New Catalogues Coming Soon - Best Plants of 2010 part 2

New catalogues from Tonkins Bulbs (Bryan H Tonkin),  Hillview Rare Plants and Drewitts Bulbs are all on the way late this week or early next week. 


From the new Tonkins Bulbs catalogue we are particularly fond of the miniature daffodils (hoop petticoat) and especially Narcissus Bulbocodium citronus with its lovely clear lemon flowers. Marcus Harvey has some great Calochortus with 'nudus' being our favourite, check out the cyclamen as well. Tim Drewitt has some great Dwarf Gladioli.  
Links to all of these will be at www.nurseriesonline.com.au as soon as the catalogues are finalised.


More of the best for 2010

At Wallara Roses the thornless roses 'Smoothtouch' were very popular with the  Grandma’s Rose and Grandpa's Rose (pictured left) from the Charmwell  range with the along with Golden Iceberg being sought after. Smooth Prince was another popular rose from Wallara Roses.


Moving North, Bob from Paradise Distributors reports that Jade vines and the White bat plant were really popular, if you have seen the flower of the White Bat Plant you would know why, check out the Photograph and fact sheet on Bat Plants.  Bob also gives mention to a few other sought after plants, these included, Brisbane lily (Proiphys cunninghamii), Heleconias in general were popular, Vanilla Orchid, Adenium obesum and the Bromeliad 'Aechmea fasciata' with its long lasting long lasting flower. Birds nest ferns and Hoyas were also popular. We think that the Yellow anthurium Black Anthurium are also great plants.


And we will have more later this week.....

The Best Plants of 2010 - Roses Part 1

So what were the best selling Roses for 2010 ? This depends on who you ask and where you are located. In Sydney Green E Roses list some of the best sellers for 2010

Heritage Roses are always popular and some of the best sellers were Mutabilis, Gruss an Aaachen, Reine des Violettes and Madame Alfred Carriere.

Iceberg is always a favorite, landscapers love it, other popular roses at Green E Roses were Mr Lincoln, Oaklahoma, The Childrens Rose, Camp David, Grimaldi (a French Delbard) and Henri Matisse, a Grandiflora style rose with great perfume

Amongst the climbing roses Nahema  (French Delbard) was popular,  Lamarque a heritage Noisette Rose, Crepuscule and Dublin Bay were all sought after as were 'Renae' a thornless pink, climbing rose along with 'Climbing Pinkie'

Jubilee, Graham Thomas Rose and Gertrude Jekyll a fragrant David Austin also figured in the best seller list. For the more information on the Visit BEST PLANTS OF 2010 at www.nurseriesonline.com.au

More Best Of 2010 later this week....

Darwinia macrostegia, or Mondurup Bell - Plant of the Month

Darwinia macrostegia, or Mondurup Bell is originally from Western Australia and to grow these successfully away from the natural environment it is best to look for grafted forms. With very attractive flowers that last for nearly 3 months  Darwinia macrostegia, will eventually reach 1m by 2m in ideal conditions. Flowers begin to form in autumn and reach full size in spring. 

We grow ours in a large pot on a north facing verandah, lots of sun. The large pot provides a cool root run and after it finishes flowering we move ours to a cooler position. Try not to over water or over feed. 

Darwinia macrostegia can be pruned lightly after flowering to maintain shape if required. 

If you are growing these in the garden remember that drainage is important, Darwinia do not like wet feet, even the grafted forms. Also look for Darwinia squarrosa, Darwinia leiostyla, Darwinia citriodora and Darwinia grandiflora 
Find our more about Darwinia at Nurseries Online Australia

Deciduous Magnolias and New Release 'Jury' Magnolias

Deciduous Magnolias are really hitting their straps right now and although cultivars and species such as Magnolia Denudata and Magnolia Stellata are well known it is the new releases that we are exited about.

For many years Jury is name that has been associated with Magnolia breeding in New Zealand and indeed around the world. Over recent years 3 new releases have caught our attention, Magnolia 'Felix', Magnolia 'Black Tulip' and Magnolia 'Vulcan' 

Three magnificent new deciduous Magnolias that all make great feature trees.  Magnolia 'Felix' is pictured left. With flower sizes up to 30cm across this is a truly spectacular cultivar. 'Black Tulip has much darker flowers and they are tight in formation, yes they look like great big round tulips. The flowers last longer on 'Black Tulip' because of this.

So if you are looking for deciduous magnolias now is a great time to find them in flower at your local nursery. Check out our Magnolia Nurseries page for specialist Magnolia Nurseries.

If you are Melbourne this weekend check out the Ferny Creek Horticultural Society Spring Show

Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September  Sat 1pm - 4.30pm; Sun 10am- 4.30pm For Details 

Dahlias, Fritillarias and Raithby Plants

Dahlias are a garden favourite, easy to grow in a well drained position, very colourful flowers and a huge range including,  Cactus dahlias, Formal Decorative Dahlias, Balls, Pompons, Waterlily and Anemone to mention a few. Dahlias are best planted after the risk of frost is over, and in Southern Australia that is around about Melbourne Cup Day. We notice Dahlia tubers in some stores already, it just might be a little early to plant them. Dahlia tubers need to be firm and free of disease.
Jenny Parish from Country Dahlias has a great catalogue, just updated and well worth a look. The plant pictured is called 'Formby Art' and is a great looking flower.


Raithby Plants now have their own web site, some very interesting perennials available from them.
Check out all of the new releases at www.nurseriesonline.com.au

Fritillarias are beginning to flower down south we hope to bring you some pictures next week. We have grown these from seed and are looking forward to seeing the rewards. If you have a gardening picture or story to share, let us know. Happy gardening and watch out for the Orchid shows that are popping up all over the country over the next few months.

Camellia Sasanqua and Camellia Japonica

Camellia Sasanqua and Camellia Japonica

It is getting right into Camellia season at the moment and we have lots of questions about Camellia Sasanqua and Camellia Japonica so we have prepared an article on both of these. Simply put Camellia Sasanqua can handle more sun than Camellia Japonica.

We find that both are very hardy plants and work well a screening plants at the back of the garden border. Perhaps a little slow to form a hedge, however if you are patient they are great hedging plants requiring little maintenance and providing a great show of flowers in winter through to spring.

And if you are interested in Camellias why not check out the 2010 Camellia Festival
Saturday, 21st August, 2010 1 - 5 P.M. and  Sunday, 22nd August, 2010 10 A.M. - 4.30 P.M.
Mount Waverley Community Centre, Miller Crescent, Mount Waverley.VIC

Four new Catalogues coming soon......

With Four new catalogues coming out this week its a great time to come an visit us. Two of these catalogues Lynn's Rare Plants and Raithby Plants being new additions... as they say never seen before on the internet. On the front page on Tuesday 8th.

Another new addition is Golden Ray Liliums, a fantastic collection of Liliums, must be the largest in Australia, Asiatics, Orientals and more.

We also have a new Catalogue from Drewitts Bulbs and an update from Tesselaars. You can find them all at www.nurseriesonline.com.au

We are looking for Arisaema Griffithii Bulbs or Seed..... Let us know if you have any.