The 140mm pot (which is larger than a tube) is the smallest size (and hence the cheapest plant) that will ensure survival and success at planting. Buying your plants in tubes is false economy if they don’t grow, or worse still if they die.

That is why the bulk of Yuruga’s plants are sold in 140mm pots, and why only a small range of our plants are available to you in tubes.

You will notice that our Yuruga stocklist contains only a very small range of tubes. We don’t sell the bulk of our plants (eg lilly-pillies, grevilleas, banksias etc) to the public in tubes. Why not?

It’s because we care about the survival and success of your planting. As a general rule, most plants in tubes are too young to survive and grow successfully. They need to be bigger to guarantee success. Hence the standard 140mm diameter pot (which is much bigger than a tube) is the preferred pot size for selling to the public, for good reason.

Young plants are like young people… they need to be big enough before they can be sent out into the world to fend for themselves. Just as a two-year old child is not big enough for school, young plants in tubes are not usually well-enough developed for planting out until they reach the 140mm pot size.

The 140mm pot (which is larger than a tube) is the smallest size (and hence the cheapest plant) that will ensure survival and success. Buying your plants in tubes will be false economy if they don’t grow, or worse if they all die. That is why the bulk of Yuruga’s plants are sold in 140mm pots.

We know this from 30 years of experience, and we care about the success of your planting.

The trouble is that this, on its own, will not solve the problem. Myna Birds have only moved into Cairns in pest proportions because the native birds have been driven out. Native birds need native plants, but over the years Cairns gardens have become more and more exotic and less and less native. Hence, a vacuum of native birds has created a void for exotic Myna birds to fill.

Trapping and removing the Myna birds is not a permanent solution. Native birds will not move back into gardens made of exotic plants, even if there are no Myna birds there. Native birds simply do not live in gardens of exotic draceanas, happy plants, heliconias, hibiscus, acalyphas and gold canes. So, removing the Myna birds will only work in the short time, and after a little while new Myna bird populations will re-establish because there are no native birds to keep them out.

The only long-term solution is to increase the habitat for native birds by planting native plants. This is where a concerted effort by land-holders and government agencies is needed, to change planting policy from exotic plants to native plants.

This approach will work. We know from experience.

Yuruga Nursery is surrounded by farming land inhabited by large populations of Myna birds. They sit on the fence and look in, but they have never, in our 30 years experience, ever done more than fly over our property. Why? Because our native gardens have an established population of native birds which keep the Myna birds out.

The following is an article from our August 2004 newsletter.

Solving the Myna Bird Problem (and sparrows as well)…

Myna Birds are a terrible pest in gardens in north Queensland. They are aggressive and destructive, and when they move into your garden they drive every other bird out. The number of articles that have appeared in the local media lately gives an indication of the seriousness of the problem. All sorts of remedies are being advocated, including a gassing machine to catch and destroy the birds. For nature lovers this is a drastic and quite alarming solution.

There’s actually a very simple solution, which native plant lovers have known for years… plant native plants!

Native plants provide habitat for native birds, and if you have a strong, stable and well-established population of native birds in your garden, Myna birds will not be able to establish there.

The trick is to have a sufficiently large and established population of native birds in the garden so that force of numbers and established territory makes the garden an unattractive place for the Myna birds to move into.

Native birds need native plants if they are to live permanently in your garden, so the secret of building up a strong and permanent population of native birds in your garden is to plant sufficient native plants in the right balance. You need to provide both food and shelter, and to cater for fruit and insect eating birds as well as honeyeaters.

Include lots of honey-flora plants, making sure the plants you choose are suitable for your area. Popular honey-flora plants include grevilleas, callistemons, banksias, melaleucas, tea-trees, graptophyllums and eucalypts.

Also include plants that will provide food for the fruit and seed eaters. Figs and native Laurels are great for larger gardens. In smaller gardens, the Little Evodia is a very sought-after seed-source, and the fruit of dianellas (flax lilies) are very popular food sources for native birds.

It’s all a matter of choosing suitable plants for your particular garden, so don’t be afraid to ask our expert retail staff for advice in selecting plants.

Native birds will not establish permanent populations in your garden unless you also provide adequate shelter and appropriate nesting sites, so you will need to include lots of lilly-pillies and other dense bushy plants. Make sure the plants you choose are suitable for your area so that they grow well and provide sufficient food and shelter.

