Welcome to the November enewsletter 

Native Plants for NSW – November 2021

The monthly enewsletter of the Australian Plants Society NSW

Lomandra multiflora by Karlo Taliana is in our latest plant ID video by Ralph Cartwright on our YouTube channel here.

In our November issue

  • Welcome to the enewsletter

  • From our President

  • Remembering Pat Pike

  • Activities

  • Activities for 2022

  • New nursery in northern Sydney

  • Sharing bush regeneration experiences

  • Garden advice

  • Members in the media

  • Study Group updates: Isopogon and Petrophile

  • Discount Neutrog products

  • Find APS NSW on social media. 

Welcome to the enewsletter

Dear {Contact_First_Name}

Thanks to members who responded to the call to share their Bushcare experiences. Our next issue, the final for the year, will feature handy books or resources on native plants, so let me know your favourites, whether new or old.

For our new members, some information is repeated in each newsletter. Each enewsletter is also saved as a pdf file here. Stories, photos and feedback are welcome. Please email the editor Rhonda Daniels at enewsletter@austplants.com.au 

From our President Heather Miles

Our planning for hosting the ANPSA Biennial Conference in September 2022 is progressing well. More here. If you would like to assist, please contact me at president@austplants.com.au and we will find a job that suits.

The Lord Howe tours opened and were filled within 2 weeks. Bookings for all the other tours and the conference itself will open in early February, once we finalise all the costs. We recommend you book your accommodation as soon as possible. Details here.

The UTS student team has finalised their report for us. Their overriding finding is that people join the society to learn – learn about native plants, meet like-minded people and conserve native plants. They recommend, among other things, running 'buddy' sessions for new members every 3 months, to help people orient themselves in the society.

Photo below: Hakea 'Burrendong Beauty' by Heather from our new profile here.

Remembering life member Pat Pike

It is with sadness that members of North Shore Group advise of the death of their friend and fellow member Pat Pike. We all very much admired Pat and were very fond of her. She had a tremendous knowledge of local native plants and the bush and she quietly and generously shared that knowledge with us all. Her specialty became native grasses in particular. Pat taught science for 30 years at high school, then had a career in bush regeneration. Pat was also involved with protection of bushland in ways other than education. She was one of the Friends of the Berowra Valley Regional Park, conducted plant surveys for the Hornsby Herbarium and led the sessions on grasses at the Walks and Talks program at  Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden. Recognising just how much Pat has contributed to APS and conservation, she received life membership of APS NSW in 2015 (photo below).

Read more from Sue Fredrickson here.

Activities

COVID restrictions are easing, and groups are planning activities. Check the APS calendar here.

14–21 November – Participate in the Wild Pollinators Count

Participate in the Wild Pollinators Count for Spring 2021 here. The count is the flagship citizen science event organised by Wild Pollinators Oceania. There's still much to learn about what pollinates our native flora and close observation is vital. Official social media hashtag: #WildPollinatorCount.

Photo below: Flannel flowers by Jill McLelland.

Tuesday 16 November, 7 pm – Webinar on APS Facebook and Instagram

Join a short webinar with APS NSW social media team member Rae Bassett. Rae will keep it practical, for both beginners and more familiar users, and cover:

  • where to find APS NSW and District Groups
  • why we use Facebook and Instagram
  • what will you find there
  • how to get involved
  • protecting your privacy and participating safely. 

Click the link here to join via Humanitix, and enter your details to book your place.

Wednesday 24 November, 7 pm – Quarterly gathering by Zoom – Plants in containers

Ben and Ros Walcott will give a presentation on growing Australian native plants in containers. Ben and Ros are co-leaders of the ANPSA Australian Plants for Containers Study Group. This presentation is also designed to encourage members to become involved in the small gardens interest group to be established and to support members who live in the inner city or in apartments on the types of plants that they can grow given their restricted spaces.

Register for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom details.

Photo below: A hanging pot of Tetratheca glandulosa by Brian Roach.

