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Question Topics This Month

Hydrangeas NSW
Strange flower NSW
Leopard slugs NSW
Suckering passionfruit  NSW
Vehicles on lawn QLD
Compost tumbler “balls” VIC
Pruning lilly pillies NSW

Curl grubs in vegie garden NSW
Hedge plant ACT
Grass in a pot VIC
Yellow lemon leaves VIC
Japanese maple scorched NSW
Dying Diosma NSW
Germination QLD

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Topic and Question

Answer

Hydrangeas NSW 

We have a large pot of very healthy looking, well leafed hydrangeas that apart from one weedy flower have failed to bloom at all this year. With lots of bud growth on all stems we are now removing the older yellowing/ browning leaves. What shall we do to get our usual good flowering next year?

BACK TO TOPICS

I have had much the same experience as you this year with a potted hydrangea that was stunning last year. I've put mine down to the plant being put under drought stress when I went away last October. It lost all its leaves & I had to bring it back from the brink. It subsequently became very healthy-looking and leafy, but only now is getting a few undersized flowers.  In winter I intend repotting it into a slightly larger water-well plastic pot (it is currently in terracotta) with top quality potting mix. After pruning off stems that have flowered, I will fertilise with a fertilizer with a moderate amount of nitrogen and ample phosphorus and potassium. I'm thinking Osmocote TOTAL might be a good choice.

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The picture is almost certainly the fruiting body of a fungus. I think it is probably in the Stinkhorn family. The closest I could find is Aseroe rubra, commonly called Red Starfish fungus. These are in my “Field Guide to Australian Fungi” so it would be possible for you to find it in your garden. It smells awful & attracts flies to pollinate it. There are some extraordinary members of this family (and some quite obscene looking ones!) The third link shows you a selection. 
http://www.sapmea.asn.au/conventions/imc8/fungus.html (Anemone Fungus)
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/aseroe_rubra.html (Red Starfish Fungus)
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/stinkhorn_fame.html Fungi are fascinating.

Leopard slugs NSW 

I have just recently noticed a small hole between pavers just outside my front door contains what can only be described as a family of slugs (those big leopard ones) as they are all different sizes - and i can only assume - ages.  There are now about 4 (I accidentally stepped on one) that all live down this hole during the day and come out at night and slime around....then go back down the hole in the morning. My problem with them is - well - they freak me out.  I HATE the thought of slugs and worms and they're right in front of my door.  I've already squashed one and hate the though of the rest going the same way. Please give me some advise on how to humanely eliminate them or maybe lure them onto something so I can take them to a park or something and re-locate them. Because the only solution that springs to my mind is salt and that's just awful to the poor buggers. Also I've heard of using a dish of beer...can you tell me what this does to them?

BACK TO TOPICS

It's a pity you dislike these slugs so much because they are actually helpful in the garden as they are carnivorous and eat other slugs which damage your plants.  I don't know if they are as attracted to beer traps as other slugs, but basically if the trap (say a margarine container) is buried so the lip is at ground level, they are attracted, get disorientated and fall in. Maybe they die happy - who knows!

Later: I did try the beer - they loved it!  But both were gone in the morning - the slugs down their hole and the beer down the slugs.
Ha ha well, you’ll be very popular as the proprietor of the Slug Bar! They don’t eat plants but generally eat other slugs & dead stuff so they are quite garden friendly. You never know, you might become quite fond of them.
I thought they were carnivorous - and enjoy the odd bit of cannibalism because the one I stepped on was gone by the morning  -eww. I think I'll take a leaf from their book, learn to cohabitate and hope that they take the interest of some nocturnal, slug-eating bird in the near future.

Suckering passionfruit  NSW 

My neighbour has a Nelly Kelly grafted passionfruit growing on our fence.  We just had a bumper crop and the vine is growing madly. It does keep sending up suckers, mostly on my side of the fence part of which is a garden and includes a large Angophora Costata.  As fast as I pull out the suckers more grow and the root system is obviously very extensive.

BACK TO TOPICS

This aggressive root stock is probably the reason that the passionfruit does so well, but the suckers are annoying and do need removing. You can't use herbicide as you may damage the parent vine which is obviously valuable to both you and your neighbour. There is no easy solution and the suckers will have to be removed by hand. Use a sharp knife to cut the suckers as deeply as you can manage. The more you disturb the soil, the more suckers there will be, so avoid digging in the area and also keep the mower blades high in the area so there is no scalping of the soil which also tends to promote suckering.

Hello, there is a product that can be put under grass so vehicles can be driven over it and not damage the grass.  I have seen this product on garden programs on TV and did not get the name of it.  It appears to be plastic and not as noticeable as the old fashioned concrete where the grass could grow through it.

BACK TO TOPICS

There is probably more than one product available, but one is called GrassPave2. You can see details at http://www.invisiblestructures.com.au/index.htm

Compost tumbler “balls” VIC 

I have a tumble composter but instead of making sweet pliable compost I seem to always end up with a bin of "golf balls". Help please!

