Hi all,

I'm new to Australia (Redlands, just south east of Brisbane) and am looking
for advice, websites, etc. that deal with plant selection, maintenance, and
some good cheap nurseries / garden centres in the locale.

We've got a 2.5 acre block that is mostly eucalypt and so is very shady. I'm
having problems choosing some good understorey plants and ground covers. Has
anyone got any ideas / tips / /advice?

Thanks all.

magoo

Hi - for some basic idea of what types of plants are suitable have a look at
http://www.floraforfauna.com.au/planner/
I live in the same district as you. We have very heavy clay soil which has
made it difficult to grow a lot of plants successfully. We've found that
digging a large hole for each plant (using crowbar & mattock, when clay is
dry) then filling the hole with potting mix & planting into that is quite
successful. It's a lot easier than trying to condition/improve large areas
of heavy clay. We use very thick mulch (mainly sugercane) for water
retention & over time it improves the soil consistency.
So, you'll probably have similiar soil - unless you're closer to the water
where it's more sandy. Then you'll want to add lots of organic matter (like
mushroom compost) to enrich the soil. We also get very humid summers, so
it's a good idea to avoid any plants that are prone to fungal diseases
(something we learnt the hard way).
There are some good nurseries around the redlands (lots of native
nurseries) - have a look in the Yellow Pages. I actually buy most of my
plants from the local Bunnings Hardware store. They have a surprisingly good
range & are very reasonable. Avoid Hawkins Garden Centre - extremely
expensive.
For tube plants & native seedlings you can visit the Redlands Indigiscapes
centre on the first saturday of each month. They have very cheap local
plants, around $2 or so (not a huge range, but they're cheap). They can also
give you tons of free advice http://203.18.196.55/indigiscapes.cfm
Another place to get cheap tube stock is at regional forestry centres - some
of them sell heaps of varieties for around $2-5.



"Magoo" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm new to Australia (Redlands, just south east of Brisbane) and am
looking
for advice, websites, etc. that deal with plant selection, maintenance,
and
some good cheap nurseries / garden centres in the locale.

We've got a 2.5 acre block that is mostly eucalypt and so is very shady.
I'm
having problems choosing some good understorey plants and ground covers.
Has
anyone got any ideas / tips / /advice?

Thanks all.

magoo

g'day magoo,

the other post is a pretty good answer but for me your question is
rather broad. can i ask a few questions.

where did you come from?

and without being too nosey how much did land like that cost in the
redlands area?

did the property have a house on it?

you mention gum trees aka eucalypts. do you realise that a safety
margin of the maximum height the tree can attain + 50%

check with all the native plant nurseries they will have the best
knowledge.

if you don't want to answer my questiosn in an open forum, send ma an
e/mail my return addy has a spam filter that will need to be deleted.

enjoy

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

Cheers GL,

Hmmm. heavy clay soil......the .locals here in Sheldon refer to it as
Shaledon. It seems that nothing wants to grow in it other than gorse type
shrubs and gums.

I'll take your advice on filling the hole with potting mix. Luckily I'm
containing the planting to a few isolated beds so don't have to bring in a
few semi loads of new soil.

My main issue at the moment is coming up with effective screening shrubs to
hide a few of the next door neighbours outhouses (approx. 20m long x about
3m high). Because of the dappled sunlight caused by the gums most of the
natives seem to be out of the question as it only gets about 4 hours of
direct sunlight at most in the summer. I'd like something that has a
natural form rather than a hedging type plant.

Thanks for the links too. I'll give them a look. And yes, I've already found
out about the cost of Hawkins. Not the place to visit for purchasing plants
for mass planting.

Which Bunnings do you use?


