When is the best time of the year to plant tube stock natives?
We intend to buy a couple of hundred Grevilia, Banksia, Callistermons etc.

Our property (Hunter Valley area) has concrete type clay with rocks/pebbles.

Should I dig a larger hole (6") and put some good soil in to establish the
plants?

--
Harry

"Harry" wrote in message
...
When is the best time of the year to plant tube stock natives?
We intend to buy a couple of hundred Grevilia, Banksia, Callistermons etc.

Our property (Hunter Valley area) has concrete type clay with
rocks/pebbles.

Should I dig a larger hole (6") and put some good soil in to establish the
plants?

--
Harry



before you buy hundreds of a kind, test if your soil/conditions
are suitable for a particular plant. I can grow anything except
banksias in my garden for example, whereas a friend of mine
had every single grevilla she'd planted die on her.
Clay soil isn't a very good type of soil, better find out what
natives don't mind it, or what grows naturally in that area.

Barb.

"Harry" wrote in message
...
When is the best time of the year to plant tube stock natives?
We intend to buy a couple of hundred Grevilia, Banksia, Callistermons etc.

Our property (Hunter Valley area) has concrete type clay with
rocks/pebbles.

Should I dig a larger hole (6") and put some good soil in to establish the
plants?

--
Harry



You could get away with putting them in now, and the larger hole with good
soil will give them a good start.

However the best thing would be wait 'till spring. In the meantime spread
gypsum to break up the clay. Just throw it on the surface for the first
application, and water in. Then say in a couple of months put some more on,
but dig it in.
Also try get some pH readings (after the gypsum applications) to see what
the soil is like and adjust if needed. If possible, try get some good soil
dug in too, to break it up a little.

At work we have got clay soil mostly, on rock.

I've seen some Eucalypts and callistemons seem healthy, grow quite well, to
about 3metres tall, then a bit of a stong wind and they fall over as the
roots just haven't got down. This happens cos of the rock of course, but
also seen it happen where about half a foot of soil has been dumped on clay
for a garden. The roots stay in the good soil, but not into the clay, and of
course fall over easily. Happened in the last week with the wind we got here
(on the mid north coast).
Also I have seen Grevillias just not grow at all in the clay. They survive,
but just don't grow, and look not much different in size than the day they
were planted about 2yr ago. Other areas of imported soil, and they do well.
All the above mentioned plants have done well in gardens where a lot, or all
the soil was brought in.
About the only ones that I have seen do alright in clay have been
candlestick banksias. Never known why though.

Good luck

--
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Hi Harry,

In terms of whether Clay soils are "good" or not, the nutrients in clay
soils are much more available to most plants than a more sandy soil.

Whichever plants you eventually choose to plant, look at the soil type they
would grow in naturally (unless you are getting grafted specimens). If they
are coastal and prefer pure sand they they won't grow in clay.

Callistemons are crekk dwellers in nature, and do well in waterlooged, clay
soils. Even teh quite dry clay soil of my yard supprts Banksia spinulosa,
Endeavour callistemon and several other species you would think were
intolerant of heavy clays, such as Actinotus, and Bauera (a sandstone
species). neither are in raised beds, but perhaps the drought has more to
do with their success than not being raised above the clay?

Good luck


"Harry" wrote in message
...
When is the best time of the year to plant tube stock natives?
We intend to buy a couple of hundred Grevilia, Banksia, Callistermons etc.

Our property (Hunter Valley area) has concrete type clay with
rocks/pebbles.

Should I dig a larger hole (6") and put some good soil in to establish the
plants?

--
Harry

Our home is surrounded with heavy clay - you could dig some up and make
pottery with it! About a year ago I planted a large range of grevilleas,
banksias and native grasses. I dug holes at least twice the size of the
plants root ball, filled the hole with potting mix and planted into that.
The plants grow very vigorously over 6mths or so, then slow down a little as
the roots grow to the clay. However, I haven't had a single fatality or sick
plant. Some grevilleas are now well over 2mtrs tall. There are a lot of
grevilleas (and some banksias) that tolerate clay and/or wet conditions very
well.


"Harry" wrote in message
...
When is the best time of the year to plant tube stock natives?
We intend to buy a couple of hundred Grevilia, Banksia, Callistermons etc.

Our property (Hunter Valley area) has concrete type clay with
rocks/pebbles.

