Haha . . .I'd forgotten about the Bruces. This is a thing I built around my S. leucantha (posted earlier on Nell's folly thread). Looking down on it from above, it's got sticks going from side to side through the plant, too, like the spokes of a wheel: I've already cut the plant back by half this year and expect it will cover the support by the end of the summer. As you can see in the photo on the right, it's a monster plant when it blooms. Last year I used sticks and twine as a support, which didn't work very well. I did a zig-zag affair around this fall aster, which is also a huge thing when it blooms and tends to flop all over its neighbors: Â Â Â My Copper Canyon daisies were taking over the path so I surrounded them with what I think of as 'corsets.' I may take them off when they bloom next winter, certainly this one (photo on right) since the little lavender in front of it is dying, which will make some room. I plan to put a miniature twig stockade fence in front of some Mexican feather grass to keep it off the path, too. Maybe someday I'll stop underestimating the amount of space things need.

Thanks Roy & lomatia, I looked up A. terminalis on the Aust Plant Image Index website that justcorreas suggested above and by the picture of the flowers and leaves it looks like you two are on the button. The somewhat dark green of the leaves contributes as well as their form and the flowers. I'll check out the Kuranga catalogue Mt Evelyn Vic and see if they have it otherwise I guess as I mentioned above, it will be seed collection. I know you can't collect seed from National Parks, but there are lots of the bushes just outside the Flora park. Thanks for all the help identifying this wattle

>>the species at risk in the wild should be preserved within the general locality in which they are endangered as the genotypes and the associated genetic variability is suited to that region I agree that it SHOULD be that way.... but having accepted the reality that plants often are not adequately protected in their native habitat (especially in third world countries.... but extinctions may occur even in some first world countries) I think that cultivating threatened plants is a legitimate means of protecting them, whether it's halfway around the world or not. What about the highlands of Peru and Bolivia? What about all those New Caledonian endemics that are still being whacked down and burned indiscriminately by landowners? How about your own Eucalyptus recurva which is known from only four wild plants... a bushfire could come along, the regrowth could be grazed and the plants could be lost. This plant is now being preserved at Currency Creek Arboretum but it could just as well have been lost forever if it had not been brought into cultivation, and something happened to the original plants. Plants are inevitably vulnerable in the wild, often due to human influence but sometimes not... so isn't it better if as many people as possible have them in their gardens? Wattleblossom... your example is just about foolish people who are trying to make a profit and do not really have a clue what they are talking about, not people responsibly collecting plants to preserve them. It is one thing to harvest trunks of relatively common D. antarctica (and C. australis) from the wild.... this is unnecessary as it is unlikely to go extinct no matter what anyone does. Nothing wrong with growing D. antarctica in England but personally I think it would be better if they were spore raised plants. Now if someone were to collect spore from a very rare species of treefern (rather than harvest a whole plant) and disseminate the plants to help preserve them... is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. I also think that when possible a variety of genetic material should be used for each species cultivated.

Yes, I love Acacia macradenia too. I bought mine from Mt Annan Botanic Garden when theirs was in flower. SPECTACULAR! Lovely smothers in bloom and as mentioned, wonderful fragrance. I had an acacia longifolia and agree it grows like a rocket. Mine was VERY short lived though. Full size and dead within about 5 years. Cost a fair bit to have removed. Another nice fragrant one is acacia podalyrifolia, very grey in effect, and acacia baileyana is always reliable, but I think both podalyrifolia and baileyana have been mentioned as prone to becoming a weed. Perhaps you could consider trying acacia pycnantha. Spectacular when doing well. It might suit your area, and it is the national floral emblem so that's a bonus!