Thank you very much Tedhort. You did it. My friend had mentioned something similar to Cherry Bella, and Exocarpus cupressiformis is also called cherry ballart. The tree was from You Yang's regional park in/near Melbourne, Asutralia. The following link has a picture of where it is known to exist in Australia. http://asgap.org.au/e-cup.html Thanks to all of you for the help and a special thanks to Ted.

Just a reminder that it's the U of A Extension Office. This is the outreach branch of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) which is based in Tuscon. There are Extension offices in every county in the state and they are charged with bringing the university to the people of Arizona. If you call 602-470-8086 x 301 you'll reach the Master Gardener hotline where you can leave a message. A MG will call you back. OR, you can post your question to the arid_gardener list serve. This is hosted by the U of A and can be accessed from the "Ask a Question" link on the Maricopa County Extension office listed in jochan's message above.

Yes, they do love humidity. They also drink water from the little hairs on the trunk. I have misters that spray up the trunks, they seem to grow quicker that way. It could well be that they dried a little in the heat.Though they dont have to have a lot of water [if you are short] they need dampness. Do you know which ones they are? Cyathea cooperi maybe? This would help, some like the heat more than others. Your feeding ideas sound perfect, they adore all that mulchy stuff.Sand is no worries with all those goodies added.I have heaps of them, lots of different ones. They are really beautiful arent they, I adore them. cheers L

When you say " 3D landscapes", do you mean pictures, or do you want to work with real plants?: I am assuming you mean pictures, and here is my list: (I am most familiar with eastern Australian plants.) 1. Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia. ("Gumtrees") These are all very similar plants. There are more than 700 species of them in Australia, and almost every Australian landscape has several species,(and Australians love them) so they are essential for your picture. You should use at least one smooth-barked species such as E. camaldulensis (River Redgum). There are many of these growing in Italy, but see some paintings by Hans Heyson for a more typical Australian shape. They grow by rivers on open plains, and are AustraliaÂs commonest Eucalypt. E. maculata( also called Corymbia) (Spotted Gum) is very well-known, and has a tall spotted trunk. E.grandis (Flooded Gum) has a very big, tall straight creamy-white trunk. It typically grows in wet forests and needs a strong green background of rainforest foliage to look authentic. E.saligna has a typical bluegum trunk and is a big tree of the same habitat. E.papuana (ghost gum) is a well-known gumtree of the desert. See some paintings by Albert Namatjira for the setting. Of the rough-barked Eucalypts, the best known are ironbarks such as E.crebra or the blue--leafed E.melanophloia. They have black trunks with deeply furrowed bark, and would be very suitable for your picture. For flowers, the Angophoras and Corymbias are better than Eucalypts, as the flowers are held on the outside of the canopy. A.leiocarpa (Rusty applegum) is very well-known and popular. It grows in many environments including rocks where its roots make good pictures. Western Australian Corymbias are small trees with the showiest flowers. E.ficifolia is very popular and well-known. In Australia gumtree leaves typically show insect damage, and this is considered to be part of their beauty (see paintings by May Gibbs) so you should include insect damage if you are showing close pictures of the leaves. 2. Acacia (Wattles). There are more than 800 species in Australia. Typical Australian landscapes would have up to six species. The species with showy flowers are usually small. A.podalyrifolia is well-known and has blue-green leaves and grown in many environments. (A typical Australian landscape should feature plants with blue-green or silvery-leaves) A.harpohpylla (Brigalow) is a silver-leafed tree of the plains. For a typical landscape you might like to choose one wattle with phyllodes and one with leaves. 3. Grevillea. I would choose G.robusta (silky oak) which is a tree of rainforest margins, very well-known. There are more than 300 grevilleas in Australia and most are from heath environments. 4. Brachychiton acerifolius. This is a popular garden plant which drops its leaves in spring, and becomes covered with red flowers at the same time as the silky oaks are flowering. They look very picturesque together. This is a...