It's not too late to learn about Zoom – it's free and easy

Did you know that Zoom software is FREE? Download it at zoom.us/download to connect to friends and family all over the world and join APS meetings. Some advantages suggested by members are:

  • See and hear speakers more clearly.
  • Enjoy show and tell of plants with photos of the whole plant, not just a wilted flower.
  • Avoid coming home from meetings in the dark and cold.
  • Attend from afar.

Our technology team has prepared a helpful document for you to feel more confident using Zoom. There are also some helpful tips for more experienced users. Did you know you can temporarily UNMUTE yourself by pressing the SPACE BAR? Get the document here.

Catch up on recent Group meetings on YouTube

If you missed a group meeting with a great speaker held by Zoom, you can catch up on YouTube. Our collection of talks is expanding. Check these recent talks.

  • Sophie Moore on street trees, at East Hills Group here.
  • Robert King on mangroves, at North Shore Group here.
  • Hugh Jones on plants at his Capertee Valley property, at North Shore Group here.

Photo below: Mangroves by Graham Fry.

Activities for 2022 

Some face-to-face activities are already planned for 2022.

Quarterly gatherings in 2022

  • Saturday 12 March – Quarterly gathering hosted by Menai Group at Illawong
  • Saturday 21 May – Quarterly gathering and AGM hosted by Parramatta and Hills Group at Cherrybrook, with Peter Olde on Grevilleas for pots and small gardens.

April 2022 – Central West trip, dates TBC

Our trip to the central west in April 2022 will visit seven properties, including three properties of APS NSW members. The owners are enthusiastic to show and discuss what they have achieved in regeneration. If you are interested in joining the trip, please register here for more information. 

10–17 September 2022 – ANPSA Biennial Conference, Kiama

Information on the conference and tours is on the website here. We suggest you book accommodation now.

New native nursery in northern Sydney – Cicada Glen

A new nursery is open in northern Sydney. Those members mourning the loss of Wirreanda Nursery can take heart, as a new native nursery is opening in Ingleside. Kelly, who worked at Wirreanda for many years, is running the new retail nursery at Cicada Glen on Mona Vale Road, Ingleside. It aims to concentrate on local native species, unusual species and rainforest plants. It offers a 10% discount to APS members.

Read more by Pip Gibian here.

Harvest Seeds and Native Plants, Terrey Hills

Also in northern Sydney is Harvest Seeds and Native Plants at Terrey Hills. It is a native plant nursery serving the northern areas of Sydney and beyond with high quality native plants, seeds and tube stock. It also offers a 10% discount to APS members. Read more here.

Buying native plants and seeds

For more on where to buy native plants and seeds, see our list here. It includes retail nurseries, community nurseries, online sales and one-off events. Many offer discounts for APS members.

Sharing bush regeneration experiences

Thanks to Graham Fry and Chris King, both East Hills Group members, who responded to Dorothy Luther's call in the last issue for people to share their Bushcare experience. More stories welcome – email enewsletter@austplants.com.

Graham Fry at Poulton Park

Graham Fry from East Hills Group and a recent board member shares his Bushcare experience at Poulton Park, Hurstville in southern Sydney. With wife Liz Cameron, he is also an active member of Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society. Poulton Park is a 20 ha area of bushland and playing fields virtually on his doorstep. About 15 ha of bushland remains – sandstone vegetation (heath and dry sclerophyll woodland) grading at higher elevations to a small area of threatened Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest on shale soil. The bushcare group focuses on this latter area. 

Read more by Graham here.

Photo below: Grevillea sericea and mixed climbers at Poulton Park by Graham Fry.

Chris King at Inner West Environment Group

Chris King is convenor of the Inner West Environment Group (IWEG), a volunteer bushcare group that envisioned and established a green corridor that has become the GreenWay. Group members volunteer at four sites along the light rail corridor at Dulwich Hill, supervised by a bushcare contractor employed by Inner West Council. The aim is to enhance habitat for birds and animals through bush restoration of the local Sydney Turpentine Ironbark plant community. It is an important area of connectivity for migrating birds on their seasonal movements in spring and autumn.

Read more by Chris here.