"gl" wrote in message
...
Hi - for some basic idea of what types of plants are suitable have a look
at
http://www.floraforfauna.com.au/planner/
I live in the same district as you. We have very heavy clay soil which has
made it difficult to grow a lot of plants successfully. We've found that
digging a large hole for each plant (using crowbar & mattock, when clay is
dry) then filling the hole with potting mix & planting into that is quite
successful. It's a lot easier than trying to condition/improve large areas
of heavy clay. We use very thick mulch (mainly sugercane) for water
retention & over time it improves the soil consistency.
So, you'll probably have similiar soil - unless you're closer to the water
where it's more sandy. Then you'll want to add lots of organic matter
(like
mushroom compost) to enrich the soil. We also get very humid summers, so
it's a good idea to avoid any plants that are prone to fungal diseases
(something we learnt the hard way).
There are some good nurseries around the redlands (lots of native
nurseries) - have a look in the Yellow Pages. I actually buy most of my
plants from the local Bunnings Hardware store. They have a surprisingly
good
range & are very reasonable. Avoid Hawkins Garden Centre - extremely
expensive.
For tube plants & native seedlings you can visit the Redlands Indigiscapes
centre on the first saturday of each month. They have very cheap local
plants, around $2 or so (not a huge range, but they're cheap). They can
also
give you tons of free advice http://203.18.196.55/indigiscapes.cfm
Another place to get cheap tube stock is at regional forestry centres -
some
of them sell heaps of varieties for around $2-5.



"Magoo" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm new to Australia (Redlands, just south east of Brisbane) and am
looking
for advice, websites, etc. that deal with plant selection, maintenance,
and
some good cheap nurseries / garden centres in the locale.

We've got a 2.5 acre block that is mostly eucalypt and so is very shady.
I'm
having problems choosing some good understorey plants and ground covers.
Has
anyone got any ideas / tips / /advice?

Thanks all.

magoo

Ahhh Sheldon - down the road a little bit from me. Yes, the "soil" there is
a pleasant mix of rock, rock, and cement like clay Highly recomend buying
a good crowbar! I can't stand watching shows like "gardening australia"
where they merrily dig holes for plants with a little spade, no problems.
I just went thru a similiar dillema for screening plants. After hunting
around for something suitable I came across Pittosporum Silver Sheen (ie.
http://www.greenhillspropagation.com...sporum_silver_
sheen.htm) which most people clip for a formal hedge (yuk) but if left alone
it has a really nice shape and is quite upright in growth habit. I just
planted a 15m row 1.2m apart along our shady side fence, and they look
really nice. The photo doesn't really do it justice. I believe there's also
a "gold sheen" variety which grows a bit taller, but I didn't find them
anywhere.
I usually go to the capalaba bunnings - they seem to get new stock in every
week or so. You have to check regularly because their turnover seems really
quick. I've also found that they often have some unusual or very new
varieties that places like Hawkins don't stock. The garden section at the
Camp Hill bunnings is much bigger, but a little further to drive (it's on
Creek road - the same road the Carindale Westfield is on).
Just thought of something else - every sunday (7am to 1pm) there's a big
farmers market at the Sleeman sports complex on old cleveland road. I never
wake up in time, but i'll bet lots of people sell plants there.
btw - if you have dogs/cats, beware of paralysis ticks. We get tons of them
during summer - if you're not familiar with them have a chat to your vet.
Oh, and welcome to the best part of australia


"Magoo" wrote in message
...
Cheers GL,

Hmmm. heavy clay soil......the .locals here in Sheldon refer to it as
Shaledon. It seems that nothing wants to grow in it other than gorse type
shrubs and gums.

I'll take your advice on filling the hole with potting mix. Luckily I'm
containing the planting to a few isolated beds so don't have to bring in a
few semi loads of new soil.

My main issue at the moment is coming up with effective screening shrubs
to
hide a few of the next door neighbours outhouses (approx. 20m long x about
3m high). Because of the dappled sunlight caused by the gums most of the
natives seem to be out of the question as it only gets about 4 hours of
direct sunlight at most in the summer. I'd like something that has a
natural form rather than a hedging type plant.

Thanks for the links too. I'll give them a look. And yes, I've already
found
out about the cost of Hawkins. Not the place to visit for purchasing
plants
for mass planting.

Which Bunnings do you use?


