
You still have to look after it until it is
planted, plant it correctly in well prepared
soil and give it proper care from there on,
but that is another story.
Where
do you get it ?
There
are not specific standards for ornamental plants
like there are for many other items we buy.
A nursery accreditation scheme exists but its
use varies across the country and it has not
been implemented in the ACT as far as I know.
Of course
it depends on where you live. Those living in
or near major cities will probably have a range
of choice. This will include the specialist
native nursery, where a good range of plants
will be available. Here you can expect information
and assistance from staff. General Nurseries
and Garden Centres may offer a section on native
plants or the native plants may be located in
the general section. Chain stores can offer
cheap plants, but these could be from anywhere
in Australia and whether they will do well in
your garden will probably be anybody's guess.
Plant Markets often have the same problem.
A major
problem for native plant enthusiasts in the
Canberra region has always been that much of
the native plant stock is grown on the coast,
brought to Canberra and sold with scant regard
to the suitability of species, with little chance
to harden off and with labels describing their
performance on the coast. This problem still
exists with a lot of the plants sold in chain
stores or brought in for 'markets' from time
to time. There has been some improvement in
the availability of locally grown plants and
in the labelling of plants sold in Garden Centres
and Nurseries but there is still a long way
to go.
Locally
grown native plants are available at our sales
and sales of the Australian National Botanic
Gardens Growing Friends. We have a leaflet available
which lists local growers of native plants.
The Australian Native Plant Sale & Information
Day is held at the rear of the Yarralumla Nursery
on the first Saturday of the month. .
Labelling
Some
years ago ASGAP (The Association of Societies
for Growing Australian Plants) worked on plant
labelling with the Australian Consumers Association
and an article on this topic appeared in Choice
magazine in April 1991. This article listed
the following information as being essential
on plant labels: Scientific name, Size, Habit
(does it grow as a tree, shrub, low prostrate
shrub, or ground cover?), Flower colour, Flowering
time/period, Sun/shade requirements, Soil requirements,
Water requirements, Specific tolerances/intolerances
We now
include this information on most of the labels
at our plant sales.
Checking
out your plant
You have
found your plant and you now have to decide
whether to buy it.
| Step
1. |
Check
the label. Is the species, form and colour
what you wanted? If the label lacks essential
information ask for assistance and go elsewhere
if you are not satisfied. Does the plant
look right from your knowledge of the plant
or like the picture on the label (if there
is one) or the picture you saw in a book.
If not find out why. |
| Step
2. |
Check
the price. Do you want to pay this much?
Remember that you might be caring for this
plant for many years so it is worthwhile
getting a good plant to start with. |
| Step
3. |
Check
the size of the plant and the size of the
pot. Prostrate and low growing plants excepted,
the plant should be greater than half the
height of the pot and less than three times
the height of the pot. If it is smaller
than this it is either immature or in the
wrong sized pot. If it is bigger than this
it is in the wrong sized pot or it is overgrown.
Remember you are not buying spinach. |
| Step
4. |
Check
the foliage. It should be green or whatever
colour is right colour for the species.
It should be healthy and free from discolouration.
It should show evidence of new growth without
being too soft and lush which would indicate
too much shade and/or water. |
| Step
5. |
Check
the mix. Look at the surface of the mix,
it should be free of weeds, liverwort etc.
Lift the pot and see how heavy it is. A
very heavy pot indicates a dense mix which
may have inhibited root development. A very
light pot indicates either that the plant
has been too long in the pot or the mix
is too light and will dry out rapidly. |
| Step
6. |
Check
the roots. Look at the bottom of the pot.
If there are substantial roots protruding
or if it looks like roots have been cut
off reject the plant. Better root development
is achieved in straight sided pots with
large holes in the base and root training
ridges down the sides. One of the major
causes of plant deaths in the garden is
the planting of plants which are root bound.
They may die or blow over many years later
from this cause. If you suspect that a plant
might be root bound ask the nursery person
to tip the plant out so you can inspect
the roots. If they are unwilling to do this
move on to another nursery. |
| Step
7. |
Check
the choice. If the plant you want is available
in pots of different sizes and is of the
same quality in each size choose the smaller
plant in the smaller pot. Experience has
shown that the smaller plant will generally
overtake the larger in a year or two and
outstrip it from there on. The larger plant
may be the best bet if you want to impress
the estate agent next week! |
Summary
All this
might sound like a lot fuss but with a bit of
practice it only takes a minute or two and it
may save you a lot of work later on replanting
the ones that were wrong or the ones that died.
[Geoff
Clarke]
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