Garden advice from our experts group

Glenda Browne, our hard-working office volunteer profiled here, summarises recent queries and answers:

  • pruning a Port Jackson pine (Callitris rhomboidea, photo below)
  • attracting blue wrens to the garden
  • choosing the right soil mix
  • dealing with dead leaves on a firewheel tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus).

Read more here.

If you're wondering Why sweet-toothed possums graze on stressed, sickly-looking trees, Gregory Moore at the University of Melbourne explains all on The Conversation website.

Members in the media

  • Lloyd Hedges from Menai Group spoke on waratahs in The Sydney Morning Herald on 5 October here.
  • Peter Olde OAM from Menai Group featured on grevilleas (of course) and his Silky Oaks garden in The Sydney Morning Herald on 22 October here.
  • Maria Hitchcock OAM featured in the My Garden Path segment on ABC TV's Gardening Australia on 1 October. Maria has been leader of several study groups with an Armidale garden to match. Watch the episode on iview.

Photo below: Grevillea 'Strawberry Smoothie' by Peter Olde from our profile here.

Study Group updates

Explore our wide range of national Study Groups and their newsletter archives and see how to join a group for free here. Nic Maher has highlights from recent issues.

Isopogon and Petrophile Study Group – Newsletter 29, September 2021 

Native bees (Leiopractus sp) have been recorded breaking into unopened buds to steal the fresh pollen – in Petrophile linearis in WA and also in Isopogon anemonifolius in NSW. This robbing behaviour has been recorded in species all over the world, including other proteaceae such as Macadamia, but has not been extensively studied.

A hotspot for isopogons and petrophiles is Lesueur National Park, three hours’ drive north of Perth, with several species not found anywhere else in the world. A new isopogon taxon found only in the park has now been named the Leseur Isopogon. Isopogon sphaerocephalus ssp. lesueuerensis is known only from three hills within the park, over a distance of a few kilometres, and is separated from other populations of I. sphaerocephalus by about 180 km.

A recurring complaint from study group propagators is the high rate of seedling deaths at the first transplant stage after seed germination. A simple solution is to germinate seed in 20 mm peat plugs, which come in trays of 240 plugs. Each plug has a slit on one side where seeds can be inserted. Pot up as soon as you see the true leaves starting to emerge. The recommended technique is to remove the plug carefully, without putting pressure on the tiny seedling (eg push them out from underneath). Then simply put the entire plug, as is, into your waiting pot filled with potting mix. This prevents transplant shock from planting on.

Isopogons and petrophiles featured in the Australian Plants Winter 2021 issue posted to members in October, here.

Photo below: Isopogon 'Silvertips', a new natural hybrid between I. divergens and I. gardneri (Catriona Bate).

Discount Neutrog offer for members

Members have made their first order through the new arrangement we have with Neutrog for substantial discounts on products bought on the Neutrog online store.

Members need to register first through their group, as deliveries are made to one address per group four times a year. Members will then receive details from Neutrog on how to access the special member discounts on the Neutrog online store. Read here how the discount offer works through your group. Check if your group is participating.

Find APS NSW on social media

Whatever your preferred social media, you can find APS NSW and Australian native plants there.

APS NSW website

Our website here has our calendar of activities, stories, resources including our plant profile database, Group details, membership benefits including our discount Neutrog offer, and more.

YouTube

View our YouTube channel here. We aim to share more about native plants and how to grow and conserve them. You don’t need an account to view our videos and there is no cost. However, if you have a Google account, like Gmail, you can subscribe which improves our exposure and rankings.

Facebook – Members only Forum

Join our new virtual place for members to connect. The Australian Plants Society NSW Members Forum is different from our Facebook page, which many members already follow. It is a Facebook group, free for all members to join, as a place to share your passion for growing and conserving native plants. As a private group, you have to request to join. Click here to sign up.

Instagram

Enjoy pretty plant pics posted twice a day here.

Photo finish

A screenshot from our Instagram
This enewsletter is emailed to members of the Australian Plants Society NSW

www.austplants.com.au, PO Box 263, Cremorne Junction 2090, enewsletter@austplants.com.au

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