Down to Earth
In this series of articles staff, students and graduates of Burnley College share their views with Global Garden readers on a range of topical horticultural issues. Burnley College is part of the University of Melbourne’s Institute of Land and Food Resources and enjoys an esteemed reputation as one of Australia’s premier horticultural institutions. Click here for a list of other articles in the series.

Research into the use of some indigenous grassland species for
commercial production and as meadow-type landscape plants has
been undertaken in recent years.
We asked John Delpratt about the progress of the research.

1. A number of indigenous grassland wildflowers would appear to
be suitable for commercial production. What are the major challenges
involved in achieving this?

There are a number of problems to be overcome. There is the problem of the availability of seed and other propagating material, but it is emerging that reliability in cultivation is by far the greatest challenge.

We don't know what the tolerances are for these plants and while we can produce an attractive, showy specimen in a pot, we are finding that their reliability as landscape plants is unsatisfactory.
Most of these herbaceous species are perennials and while they often perform very well in their first year many decline quickly during the following winter. They are exhibiting an enormous capacity to die in the ground. Unfortunately no form of written record of selection has been kept in the past when these types of plants have been
cultivated. The broad screening for adaptability has not yet been
done.

Indications are that consumers would find these plants appealing
and the problems would be with production rather than marketing. To be
adopted for large-scale production the plants must be adaptable to
a range of soil conditions, consistent and reliable. We would have
great difficulty convincing a plant producer who maintains tight
scheduling to produce a uniform, disease-free product to grow these
plants at this stage.

2. Are endangered grassland species generally difficult to cultivate?

In my experience they are relatively easy to cultivate in pots but the consistency is not there. Variability would limit their appeal to growers. At this stage their commercial potential is limited to
small-scale growers who are supplying a limited specialist market.
If the financial incentive was there, I'm sure that quite rapid
progress could be made. There is a wide genetic base to choose from and there are sufficient people with the necessary skills to carry out the
process of selection. At worst they would end up with some very
lovely pot plants.

3. At last weekend's Landscape Australia Conference the topic of
meadow-style landscaping was discussed. A suggestion was made
that Australian flora lacked the kind of seasonal change that this
style of garden demands. What do you think?

Without a doubt we have a vast array of dynamic plants within the
Australian flora, but to use them in this way raises a whole range of
issues. Certainly many of these types of plants are not readily
available commercially. The big problem with trying to create
European or North American meadow-style landscapes in Australia
is that many of the plants suited to this style are potential weed
species in Australia. To use Australian plants instead involves a
fundamental problem. Our herbaceous plant material tends to be
spring flowering, not summer flowering as in the Northern
Hemisphere. Managing Australian landscape "meadows" is
extraordinarily difficult. It involves some selective mowing in early summer and weed control through the summer with reliance on native grasses and some everlastings for form and colour. There is the possibility of another display in autumn, with the main display in spring. I would not be advocating this as a landscape option at this time because of the maintenance commitment it entails. We are a
long way from a wildflower garden in a packet at this stage.

Having said that, I think that domestically there is considerable
potential. Our flora contains the same elements as are found in
European and North American meadows, but scaled down in size.
Unfortunately some plants that look great one season, collapse the
next. It seems to be difficult to get them to stabilise. This may be a
genetic response or simply a response to environmental conditions.
Perhaps we should treat some of them as annuals. Our plants are
basically stress tolerators and do best in situations where exotic weeds
are not able to compete. We have a lot to learn about how to use them.
I suspect that an Australian "meadow" could quickly lose diversity and
be dominated by the few most successful plants - and by weeds.
Incidentally, this may also be also be true of the Northern
Hemisphere meadows - the photos always show them at their peak!