"gl" wrote in message
...
Hi - for some basic idea of what types of plants are suitable have a
look
at
http://www.floraforfauna.com.au/planner/
I live in the same district as you. We have very heavy clay soil which
has
made it difficult to grow a lot of plants successfully. We've found that
digging a large hole for each plant (using crowbar & mattock, when clay
is
dry) then filling the hole with potting mix & planting into that is
quite
successful. It's a lot easier than trying to condition/improve large
areas
of heavy clay. We use very thick mulch (mainly sugercane) for water
retention & over time it improves the soil consistency.
So, you'll probably have similiar soil - unless you're closer to the
water
where it's more sandy. Then you'll want to add lots of organic matter
(like
mushroom compost) to enrich the soil. We also get very humid summers, so
it's a good idea to avoid any plants that are prone to fungal diseases
(something we learnt the hard way).
There are some good nurseries around the redlands (lots of native
nurseries) - have a look in the Yellow Pages. I actually buy most of my
plants from the local Bunnings Hardware store. They have a surprisingly
good
range & are very reasonable. Avoid Hawkins Garden Centre - extremely
expensive.
For tube plants & native seedlings you can visit the Redlands
Indigiscapes
centre on the first saturday of each month. They have very cheap local
plants, around $2 or so (not a huge range, but they're cheap). They can
also
give you tons of free advice http://203.18.196.55/indigiscapes.cfm
Another place to get cheap tube stock is at regional forestry centres -
some
of them sell heaps of varieties for around $2-5.



"Magoo" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm new to Australia (Redlands, just south east of Brisbane) and am
looking
for advice, websites, etc. that deal with plant selection,
maintenance,
and
some good cheap nurseries / garden centres in the locale.

We've got a 2.5 acre block that is mostly eucalypt and so is very
shady.
I'm
having problems choosing some good understorey plants and ground
covers.
Has
anyone got any ideas / tips / /advice?

Thanks all.

magoo

Funnily enough I've just spent the morning at the Sleeman Sports Markets. My
god they've got some good quality cheap plants there. Well worth a visit if
you're after the usual selection of grevillea, callistemon and lily pillys
for a damn sight cheaper than Nielsens even. (Now that's a good native
nursery and not too expensive). After chatting with the helpful staff at
Nielsens I've gone for a range of grevillea, which will withstand part
shade, as my screening shrubs. The lady there reckoned that as long as I was
getting 4 hours of full morning sun and dappled sunlight for the rest of day
they should do OK,. We'll see. For 12 plants at $8.50 each it's worth
experimenting. Better than the $25.00 each they wanted at Hawkins.

Now that I've got my screening shrubs in I'm looking to gets some mass
planting done around the pool and beds around the house. Mainly looking for
Liriope, mondo and the dwarf Xanadu. Is there anywhere locally that supplies
these plants en masse? I'm going to need a few hundred and don't want to be
spending retail prices for them. I had a look at Ibrox Park and few of the
other main nurseries on the Mt Gravatt / Capalaba Road but they all seem to
only want to sell wholesale to trade. Could be time to make good
acquaintance with a local landscaper.

I'll have to check out the plant section at Capalaba Bunnings. I usually
spend my weekends there anyway buying bits and pieces and tools to work on
the house. They must take about 25% of my annual income ;-), but I must
admit I've never ventured into the garden centre section. Next time I'm in
I'll give it a look.

I agree with you about the crowbar. The best money I've spent when it comes
to digging holes in this rocky claypit they call earth. Mind you it's a bit
of a strain on the arms and I'm considering getting a pneumatic drill to
make life easier ;-)

You don't have to warn me about the ticks either. Unfortunately I lost one
of my cats about 12 months ago. It was the saddest sight I have ever seen.
The remaining cat and the dog are regularly dosed with Frontline and you can
really tell the difference. The ticks just drop off rather than having to
wrench them out. Now if only they did a frontline for humans. I've lost
count of the number of ticks I've pulled out of my head and neck. And don't
they take a long time to heal.

Thanks for all your advice. It makes a pleasant change to be on a newsgroup
where people help one another.

Keep up the good work everyone.