Should I dig a larger hole (6") and put some good soil in to establish the
plants?

--
Harry

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.

I think I will experiment.
Plant out about 20 or so plants in various configurations (hole sizes and
potting mixes).
Digging in gypsum is not an option. The area I'm considering is approx 3
acres, but will try localised areas.

I have just planted some seeds from local natives I've *found* (while
walking) to see how they go.

Gardening is a long term hobby/task, and I'm prepared to give most things a
try, and also expect a few failures.

--
Harry

"Harry" wrote in message
...
When is the best time of the year to plant tube stock natives?
We intend to buy a couple of hundred Grevilia, Banksia, Callistermons etc.

Our property (Hunter Valley area) has concrete type clay with
rocks/pebbles.

Should I dig a larger hole (6") and put some good soil in to establish the
plants?

--
Harry

In article ,
"Andrew G" wrote:

However the best thing would be wait 'till spring.

No.

At least, not in Sydney and I imagine it's the same for the OP. Autumn
planting gives the plants a chance to develop their root systems before being
exposed to high temperatures. If you plant tube stock in spring, you lose
heaps over summer.

The Autumn Plant Sale at Mount Annan Botanical Gardens (organised by the
Grevillea Group of the Australian Plants Society) will be held on 5-6 April.
Pop down and see what's on offer.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

The most consistent empirical proof from history is the doctrine of human
depravity. -- Chuck Colson

In article , "Andrew G"
wrote:

However the best thing would be wait 'till spring.
In article ehrebeniuk-C20AD4.11325008032003@news, Chookie wrote:

No.

At least, not in Sydney and I imagine it's the same for the OP.
Autumn planting gives the plants a chance to develop their root
systems before being exposed to high temperatures. If you plant
tube stock in spring, you lose heaps over summer.

I'd be inclined to agree with this. Around the east coast, with rain
forecast, now is a very good time to plant anything that doesn't
belong in the tropics.

--
Replace abuse with kd21 in email address to assure valid reply
address.

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-C20AD4.11325008032003@news...
In article ,
"Andrew G" wrote:

However the best thing would be wait 'till spring.

No.

At least, not in Sydney and I imagine it's the same for the OP. Autumn
planting gives the plants a chance to develop their root systems before
being
exposed to high temperatures. If you plant tube stock in spring, you lose
heaps over summer.

Hi Chookie, good point, but:

The main reason I thought it would be best to wait to Spring, is that parts
of the Hunter Valley can get quite severe frosts in Winter. In the bigger
part which is inland especially, but guess it depends where the OP is.
Also that the conditons they were being planted in weren't quite ideal to
get established before frosts.

Here on the Mid North coast last winter we had a large amount of Frosts for
a change. We lost many Bouganvilleas and Callistemons as tubestock that were
planted in March April. I should point out it wasn't the frost itself that
hurt them, but the morning sun hitting the frosted plants. We noticed that
wherever sprinklers has hit the plants, they were ok. The sprinklers came on
before the sun had hit them.

IMO if I were in an area that suffered from heavy frosts and didn't have the
best soil conditions, I would wait 'till the last frost was over, then plant
them. While waiting I'd be preparing the soil.



--
Remove "not" from start of email address to reply

The Autumn Plant Sale at Mount Annan Botanical Gardens (organised by the
Grevillea Group of the Australian Plants Society) will be held on 5-6
April.
Pop down and see what's on offer.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

The most consistent empirical proof from history is the doctrine of human
depravity. -- Chuck Colson

In article ,
"Andrew G" wrote:

Here on the Mid North coast last winter we had a large amount of Frosts for
a change. We lost many Bouganvilleas and Callistemons as tubestock that were
planted in March April. I should point out it wasn't the frost itself that
hurt them, but the morning sun hitting the frosted plants. We noticed that
wherever sprinklers has hit the plants, they were ok. The sprinklers came on
before the sun had hit them.

You had a deprived childhood :-) I know about the morning sun because I read
Laura Ingalls Wilder books. "Farmer Boy" includes an account of her future
husband's family trying to save the corn crop from a cold snap by watering the
plants (acres of them!) before sunrise.

I agree that if the OP lives in a frost-prone area, spring is better, but if
there are only mild/occasional frosts, autumn is better for planting tubestock.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990