[John J]

Regular followers of the Forum will possibly be aware that from time to time I bemoan the fact that local plant retailers have an annoying tendency to offer for sale stock that is not appropriate for water-wise mediterranean gardens. Today, whilst browsing around such an establishment in Limassol, I came across 2 plants that were new to me. On looking them up I found them to be natives of Australia, described as being heat and drought tolerant once established. Hence the exclamation at the top of this thread. As I know little or nothing about these plants perhaps our Australian friends could supply some info with regard to their likes and dislikes, general maintenance, etc.
The plants are; Adenanthos sericeus (Wooly Bush) and Ptilotus exaltatus 'Joey'.
Many thanks in anticipation.

[Trevor Australis]

Yes, the Woolly Bush will be a great addition to your garden. It is reliable, drought hardy and fairly long lived. The flowers are not showy but quietly interesting in an attractive kind of way. The Ptilotus I have found more problematic. The plants are usually grown from tissue cultured plantlets and then grown on as small plugs. Every time I have tried it the re-potted plants have not been potted-on long enough for the roots to establish in a standard sized pot. Consequently my plants have fallen over (literally) and died. So I am cautious about them. This plant comes from semi-desert areas with very sandy soils, sharp drainage and infrequent rain - so siting, soil and watering are crucial to success.

[John J]

Thanks, Trevor, that's useful to know. We've certainly qualified regarding the infrequent rain up to now, but they have a saying here that if it rains on St Barbara's Day (4 Dec) then it will rain for the next 3 days. Well it rained yesterday and it's definitely giving it another good go this morning!

[Fleur Pavlidis]

Adenanthos sericeus appears to be tolerant of alkaline soil. A few cuttings in January would be greatly appreciated - see my previous post.

[John J]

Fleur, for you, Sally and Sparoza I think I can squeeze one of these little fellows into my hand luggage, they're only about 30cm tall at present.

[David Feix]

Adenanthos sericeus gets quite large ultimately, I prefer the even more silver foliaged, compact growing A. drummondii for garden designs. It combines wonderfully with Isopogon formosus. The Ptilotus has been around in nurseries here for several years now, but I never see successful plantings in local gardens. It seems to be very short-lived in our local conditions; most seem to use it as a short lived showy annual for a brief month of bloom.

[Fleur Pavlidis]

David, would you mind adding a little signature to your profile so that we know where you are gardening?
The plant that John J brought for Sparoza is still waiting to be planted out. Any advice on the conditions it prefers would be very useful.

[Fermi]

... The Ptilotus I have found more problematic..... This plant comes from semi-desert areas with very sandy soils, sharp drainage and infrequent rain - so siting, soil and watering are crucial to success.

Hi Trevor,
we had the same experience with Ptilotus 'Joey' but had previously had a few years value out of Ptilotus exaltatus grown from tubestock at a nearby "native plants specialist" (Goldfields Revegetation Nursery, Mandurang www.goldfieldsrevegetation.com.au) and will be trying a " purple Mulla Mulla" bought from Kuranga Nursery (www.kuranga.com.au) near Melbourne yesterday (don't you just love plant-buying trips!).
Just need to decide if it'll prefer a sand bed or a simple raised bed of our local soil,
cheers
fermi

[David Feix]

Couldn't seem to change info on my smart phone. I design and install gardens here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have garden photos on Flickr-David Feix Landscape Design

[Fleur Pavlidis]

Many thanks. You can find David's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/20217462@N02/