Bundaberg Landcare

03/09/2026

As we have had people inquiring for some of these Grevilleas I'm putting up here I will start from the beginning by saying our Landcare nursery presently- does not- have this plant in stock ,but we are working on it.

I find this next large Grevillea 'Flamingo' a much more attractive plant than what I call its poor relative - the pale pink Grevillea 'Coconut ice'.
I will do an article on the latter as well simply because they are so numerous but personally I don't think old coconuts is even in the race with this one.
Grevillea flamingo is yet another cultivar with spreading to weeping large canopy along the lines of G.Honey gem, growing to about 3 x 3 metres which also can have a dense compact habit- again similar to HG.
It is a hybrid between *G. ‘Superb’ and G. ‘Moonlight’ and was created by Richard Tomkin at a nursery in Queensland ,G. banksii being largely involved).
*(Grevillea 'Superb' was created as a deliberate cross between a white form of Grevillea banksii and a red form of Grevillea bipinnatifida.)
Back to the flamingo..
The inflorescences (flowers to the lay person) are bright pink with cream and yellow tinges and can be produced profusely over most of the year.
Inflorescences are gold-orange in bud.
Hence, when flowers start to open, the entire structure has a mixed flamingo-pink / gold colour. Inflorescences tend to weep down towards the ground.
With regard epicormic growth our nursery specimen had minimal issues and the specimen over west Bundaberg which is limited to about four or five hours sunlight in winter had no sign of epicormic growth at all, so that's promising -at least in these two specimens.
This Grevilleas weeping habit and ability to form dense foliage lends to its appeal but it does best in a sunny spot on well-drained soil.

It is not supposed to be suited to arid and cold areas and needs some supplementary watering to do its best in these locations.
In saying that the one in my yard receives no more water than any other plant so quite happy in Bundaberg.
Grevillea 'Flamingo' is an established, unprotected cultivar listed freely without PBR restrictions in plant databases .
Apologies for the poor overall photo of the tree I was remiss in not getting a good shot of my own tree which is about 4 meters high striving for light.

As above No stock at present but hopefully down the track.

03/09/2026

Researchers used a crystal in Geneva to split photons into pairs of entangled twin photons.The Distance: They sent the photon pairs in opposite directions through 18 kilometers (nearly 11 miles) of standard telecom fiber-optic cables to separate Swiss villages (such as Bellevue and Bernex).The Finding: Measurements showed that changing or measuring one photon caused an instantaneous corresponding reaction in its entangled twin, testing Einstein's concept of "spooky action at a distance" over a long distance.

There's an experiment that confirms the universe doesn't create you...

03/09/2026

We have this beautiful little Aniseed Myrtle going out for $20 Bundaberg at our Bundaberg Landcare nursery. That's right the oil in this Myrtles leaves tastes like aniseed and is often used in tea. One only available.

30/08/2026

It really is a struggle doing an article on this plant it is just so common ,but a bit of research soon shows that it is closely related to another regional Grevillea.
Grevillea Moonlight is a cultivar with a very popular history.
It is a large, spreading shrub growing to 5 x 4 metres and although it is written that it has a dense habit I call it a more spreading open habit.
It was reported to be a selected form of Grevillea whiteana however there is published genetic data that it is the progeny of a cross between our local G.banksii and G. whiteana.
So a little bit on Grevillea whiteana.
This plant is commonly known as the Mundubbera grevillea or White's grevillea and is a small tree which grows from about 2 to 9 metres (6.5 to 30 feet) tall in the wild, though often smaller in cultivation.
It's flowers are said to be pale yellow and bloom from March to October, or even year-round in warm climates.
Back to the cultivar -Grevillea Moonlight.

