Thanks for the posts, everyone. Bahia, it turns out that I have exactly the location you suggest: coastal influence, and even with the killer freeze (ice in my birdbaths), only a touch of damage hit my bananas, mango, and iochroma. I swear the grevilleas got brighter red, and none of the aussies were damages by mid-20s temps - much to my relief. I'm a big fan of Buena Creek, and was out there last week. They got hit pretty hard, as did their suppliers, and I suspect they'll restock in time for their Spring sale. They've got the best demo gardens around, including the awe-inspiring hillside full of proteas, grass trees, and a 15' pencil cactus - all of which survives on benign neglect. Another location with excellent botanical gardens is the Wild Animal Park, with a section devoted to Aussie natives - protea, leuco* and leuca*, banksias, stenocarpus and some amazing Silver trees (Leucodendron argentum). I swung by Anderson's La Costa yesterday, now that they've recovered from the powerful windstorm that destoyed their greenhouses - I've always admired and appreciated the vast selection they offer, and they've really got a sweet assortment of Aussies (Leuco*, Leuca*, net bush, silver tree, grevilleas). I've got a wide selection of grevilleas already (Gilt Dragon is my fav, and doesn't scratch), and a weakness for Leucospermum, which are curiously ignored by the hummingbirds. Leucadendron 'Jester' is eye-popping, and "more silver' put out yellow cones this spring. Every banksia died on me - maybe too much coastal influence - sigh. I've never seen Hakea, Kunzea, Dryandra or one of the various flame peas growing in this area, and I'm thinking of getting seeds to give it a try. Anyone have luck with that approach? ...diana

Warratas are extremely difficult in horticulture. to be successful, you will need perfect drainage to one metre, the soil can be sandy, extremely dry and must be low in Phosphorus, never fertilise Telopia species with Phosphorous, Warratas develop deep roots, they spend much of the first few years after germination sending a tap root directly down, they do this as they commonly grow over water, the water is normally one or more metre below the soil surface, a good way to establish Telopia Speciosissima is to obtain a seedling or start your own from seed, and for the first two years at an intervals of about 4 weeks apply a systemic fungicide such as "Fongarid" to the plant, Telopia species suffer from phytophthora, they succumb readily in horticulture, if your garden is not suited to the species, you may have better luck growing them in pots.

California. In the 1850s Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians travelling to California during the California Gold Rush. Much of California has a similar climate to parts of Australia. By the early 1900s thousands of acres of eucalypts were planted with the encouragement of the state government. It was hoped that they would provide a renewable source of timber for construction and furniture making. They went on to note that the promise of eucalyptus in California was based on the old virgin forests of Australia. This was a mistake as the young trees being harvested in California could not compare in quality to the centuries-old eucalyptus timber of Australia. It reacted differently to harvest. The older trees didn't split or warp as the infant California crop did. There was a vast difference between the two, and this would doom the California eucalyptus industry.[11] One way in which the eucalyptus, mainly the blue gum E. globulus, proved valuable in California was in providing windbreaks for highways, orange groves, and other farms in the mostly treeless central part of the state. They are also admired as shade and ornamental trees in many cities and gardens. Eucalyptus forests in California have been criticised because they compete with native plants and do not support native animals. Fire is also a problem. The 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm which destroyed almost 3,000 homes and killed 25 people was partly fueled by large numbers of eucalypts in the area close to the houses.[12] In some parts of California eucalypt forests are being removed and native trees and plants restored. Individuals have also illegally destroyed some trees and are suspected of introducing insect pests from Australia which attack the trees.[13]

I've never tried moving waratahs but did try a small grevillea once. It had only been planted for a couple of months but had to be moved because of unexpected earthworks. The plant didn't survive. Apparently many natives don't like their roots disturbed at all. If you had to move it try and take as much soil with it as you can. I'm not sure about pruning it back first though. When I learnt about horticulture years ago, we were told to prune back the plant but a few years ago I read somewhere that the latest research shows that plants draw food reserves from the leaves to replace any roots that were lost, so pruning the plant is depriving it of food. I don't know if this has since been found true or not. Someone else may know. Also some natives can resent pruning. If you want to prune, maybe just a light trimming? Keep it watered but don't overdo it as they don't like sitting in water. If the weather is hot, maybe shade it with temporary shadecloth shelter. If you move it let us know how the plant goes.