Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jun 02, 2009 11:28 pm Xanthorrhoea australis Hi Does anybody know the cheapest place in Melbourne to buy these grass trees. I think they look great and probably need about 5-6 of them approx 50 cm or higher for the front garden. I have heard also that these can die easily when replanted and most die within 3-4 years in Melbourne. Is this true ?? Anyhow any place that people have picked up some cheap ones let us know Kind Regards Rowan Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 2Jun 04, 2009 12:40 pm Hi Rowan, My neighbour has just had his garden done by Tropical Gardens Nursery located on Mcdonalds rd South Morang ( just near Westfield), he was happy with the price and don't be afraid to negotiate - they haggled their hearts out! Mel Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 3Jun 04, 2009 9:10 pm There is also a family run nursery in Bridge Inn Rd Doreen that have plant prices better than most wholesale outlets. The stock pretty much everything and are open 365 days a year. They have Grass Tree's there, the smallest ones are around 200mm high (trunk height) and around the $75-80 mark. They do get pretty pricey as they get bigger. Make sure they have good drainage and most experts say not to improve the soil, they like the pretty ordinary stuff. Some say to even leave them in the pot and just take the bottom off, as they don;t like disturbance. Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 4Jun 06, 2009 8:26 pm We have one grass tree, which has now been in the ground for over 6 months. The advice given to us was to mound it up and keep it in the soil that it came in, so basically we put a dent in the ground, cut the pot away, plonked it there, fed it with the bacteria provided, and buried the mound with stones. It is apparently very important to not substitute or greatly disturb the soil that it comes with because that soil is what it has successfully grown in. A neighbour just down the street looks like he has killed his already, it looks very sick, and it is not mounded up. By comparison the grass spears on ours have grown quite a bit, but obviously the trunk takes a lot longer. Ours cost $200 and I will post a photo tomorrow to show what you can get for that sort of money. Geoff - Decophile. Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 5Jun 06, 2009 8:35 pm we got ours from Palm Place Nursery at Tullamarine. They sell them for about $6 per centimetre. Mine is still in the pot waiting to be planted at the new house. Figured we might as well get a head start and buy early since they are so slow growing. They have a website too. I found them when stalking ebay one night. Just checked ebay they are still selling on there. no coffee? no work!!! The Big M - PCI complete bring on handover Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 6Jun 07, 2009 10:28 am Eager Ours cost $200 and I will post a photo tomorrow to show what you can get for that sort of money. As promised. Pics are from October 2008 and today. The height of the trunk is 300mm so jido's price is about right. I think the cost of them is much of a muchness when comparing sizes but I have seen some multi-trunked ones well over 2 metres tall for around $1100. The pics don't really show how well it is mounded up, but it is, so whether it falls victim to the urban myth of them dying in a few years or not who knows, but it looks healthy so far. We intend getting another one for the back garden but we'll probably wait until after winter now. Geoff - Decophile. Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 7Jun 10, 2009 4:34 pm Had a very interseting chat with an indigenous landscaper who was extremely passionate about these trees and the use (non) of them. He indictade that yes I high portion will die the removal from bushland is a national disgrace most sold in Victoria are actually indigenous to NSW and not the (more suited) Victoria species I always wanted them but after his thoughts I may try to source some young Victoria species seedlings. I saw Gardenworld have young Blackboy in pots from $30 (just looks like grass at this early stage), though will take decade to look anything like the $100+ ones. Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 8Jun 12, 2009 2:32 pm I saw them being planted on Better Homes and Gardens one night. They cut the base of the pot out, and planted it in the pot (but bottonless). Apparently this will help their survival rate by a mile... Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Black Boy Grass Trees 9Mar 30, 2013 1:06 pm Digging this old chestnut up, but the practice of not removing a pot in favour of it being a way of having a plant survive is a poor practice and shouldn't be done. These plants have a beautiful symbiotic relationship with the soils living biology. Presence of soil organisms is what ensures survival. To leave a plant of any sort bound in the ground is like binding the feet of young girls so their feet remain small as adults. Not very healthy nor in the long term interests of the plant. Try to buy rested specimens in pots. Ones that have had the mycorrhiza re-establish in the soil. For specimens bought from a site earmarked to be cleared, get as much of the soil from where the plant was growing. Use products like Bactivate, Mycoapply, and molasses in water to further stimulate the soils biology. Granted the species of mycorrhiza are different to those in the products but all are conducive to a healthier soil and with that comes greater chance of survival of these precious plants Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Grass Trees/Balga 11Apr 03, 2013 3:35 pm My local Bunnings stocks (small) grass trees and just about any local nursery will have them too. I reckon you'd be looking at a fair amount of money to get 6 medium sized trees though no matter where you go. They seem to be increasingly popular in home gardens which I hope is not leading to a depletion of them in our native forests. Make sure any that you buy have a yellow tag on them (usually stuck to the trunk) as that is meant to signify that they have been legally obtained/grown. Anyway, I had my heart set on getting one of these last year but just cannot afford the pricetag for something that may or may not be happy in my soil. Although I live near Eager so may just reconsider my position They are absolutely beautiful and definitely to be prized. My (online) research led me to understand that the trees don't have roots in the traditional sense but little bulbous growths which can rot/be infected with bad bacteria quite easily which is why (in the sometimes wet Victorian climate) it is normally recommended that you plant them in a mound of soil so they don't get "wet feet". I think this sensitivity in the roots is also the reason minimal disturbance of that area of the plant when first putting into your garden is recommended. I've seen some suggestions that you water the plant with brown sugar diluted in water every so often to encourage good bacteria growth. Here's a fact sheet from Parks Victoria if you're intereste http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets ... Trees4.pdf Good luck Re: Cheap Place in Melbourne to Buy Grass Trees/Balga 12Apr 03, 2013 6:28 pm It's the mycorrhizal fungi that is the important part. Sugar isn't really going to cut it because its too refined. The sugars aren't complex enough. Here in WA they are harvested from areas marked for urban development. I'd imagine it's the same over there. Also WA export a lot of these east. The numbers of them that get destroyed here when clearing for development are too great to count. A tiny percentage are salvaged. Large, older specimens can sell for thousands. Small ones that are around 50cm or less maybe between 50-100years old. Retail for around the $100-150 mark Not all species have the same internal structure/workings. Eg. Kingias are different to Xanthorrhoea Use a product like Equisol's Vitalise to clean the deck then coat with a penetrating timber oil. It will look 10 years younger and add value to your home. Visit for… 1 15792 Appreciate that Chippy. 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