Isopogon Formosus
Isopogon Formosus is a plant that you probably won’t find in many plant nurseries. It’s mainly restricted to Australian Native Plant nurseries probably because it can be considered in some circles to be difficult to grow. I’d successfully grown it before in my last garden so when I came across it about a year ago I thought it might be worth trying in my new garden.
Isopogon Formosus with one mature flower and the others still developing.
I did have some trepidation though, as it is a member of the proteaceae family and I wasn’t sure how it was going to cope with the phosphorus in my soil. Twelve month later though it is actually surviving quite well and in fact I’d forgotten it was in my garden until it came into flower recently as this is one of the real features of this Isopogon. Despite having prickly foliage, which isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea it does blend quite well into the rest of your garden right up until it comes into flower. When this happens you really can’t help but notice the bright purple cone like flowers. They really do put on quite a show.
The Isopogon in my garden though is still only a year old so after it finishes flowering I’ll give it a light prune so that next season it will bush out and provide lots and lots of flowers.
Isopogon Formosus Flower
The secret to growing this Isopogon is to grow it in reasonably well drained soil. It will grow quite happily in sand or gravel but if you have a clay soil just mound your garden bed or plant on a slope. A bit of moisture during the summer is also recommended but I’m sure this Isopogon only survived on rainfall last summer so I’d say that it is a reasonably drought tolerant plant. It’s also recommended not to grow it in hot humid climates but thats just a rule of thumb so if you do have this type of climate I’d say that the rewards of growing this Isopogon are certainly worth giving it a try.
So if you do happen to come across this Isopogon in a nursery I’d say give it a go, I’ve found it reasonably easy to grow. It will grow into a rounded shrub of about 1 metre if you prune it after flowering and Isopogon Formosus will reward you with lots of bright purple flowers each spring.
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Eremophila "Eyre Princess"
Eremophilas would have to one one of my favourite garden plants and one of my favourite Eremophilas would have to be Eremophila “Eyre Princess”.
It’s now the beginning of spring in Melbourne and my Eremophila “Eyre Princess” is now at the height of it’s flowering season. At the moment it is just covered in purplely, blue flowers which are a cross between it’s parents, Eremophila Nivea and Eremophila Drummondii.
Eremophila Eyre Princess
The Eremophila above I’ve had growing in my garden now for nearly 3 years and have found it very easy to grow. It is very drought tolerant, likes lots of sunshine and even looks good when not in flower.
The most amazing thing about this Eremophila though is that I’ve never seen it in a nursery. I actually bought this one at a market and didn’t even know what it was called until a few months ago, as it didn’t come with a label. The retail nursery trade sometimes never ceases to amaze me. For a plant that has so many things going for it, that is obviously very easy to market and especially due to the fact that it is a very drought tolerant plant and easy to grow, I really can’t understand why it isn’t so readily available. Especially since it is so easy to propagate from cuttings. I propagated some of these Eremophilas last spring, using the method for propagating plants describes elsewhere in this blog.
Eremophila Eyre Princess Flowers
The only maintenance this Eremophila needs is be pruned after flowering. I normally just use hedge clippers to snip it into a ball and 5 minutes later the jobs done. It’s that easy and when you do prune it, it will grow more compact and bushier and then reward you with lots of flowers the following year. That’s really all the attention it needs.
So if you do come across this Eremophila in a nursery then give it a try. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results. Eremophila “Eyre Princess really is an underused garden plant.
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Alyogyne Huegelii
Alyogyne Huegelii, aka the Native Hibiscus, is a shrub that you see from time to time in nurseries but rarely see in home gardens. I’ve often found this quite surprising though as it’s has so many great things going for it.
Alyogyne Huegelii in Flower
It grows naturally in sandy and gravelly soils in arid areas of Western Australia. This is obviously is why Alyogyne Huegelii is so drought tolerant. The one that I’ve got growing in my front yard amazed me last summer when we had five consecutive days where the temperature was 45°C. I never water the plants in my front garden as I’ve decided that they have to survive on just rainfall so my Alyogyne Huegelii hadn’t received any water for about a month before we got that hot weather. During those five days every afternoon as it baked in the hot afternoon sun the ends of the branches drooped toward the ground as if the it was about to die. Late in the afternoon though as the sun went behind the house it would then recover and look as good as if it wasn’t ever affected. This went on for five days and each afternoon I wondered if it would survive.
Now about 7 months later it is in full flower and looking a million dollars. The flowers are purple but you can also get one’s that have white flowers as well. The flowers themselves though don’t last very long but it just keeps setting new flowers which are profuse so the flowering season does last for a few months from late winter right throughout spring.
Alyogyne Huegelii Flower
Other things you need to know about Alyogyne Huegelii are that it does require reasonable drainage, it doesn’t like fertilizer with phosphorus and it grows really, really fast. After it flowers it’s best to prune it back fairly hard as it will then set vigorous new branches from old wood that will grow over summer (without much water). This will ensure that your shrub will be more compact and will also reward you with lots and lots of flowers the following season. Pruning will also make it less susceptible to wind damage that can sometimes be a problem as the branches are fairly brittle. So it’s also best to plant it in a sheltered area.
Another interesting thing about my Alyogyne Huegelii was that the trunk actually split about a year ago. As you can see I’ve tied it up and it doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse. It will be interesting to see how it goes long term. The other option for me would be to just cut it back to a stump and then let it regrow.
Alyogyne Huegelii with split trunk. "I doesn't appear to have gotten any worse. So I'll leave it for now."
Alyogyne Huegelii is also fairly easy to strike from cuttings. The plant in my garden was actually propagated by my mother using the propagating method described elsewhere in my blog.
So here you have it Alyogyne Huegelii is very drought tolerant, doesn’t need or like fertiliser as it will grow fast anyway, puts on a spectacular flowering display over spring and is really easy to grow. Just make sure you give it reasonable drainage, prune it after flowering, plant in full sun it possible and keep away from strong winds.
So next time you’re at the garden centre keep an eye out for Alyogyne Huegelii.
Read an Update on how to Prune Alyogyne Huegelii.
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