Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jun 19, 2010 11:17 am Hi
We have started the landscaping and at the plant selection stage. Anyone used the following plants, success or failures? Acacia Limelight Purple Cordyline Phormium tenax (bronze baby) Dianella Tasmanica (Tas Red) Agonis flexuosa (Nana) Correa reflexa (Nummulariarifolia) Kennedia prostrata We are located in Victoria. Re: Opinions on plants 2Jun 19, 2010 12:47 pm Acacia Limelight I have a few of these - lost one, still no idea why but the others are thriving and turning into monsters. The colour is gorgeous, a nice contrast to the duller greens of many plants. Purple Cordyline I have one cordy "red star" and it's doing well in a large pot. Keep in mind that with cordys, all the foliage is at the top of the plant, so when they get tall, you can be left staring at a bare trunk, with all the pretty leaves waving around waaay above your head. As a background plant, I really like them though. Phormium tenax (bronze baby) I have Bronze Warrior, and some green ones that I forget the name of. They need trimming now and then to removed dead outer leaves and browned-off tips. Fu hates them, don't mention Phormium around him. There are better grasses (lomandras, carex, dianellas...just to name a few), but if you love them, they should do OK in most parts of the state. Dianella Tasmanica (Tas Red) I have a different variety (Silver Streak), but they just about grow themselves. Agonis flexuosa (Nana) Can't help with this one...do a search here, it's been mentioned many times before, so I'm sure there's info on it. Correa reflexa (Nummulariarifolia) I love these! I have Dusky Bells out the back, and Alba in the front yard. Both are extremely hardy and the flowers are so pretty. The simple white flowers of Alba are lovely, but it's the grey foliage that I love with this one. All of mine are growing like mad. Kennedia prostrata I had one of these planted at the top of a retaining wall at our old house and visitors always commented on it. Beautiful red, pea-shaped flowers, and a really dense, cascading habit. It can be a bit invasive though, so watch where you put it. As long as you're prepared to give it a haircut a couple of times a year to keep it in check, it should be fine. Personally, I'd use it in a cascading position again, but probably not as a ground cover - there are better choices. Re: Opinions on plants 3Jun 19, 2010 9:57 pm scratch the Cordy, boring and over used. A McPlant The flax is also a McPLant and boring and over used in every garden in the world. Thye are particularly unreliable in the heat especially when young. So to with the cordyline. Agonis flex will need plenty of space and get big and wide. Even the dwarf ones fill out. They are messy. The limelight is stunning, so to the Kennedia and Correa although I prefer Dusky Bells and misty pink. Re: Opinions on plants 4Jun 20, 2010 11:34 am Fu Manchu scratch the Cordy, boring and over used. A McPlant The flax is also a McPLant and boring and over used in every garden in the world. Thye are particularly unreliable in the heat especially when young. So to with the cordyline. What did I tell you.....? Re: Opinions on plants 5Jun 20, 2010 1:34 pm The limelight's tag indicating that it grows 1m x 1m is telling porkies. I have 2, one mature one that is 2m wide and growing and a smaller one that is a year old that is 1m wide. The height is pretty much right. They are beautiful plants and work nice with lomandra tanika or ilk, as the colour complements each other well. Fu or anyone else, can you prune back the limelight hardish or will it lose it's natural shape? Re: Opinions on plants 6Jun 20, 2010 6:52 pm sounds like that "limelight" one is easy to propagate from cuttings. nice to know if you want a few of them. I think I'll add them to my plant to get collection list. Getting excited atm as our fencing is basically finshed. Which means I can start shifting more dirt and PLANTING!woohoo BeatrixKiddo the thread I've linked mentions trimming them back for newer leaves as well as for cuttings http://www.ozgrow.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=138 A few years ago there used to be a couple of the Agonis flexuosa (Nana) outside lullfitz's nursery and they got huge. Nothing in size compared to the tree version (which we used to have) but still nothing like the cute little border/edgng plants people often think of them as. Re: Opinions on plants 7Jun 20, 2010 7:02 pm Some spot on info so far folks. Beatrix, you'd be dead right about the tag info. I too have seen some wonderful examples of them that are about what you have They love a clip but only clip, at most, into semi hard wood. Best to clip from a young plant to get the best look. Re: Opinions on plants 8Jun 21, 2010 9:25 am Thanks for the pruning tips guys. I had a feeling a light clip only as i heard some wattles hate hard pruning. I saw a huge limelight in a nursery in ne melb (can't remember which one) it would have been 3-4 m wide and 1-2 m high. Re: Opinions on plants 9Jun 22, 2010 1:01 am It might not have been limelight but just plain cognata which is the plant limelight was bred from Re: Opinions on plants 10Jun 22, 2010 9:32 am Yeah fair point Fu, it might have been, it did look awfully similar but not as dense. Will find out next time i drive by. Re: Opinions on plants 11Jun 23, 2010 12:27 am meh, it doesn't matter though does it They both look bloody good Re: Opinions on plants and a feature tree. 12Jun 23, 2010 2:58 pm Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts and information. OK re thinking the Phormium tenax of to research keks suggestions, Fu please forgive me but the Purple Cordyline will only be 4 out of 140+ plants. Now for the feature tree Manchurian Pear? but I am open to suggestions Re: Opinions on plants and feature tree 14Jul 09, 2010 4:58 pm Nice! I'm glad you went for the acacias.... you need a contrast to the strappy/spiky plants. What do you have along the side boundary, next to the footpath - I can't tell... Re: Opinions on plants and feature tree 15Jul 09, 2010 5:28 pm kek Nice! I'm glad you went for the acacias.... you need a contrast to the strappy/spiky plants. What do you have along the side boundary, next to the footpath - I can't tell... Alternate Pittosporum Tenuifolium Silver Sheen and Photinia glabra Rubens need a hedge and a wind break in that area. Looking forward to seeing the acacias grow as you said it will make a nice contrast. Although they did not come up in the photos the Correa Mallee Pastel are in there also already with pink flowers. We ended up going Myoporum Parvifolium for the ground cover. Re: Opinions on plants and a feature tree. 16Aug 10, 2010 3:40 am mdzzj Fu please forgive me but the Purple Cordyline will only be 4 out of 140+ plants. That's cool I bet you will post here again once you get a hot spell over there Hi , I'm currently going through this now within the Whitehorse council which has a similar set of restrictions. We're having to make compromises with our floor plan due… 3 23656 Murraya could be a great option for you. It creates a great tall screening hedge but doesn't drop fruit like lily pilly. The flowers smell divine. 2 7962 hmmm id assume youll get hit with the "natural product therefore variation in colour etc" excuse. How bad are we talking? One could argue that if none of the displays or… 3 1849 |