"gl" wrote in message
...
Ahhh Sheldon - down the road a little bit from me. Yes, the "soil" there
is
a pleasant mix of rock, rock, and cement like clay Highly recomend
buying
a good crowbar! I can't stand watching shows like "gardening australia"
where they merrily dig holes for plants with a little spade, no problems.
I just went thru a similiar dillema for screening plants. After hunting
around for something suitable I came across Pittosporum Silver Sheen (ie.

http://www.greenhillspropagation.com...sporum_silver_
sheen.htm) which most people clip for a formal hedge (yuk) but if left
alone
it has a really nice shape and is quite upright in growth habit. I just
planted a 15m row 1.2m apart along our shady side fence, and they look
really nice. The photo doesn't really do it justice. I believe there's
also
a "gold sheen" variety which grows a bit taller, but I didn't find them
anywhere.
I usually go to the capalaba bunnings - they seem to get new stock in
every
week or so. You have to check regularly because their turnover seems
really
quick. I've also found that they often have some unusual or very new
varieties that places like Hawkins don't stock. The garden section at the
Camp Hill bunnings is much bigger, but a little further to drive (it's on
Creek road - the same road the Carindale Westfield is on).
Just thought of something else - every sunday (7am to 1pm) there's a big
farmers market at the Sleeman sports complex on old cleveland road. I
never
wake up in time, but i'll bet lots of people sell plants there.
btw - if you have dogs/cats, beware of paralysis ticks. We get tons of
them
during summer - if you're not familiar with them have a chat to your vet.
Oh, and welcome to the best part of australia


"Magoo" wrote in message
...
Cheers GL,

Hmmm. heavy clay soil......the .locals here in Sheldon refer to it as
Shaledon. It seems that nothing wants to grow in it other than gorse
type
shrubs and gums.

I'll take your advice on filling the hole with potting mix. Luckily I'm
containing the planting to a few isolated beds so don't have to bring in
a
few semi loads of new soil.

My main issue at the moment is coming up with effective screening shrubs
to
hide a few of the next door neighbours outhouses (approx. 20m long x
about
3m high). Because of the dappled sunlight caused by the gums most of the
natives seem to be out of the question as it only gets about 4 hours of
direct sunlight at most in the summer. I'd like something that has a
natural form rather than a hedging type plant.

Thanks for the links too. I'll give them a look. And yes, I've already
found
out about the cost of Hawkins. Not the place to visit for purchasing
plants
for mass planting.

Which Bunnings do you use?


"gl" wrote in message
...
Hi - for some basic idea of what types of plants are suitable have a
look
at
http://www.floraforfauna.com.au/planner/
I live in the same district as you. We have very heavy clay soil which
has
made it difficult to grow a lot of plants successfully. We've found
that
digging a large hole for each plant (using crowbar & mattock, when
clay
is
dry) then filling the hole with potting mix & planting into that is
quite
successful. It's a lot easier than trying to condition/improve large
areas
of heavy clay. We use very thick mulch (mainly sugercane) for water
retention & over time it improves the soil consistency.
So, you'll probably have similiar soil - unless you're closer to the
water
where it's more sandy. Then you'll want to add lots of organic matter
(like
mushroom compost) to enrich the soil. We also get very humid summers,
so
it's a good idea to avoid any plants that are prone to fungal diseases
(something we learnt the hard way).
There are some good nurseries around the redlands (lots of native
nurseries) - have a look in the Yellow Pages. I actually buy most of
my
plants from the local Bunnings Hardware store. They have a
surprisingly
good
range & are very reasonable. Avoid Hawkins Garden Centre - extremely
expensive.
For tube plants & native seedlings you can visit the Redlands
Indigiscapes
centre on the first saturday of each month. They have very cheap local
plants, around $2 or so (not a huge range, but they're cheap). They
can
also
give you tons of free advice http://203.18.196.55/indigiscapes.cfm
Another place to get cheap tube stock is at regional forestry
centres -
some
of them sell heaps of varieties for around $2-5.



"Magoo" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm new to Australia (Redlands, just south east of Brisbane) and am
looking
for advice, websites, etc. that deal with plant selection,
maintenance,
and
some good cheap nurseries / garden centres in the locale.

We've got a 2.5 acre block that is mostly eucalypt and so is very
shady.
I'm
having problems choosing some good understorey plants and ground
covers.
Has
anyone got any ideas / tips / /advice?

Thanks all.

magoo