Evidence gathered from gardeners over the years suggests that you need an area of about an acre, made up of at least 80% native plants. This may sound impossible, but the good news is that you don’t need to own an acre yourself. Birds don’t see man-made fences and so a group of like-minded neighbours with predominantly native gardens can easily achieve the same result.

The Yuruga Nursery property is surrounded by farming land which is regularly invaded by Myna birds. However, we have never had Myna birds at Yuruga, and this is due simply to the large and extensive native gardens and the permanent populations of an assortment of native birds at the nursery.

For more information on how to create a balanced native garden that will attract native birds to the exclusion of pest birds such as sparrows and Myna birds, see our Information Sheet No. 7 “Attracting Birds”.

Xanthorrhoea johnsonii

Your purchase of these stunning trees will enhance your outdoor space and give you years of pleasure. An impressive feature, your grass tree will add value to your home and lifestyle experience.

Grass trees are extremely hardy if well cared for in the initial stages of transplanting from the wild. Only a small number of reputable companies successfully transplant grass trees and our supplier is one of them.

Our trees are not sold for around 12 months after transplantation, which is when they display strong root and new top growth. Grass trees are extremely slow growing. In poor bush soil, where most grass trees grow naturally, the trunk will grow approximately 1cm per year. They take up to 10 years to start forming a trunk, and a tree with a 1 metre tall trunk could be 100 years old. In better soils, growth is slightly faster and trees are more likely to grow multiple heads.

Grass trees will always grow more vigorously in the garden than in pots, as they can access the right balance of nutrients themselves.

Planting and Drainage:

Choose an open, sunny position for your grass tree, with good drainage. Avoid any boggy or low-lying spots that hold water during the wet season. Plant on a slope or in a raised bed if that is not possible.

Keep as much soil around the roots as possible and minimise damage and disturbance to the roots when planting. This is best achieved by preparing a hole at least twice the size of the pot. Gently lie the pot on the ground and cut the bottom of the pot out with secateurs or similar. Next, gently position the pot in the hole and make 2 cuts opposite each other down the sides of the pot. The sides can then be removed and you can start backfilling into the hole. It is important to ensure that you leave no air pockets in the soil, so it is a good idea to water in as you go. Gently rocking the tree will help, and about 50 litres of water will be needed at each watering.

Once your grass tree has been planted, you can give it a drink of diluted seasol, to help reduce transplant shock. No other fertilisers should be needed.

Water your grass tree about twice a week during the drier months, and every 10 days or so during the wet season if it doesn’t rain. Use about 5 buckets worth for a good soak.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary, and in fact, may be detrimental to set fire to your grass tree. It is not advised to set fire to the crown at any stage of your tree’s life.

Fertilising:

As chemical fertilisers are not naturally present in Australian soils, it is not considered that your grass tree will require fertilising. The only exception is a bucket or two of diluted seasol at planting, and perhaps during the growing season between October and January. Your natural garden soil should provide all the nutrients your grass tree requires.

By following the above guidelines you will give your grass tree the best chance for a long and healthy life. We cannot provide a guarantee for the life of the plant once it leaves the nursery, but we are happy to give you any advice that you may require.

Saturday morning Garden Show on 4CA with Steve Ahmet and Yuruga’s Peter and Ann Radke A full half-hour of local gardening information from 8:00 to 8:30am every Saturday morning.

Saturday morning Garden Show on 4AM with Yuruga’s Peter Radke. Listen in for the local Gardening Segment between 9am and 10am every Saturday morning.

And also on 4AM:

Test you native plant knowledge… and win!

Listen to 4AM every Monday morning for the Yuruga quiz question.

The first correct answer wins a voucher for Coffee and Cake for Two at the Yuruga Garden Café.
Programme 4AM into your speed dial – 4092 4558.

Banksias are everyone’s favourites, and I’ve not met a person yet who doesn’t want a banksia, or three, in their garden. Their beautiful stiff bottlebrush-type flower spikes are so showy. Their gnarled woody banksia-cones are so decorative. Their foliage is so interesting. And their (often twisted) architectural form is a relaxed and welcome change from the almost-too-perfect symmetry of the typical garden plant.

So… what banksias to grow here in FNQ?

Well, be careful what books and magazines you read, or you might end up very disillusioned and disappointed.