BACK TO TOPICS

I suspect the problem is the materials that you put into the compost tumbler. To get the right consistency and a good rate of decomposition going you need a combination of green (nitrogen) materials and brown (carbon) materials. If you put lawn clippings, manure, green prunings and spent vegetables & scraps in the compost bin, you will have to balance that with some brown stuff eg finely chopped twigs and branches, sawdust or other woody products. Straw will be helpful. A large population of microorganisms is needed. These will usually multiply readily where there is well-chopped material, warmth, moisture (a tumble composter may not need any added water, depending on the materials, but the mixture needs to be nicely damp, but not wet) and air (leave sufficient room for enough air  in the bin.) A spadeful of mature compost added to the new materials will help the microorganism to multiply. Hope this helps.

Pruning lilly pillies NSW 

What month is the best for pruning lilly pillys? Is there any special way to prune them?

BACK TO TOPICS

If you are pruning them to a particular shape, then pruning a little and often year-round is the best policy. I do this with my Syzygium australe topiaries. If you enjoy the fruit and find them attractive, wait until the fruit is past its best and then give a good light all-over prune. If you don't like the fruit and think it's messy, prune immediately after flowering.

Curl grubs in vegie garden NSW

 I have found heaps of curl grubs in my vegie garden and am worried they will eradicate my crop.  How can I get rid of them without killing all the lovely earthworms?

BACK TO TOPICS

I don't think there are any chemicals that will kill curl grubs that I would like to use in a vegetable garden. Pick the grubs out by hand and dispose of them when you see them. Apply liquid seaweed to your vegetables to help them to withstand pest attack. The curl grubs are the larvae of beetles so keeping outside lights off at night will reduce the number of beetles attracted to your garden. Treating the curl grubs in your lawn with a suitable insecticide may also reduce the number of beetles & curl grubs in the garden beds.

Hedge plant ACT 

We live in the ACT on what is one of the busier roads.  Seeing as I cannot do a great deal about the noise from the traffic, I am at least looking to visually screen the traffic away.  My only concern is that we have a very large gum tree in our front lawn and a good part of the hedge would run directly underneath it.  Can you advise of a suitable, ideally dense and fast growing hedge that can handle the competition from the gum tree and the broad ranging Canberra climate? Ideally, a dark green non-flowering hedge would be great.
 

BACK TO TOPICS

It has been quite a challenge to come up with a suitable hedging plant for you. I would certainly avoid any kind of conifer. They are a fire trap and look shocking when they die off in parts as a drought response. The plants need to be tough, frost resistant, cope with both sun and semi-shade, drought tolerant and fast-growing - quite an ask! I think the best option for you would be Viburnum tinus. (The cultivar 'Lucidum' is particularly attractive.) It is tolerant of wind and drought. It will tolerate frost down to -10 degrees. It is fast growing and long-lived and will grow in sun or shade. It also responds well to pruning. It will grow to 3m tall but can be kept at a lower height if you prefer. (It does flower - all shrubs that aren't plastic flower to some degree - but the pink buds and white flowers in winter are attractive and the dark green foliage is handsome all year round.) Competing with gum tree roots is no easy feat but if any plant can do it, this one can. One other option is Acacia howittii (Sticky Wattle). It shares most of these characteristics but can be short-lived, though a hedge near where I live has been there for 20 years and still looks perfectly fine.

Grass in a pot VIC 

Can foxtail grass be grown in a pot?

BACK TO TOPICS

Yes you can certainly grow this plant (Pennisetum alopecuroides) in a pot though you will need a large pot (both tall and wide) that is good and heavy as the plant will blow over in the wind otherwise.

One of my clients has a mature variegated lemon.  The leaves on some branches have turned completely yellow. I have read websites, but can't seem to find info.  The leaves and the tree seem healthy but have had few lemons. What do you think I should apply to treat this?

BACK TO TOPICS

The leaves of lemon trees that have an iron deficiency can turn completely yellow and even white. Try applying chelated iron.

Japanese maple scorched NSW  

My green Japanese Weeping Maple is approx 2M tall the stem and all the branches are green, however, the leaf foliage is all brown, dry and dead.  They are planted in pots of approx 1M diametre and 500mm high. They are located at the side of a carport, under cover, watered daily and fertilised.  Please advise why the leaves would be dead.

BACK TO TOPICS

Does the maple catch the afternoon sun? This can cause leaf burn. Also hot wind coming off paving can scorch leaves. Think of anything else that may be causing excess heat.

Dying Diosma NSW 

I have a diosma bush which has turned brown.  Is this normal?  Or has it suddenly decided to die on me?  I don't remember it turning brown last year.  It's about 2m tall and just as wide.

BACK TO TOPICS

While Diosma (Coleonema ) is a really tough plant, it will occasionally die off. The leaves change their texture in patches and dies off and it eventually spreads to the whole plant. I have experienced this in my own garden and do not have a name for it. I imagine it is some kind of disease. I had to remove mine.

Germination QLD

What are the three things seeds need to germinate???

BACK TO TOPICS

Primarily seeds need moisture to germinate. They also need access to oxygen and this is why seed raising mixes are always lightly textured and well-drained. They also need the appropriate temperature. For many seeds it is warmth, but others need to be stratified which means they need to subjected to cold temperatures to trigger germination. Seeds also need appropriate light levels - for some seeds that is darkness, for others it is light and some seeds will germinate in either. There are many other conditions that certain seeds need before they will germinate - many Australian native needs need bushfires, some seeds need to go through the digestive tract of birds or animals to germinate. There are many variations!

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