This is a very hardy grevillea which has made it very popular in times past. It was one of the first tall grevillea cultivars.
However before we get into the general spiel on the plant I just wish to say that it certainly does not like being in shade.
In my book it holds the record for the worst epicormic growth I have ever seen where a tree had to be removed it was so bad - so give it at least 6 to 8 hours a day.
It flowers all year round, which makes it desirable and tolerates a range of soils, so long as drainage is adequate and will grow in a wide range of climates and is frost tolerant.
It does not need or receive additional watering after the first year and can be pruned back very hard and it will re shoot.
If cutting into hard old wood, do so in late autumn and give the plant a good watering to ensure success. Prune off dead flower heads and apply strategic pruning to shape and promote flowering.
Last stocktake showed three available in $10 pots.

30/08/2026

This Genius Cucumber Hack Makes Harvesting So Easy 🤯credit -Resp...

30/08/2026

Always wondered what this plant was so thought we'd share this -after all it has got a nice flower.
The large-flowered pink-sorrel or Pink woodsorrel is a perennial plant and herb in the family Oxalidaceae.
Its original distribution was South America but it has become a pan continental species.
It can be found in both temperate and tropical areas and often occurs around shady cooler areas.
Even though we are not recommending eating anything just growing in your garden the flowers, leaves and roots are edible.
Note the plant contains oxalic acid, which can cause calcium deficiency if eaten in larger amounts., but typical quantities of the plant would likely not be enough to cause this effect.

Note further - Common couch grass inherently contains cyanogenic glycosides, meaning it is capable of accumulating dangerous levels of prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) under specific stress conditions -so let's not p*e our pants and be scared of everything out there, if it isn't something you normally eat -don't .

Back to the Pink Sorrel -
It is a bulbous plant and in Europe the plants are sterile and are propagated only by these bulbs.
The leaves have a zesty lemony flavor.
So now you know.

30/08/2026

Ever so slowly the flowers are beginning in the Wallum areas ,with this plant with Boronia rosmarinifolia commonly known as the Forest rose putting on a great show with its accompanying native bees.

This is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae which is endemic to eastern Australia.
These plants are no taller than about 0.5-0.8 of a metre and strangely their flowers seem to become darker colors as the afternoon shadows cover the plants.
It is a shrub with many branches, simple leaves and pale to bright pink flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.
Flowering is said to occur from July to October and the fruit is a usually glabrous capsule 4–5.5 mm long and 2–2.5mm wide.

Boronia rosmarinifolia was first formally described in a manuscript of Allan Cunningham. The description was published in 1837 by Stephan Endlicher in Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae.
Cunningham collected the type specimen from Peel Island in 1824.
The specific epithet (rosmarinifolia) is derived from the Latin words rosmarinus meaning "rosemary" and folium meaning "leaf".
'Like a Rosemary leaf'
The Forest boronia / Forest Rose grows in wallum heath and woodland between Bundaberg and Grafton in New South Wales.
Even though this plant comes from the Citrus family it's cuttings are not proving successful so we're going to have to just try harder.

30/08/2026

The delicate Pimelea linifolia or Rice flower is one of my favorites in the Wallum Bushland but there are many.
This small plant which is said to grow to one metre is most often about 50 centimeters or less around these Wallum parts, it comes from the quite unusual family Thymelaeaceae.( not the thyme family that is Lamiaceae)

The family itself is widespread in all states except Western Australia and the Northern Territory .,it's name comes from the Greek pimele, soft fat, presumably referring to the oily seeds or fleshy cotyledons.
linifolia; having leaves like those of the genusLinum, (think linum flax seed).
Some also occur on islands to the north and in New Zealand.
Most are shrubs but some annual species are found in tropical areas. The name “rice flower” has been applied to many members of the genus, a few of which are cultivated to a limited extent.
Pimelea linifoliaia is probably the best known member of the genus due to its wide range.

Flowers occur in globular clusters at the ends of the branches from winter through to summer and are usually white but very pale pink forms are sometimes seen.
Ed I'll just put a caveat in there because around our Wallum areas we have an equal number of pale pink probably 70% and the difference split between white 20% and brighter pink 10% and when you look in the M2M book there is no such mention of pink flowers down that way in any of the ecosystems.
Si why is it so ?says the professor, I have no idea perhaps it is more about our geology being built on a clay base which may have different minerals than the often more rocky headlands and heathlands south towards Noosa etc.