Most glossy books and magazines are written for the southern Australian market, based around the capital cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne where the great bulk of Australians live. And they feature all those out-of-this-world banskias from WA which just make your mouth water looking at the photos. The trouble is that the climate of WA and southern Australia is pretty well the opposite of our climate here in FNQ. Where they have hot dry summers, we have hot wet summers. Where they have cold wet winters, we have warm dry winters. So plants adapted to the climate of southern and western Australian simply can’t cope up here, and usually melt away pretty rapidly when they encounter there first tropical wet season.

So, forget about growing the southern banksia species, and look closer to home. Luckily for us, there’s some beautiful tropical banksias perfectly suited to our climate.

Our favourite is the Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa), because it’s easy to grow and makes a fantastic display. If you have a dampish spot, then the Swamp Banksia (Banksia robur) is just perfect. And its huge (absolutely huge) dark green serrated leaves, olive green flowers (yes, olive green!) and twisted shape make a stunning statement in your garden. The Hinchinbrook Banksia (Banksia plagiocarpa) is popular amongst flower growers for its blue (yes, blue!) flower spikes. The Mountain Banksia (Banksia aquilonia) loves a cooler, shadier garden. And the Cape York Banksia (Banksia dentata) thrives in sandy soil.

The trouble with banksias is that they’re addictive. Just ask local botanical artist Ian Wallace who set out on a mission to paint every one of Australia’s 80-odd banksia species. Mission complete (wow!), he is now exhibiting his wonderful paintings in the gallery at the Cooktown Botanic Gardens throughout the month of May. If you’re a sucker for banksias, or native flora in general, or just love to feast your eyes on exceptional art-work, then what better excuse could you need to head off to Cooktown in the next week or two?

You’ll be delighted to know that Ian has compiled copies of his beautiful paintings into handy Field Guides, complete with descriptive text. If you’re the slightest bit interested in banksias, then “An Illustrated Guide to Eastern Banksias” by Ian Wallace is a must-have.

Google “Ian Wallace Banksias” and have a browse at www.ianwallacebanksias.com.au.

Do you have a banksia in your garden?

Happy gardening (and see you at Yuruga!),

Peter and Ann

Feature trees need enough space to grow without being obstructed by other plants. So it’s important to find out how large the tree you’re planting is expected to grow in a garden setting and to plant it accordingly. Remember also that the wild size of most trees isn’t the same as garden size, especially when you’re talking about rainforest trees, because in a garden, rainforest trees don’t need to stretch up to a 30 metre canopy to reach the light, so they are generally much smaller in gardens.

When you’ve decided on a tree, make sure it has plenty of room. Make sure it will be able to grow to its full expected height without touching other trees, and make sure it will have a clear upwards path without obstruction from overhanging branches or power lines. And give it the best start by following the soil preparation instructions on Yuruga Nursery’s soil preparation information sheet. Remember that this tree will be a feature so the extra effort you make now will pay off in the future when it looks stunning.

Most local trees can be grown as impressive feature trees, and a bit of experimenting with less common species may yield some very surprising results, but if you only have space for one or two feature trees, then it’s advisable to get some professional assistance to pick the best one for the location, available space and local climate.

A handful of my favourites are: The Golden Penda, Wheel of Fire, Ivory Curl, Stockwellia, Red Beech, Northern Cypress, Pink Silky Oak, Cascading Bean, Native Olive, Poplar Gum and Lemon-scented Gum. However there are still plenty more and your choice should be based largely on your growing conditions so the tree will grow to its full potential.

There are however a few trees I would only recommend to those with large properties and a lot of space to fill. The Bunya pine, Kaddam and Moreton Bay Fig are just three of the monsters only suited to acreages where they can be grown a safe distance from the house. If you’re looking for inspiration have a look at the book “A Field Guide to Australian Trees” by Ivan Holliday, or drop in to Yuruga Nursery and let the staff there match you up with a tree.

See you at Yuruga,
Marcus.

However I’m not blaming the tree because I know what I did wrong and I’m 100% at fault. My mistake was that I planted this poor little tree in an area that I knew would get waterlogged for much of the wet season. So basically I drowned it.

The roots of most plants need air to survive, and without it they cease to function and eventually just rot away. Without its roots being able to take in nutrients and water, a plant will actually look like it’s drying out on top. So if you notice a plant going yellow, and its leaves becoming limp and falling off during the wet season while the soil is obviously not dry, then the most likely cause is waterlogging. And to be honest, once a plant has reached that stage it is highly unlikely that it will recover no matter what you do. Just pull it out and learn from your mistake.

So what should I have done differently? Well, I should have been more patient, and waited till the wet season was over before planting that tree in that location. Many rainforest trees will tolerate waterlogged soils for short periods as long as they’ve been given time to establish their roots in that location. They’ll extend them outside of the limits of the hole you dug and advance into stable soil where pockets of air are trapped in the matrix of the soil. Unfortunately the roots of my newly planted Daintree Penda were still confined to the potting mix it came in, and now, with no drainage due to the water logged soil around it, it has sadly passed away.

Once the wet season is finished I’ll give it a second try. But this time the new Daintree Penda will have seven months to get its root system established before it has to cope with a wet season and more water than it needs.

Or I might just plant something that loves growing in waterlogged soils, like a Leichhardt tree.

See you at Yuruga.
Marcus.

A lot of trees have the ability to re-sprout from the trunk, even if they snapped off close to ground level. In this case, all you need to do is cleanly cut off the broken section and paint the cut surface with a water based paint, such as the paint farmers use when they prune orchards. Depending on the type of tree, it may re-shoot in as little as a week or two. And if it doesn’t, then at least you gave it a second chance. Most Australian natives such as eucalypts, banksias, and bottlebrushes are excellent re-shooters because it’s an adaptation they have for coping with fires.

The advantage of trees grown this way is that they will grow very quickly because they already have a very well established root system.

As for those plants that have been lost, they’ll make good mulch for their replacements once they’ve been recycled by the council mulchers. And you’ll be able to give a bunch of new plants a home.

See you at Yuruga.
Marcus.

There is an obvious alternative to green paint. It’s called the garden. Actually I’d better be more specific. It’s a garden containing plants, not just concrete ornaments, or old cars. (You know who I’m talking about).

So if you haven’t already filled your garden with plants, or screened your neighbours with a living wall of green, maybe the fact that you can decrease your stress by having a green space will be enough incentive to get planting.

The following are a few of my favourite really green plants. The common Lilly Pilly (Syzygium australe) that is so popular for screens is also an excellent rich and glossy green. The Umbrella Tree is another one that has rich green leaves and works well in moist spots. Speaking of wet areas, Cunjevoi is a great one for that, and it’s big elephant-ear leaves are great for blocking out fences. In the category of trees, I couldn’t go past the Stockwellia (Stockwellia quadrifida). It’s a medium sized shade tree that deserves much more popularity because it is such a beautiful tree. And yes, its leaves are green.

So with a green lawn as a floor, a green screen as walls and green shade trees as green ceiling, you can create an extreme Green Room in your garden. And next time the kids give you a headache, you’ve got somewhere to de-stress, preferably with a cold beer in one hand.

See you at Yuruga.
Marcus.

The Weeping Tea Tree (Leptospermum madidum) which is a common sight in parks and gardens due to its attractive weeping form and smooth bark. And the Lemon Scented Tea Tree (Leptospermum petersonii ssp. petersonii) which as the name suggests has strongly lemon scented foliage. Generally speaking Leptospermums are small to medium sized shrubs that produce large numbers of flowers. In some instances, for example Leptospermum “Cardwell”, the flowers may even outnumber the leaves, making the plant irresistible to bees and butterflies. Most Leptospermums grow in the scrub. However there is even one true rainforest species, Wooroonooran Tea Tree (Leptospermum wooroonooran), which is found at the top of Mt Bellenden Ker. And I doubt many gardeners down south have ever heard of it, let alone seen it for sale.

One of my favorites is the Purple Stemmed Turkey Bush (Leptospermum purpurascens). This little shrub is hardly known in cultivation, but in my opinion it has a lot going for it. It’s small and tough, tolerant of poor soils and requires very little care. However it’s the trunk that’s the outstanding feature of this species. For a couple of months each year it’s purple! And I’m not talking about a wishy-washy purple, but rather the sort of colour that makes you question its authenticity. I have to admit the first time I saw it I gave it a good rub to see if it was paint, because it certainly didn’t look like any bark I was used to.

So why are they overlooked? Well, to be quite honest, they are overlooked by customers in nurseries because they don’t look that good in pots. They’re just small plants with small leaves and there is nothing outstanding about them. It’s only once they’ve been given the opportunity to grow and flower in the garden that they become outstanding. Also because they are not great sellers, it’s often difficult to find a good range of Leptospermums in nurseries. However Yuruga Nursery usually has about a dozen different species and cultivars including the Wooroonooran Tea Tree.

Happy Gardening.
Marcus.