Anyway our pink ones look better than their white ones and isn't that all that matters🙂.

The Australian plant Society article continues 'the species occurs on a range of soils from sands to clays'.
Slender riceflower is an attractive small plant which is occasionally cultivated. It can be difficult to maintain under garden conditions and, for best results, it should be propagated from clones native to the areas where it is to be grown. It is best planted in well drained soils in a protected position.
Seed is not often available and germinates unreliably. Cuttings are successful but the percentage strike may be well below 100%.
As a footnote to all that I would say that they grow in quite miserable soil sometimes leaning towards a heavier clay base usually in amongst grasses and areas protected with light vegetation but in saying that they seem to happily grow on the edge of a roadside.
The bottom line is this they are hard little buggers to grow but we are going to keep on trying.

30/08/2026

This next Grevillea 'Honey gem' has the parentage of being a hybrid cross between Grevillea banksii and Grevillea pteridifolia two naturally occurring plants both of which we sell.
This cultivar grows quickly to about three or four metres tall and sometimes taller as per the photos and the same width.
The flowers are the big thing on this plant and they are large golden-orange/yellow brush-like flower that blooms across most of the year, peaking in winter and spring.
Like all of the species this plant thrives in full sun with well-drained soil.
The plant responds very well to hard pruning after heavy flowering but it is always a good idea to be on the pruning in the early days to sculpt these plants into the shape that you want because they can look rather ungainly when you are trying to sculpt them when they are three meters tall- it just looks weird.
Many of these taller cultivar grevilleas like their back to a wall to protect them from strong winds where many can be prone to being blown over or broken ,this being because of their unnatural fast growth compared to their relatively small root system that holds them up., take special note of this if you are in sandy soil.
Grevillea 'Honey Gem' is a popular natural hybrid that is not PBR (Plant Breeder's Rights) registered itself, though related cultivars like Grevillea 'Little Honey' carry PBR status.

You will see one of these extremely large plants in the photos that I put in about four years ago and it has grown right up to be higher than the roof ,the bottom is in a lot of shade during winter being on a south facing wall therefore epiconic growth has become an issue in the shaded area but not enough with its head above the roof to affect it's overall health.
The plants have a stiff leaf and they do drop considerable amounts although never looking 'dirty' where it is hanging up on the branches.

A big stand of these trees is very attractive.

We presently don't have any of these but no doubt we will have a go at them in future, always plenty available at surrounding nurseries.

30/08/2026

This next Grevillea is another cross breed between two cultivars and grows about 3.5 metres high with the same capability in spread.
Grevillea 'Yamba Sunshine' is a chance seedling or hybrid thought to have occurred between Grevillea 'Sandra Gordon' and Grevillea 'Honey Gem' as its parents and closely related lineage, featuring Sandra Gordon-style flowers on Honey Gem-style foliage.
The plant was created naturally from the above and discovered at Maclean District Hospital grounds near Yamba, Northern NSW. It is not on PBR but would have to be cultivated from cuttings to stay true to form.

The flowers are sunny yellow blooms from late winter through spring, with occasional spot flowering.
You'll see some of those before mentioned plants will be discussed in upcoming articles.

And the biggest issue with all these taller cultivar grevilleas for some reason seems to be in relation to the amount of epicormic growth that occurs on the plant when it is not getting enough sunlight.
Epicormic growth is created when dormant buds hidden beneath a tree's bark are activated in response to stress, damage, or sudden changes in light or lack thereof.
The specimen of ours is getting good sunlight through the winter and has only minimal epicormic growth caused by rainforest trees being planted too close to the side of the tree thereby blocking the sunlight to the low branches.
We haven't grown any of these yet but not being on PBR no doubt we shall be attempting to.
I just like their big bright gold flowers and the very fine soft leaves , ours doesn't seem to be dropping a lot of leaf ,again because it is getting almost enough Sunshine.