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Australian Native Plants

Unhappy plant or impatient gardener.

19 years ago

I planted a Callistemon viminalis Pink Alma,

8 months ago. Am I expecting too much, too soon.

This plant has not budged, it just sits there and looks

just like the day I planted it. I have this gut feeling it is not happy and is going to curl up its leaves and die.

It is like looking at a still life.It has no personality and isn't even trying, while I have almost killed it with kindness. Does anyone have any experience with this shrub

of the year 1999. Thanks

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Comments (4)

gardenlen
19 years ago
g'day nemo,

reckon you should be seeing some signs of new growth by now, have you seen any?

what condition where the roots when you tipped the plant to plant it? eg.,. where they all root bound and in a tight ball/clump?

if so then i would suggest that it could have been root bound and most natives won't exist past that stage, if that where the case try to buy plants with healthier root system and not balled up roots.

one of the gardens i had there was a nz xmas bush very small it would give the odd flower and not much more no real growth at all, then it up and died and when i pulled it out of the ground its roots where all balled up in a knot the same as it was in the pot, almost no new roots had grown beyond that ball.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
nemo
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks Len,
The root system must have been ok as I would have remembered if it wasnt, I do check this out so I know what you mean. It did throw out 2 little flowers around spring and that was it. It is still just sitting there,no new growth at all.I would love to know what is going on under the ground. Is the root system happy,it is a mystery.
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OK - it's Brunnera macrophylla. Not at all good candidate for a small pot like those. It will produce some blue flowers in spring but the rest of the year you will just have leaves - and yours isn't even one of the silver variegated cultivars. It would be much happier in a border or at least a large pot. It is a tough hardy perennial which will die back to the ground in a harsh Winter although in my climate and probably yours it will retain some leaves over the winter. To get it healthy it needs to be replanted in a much bigger container or set out in the garden. Here is a link that might be useful: Brunnera macrophylla
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justcorreas
19 years ago
I wouldn't give up hope on it just yet Nemo, as I have a Callistemon "Kings Park Special" which sat idle for the first twelve months. Now after 3+ years it's now 3 metres high, so if yours still looks healthy, just leave it as I'm sure it will make a move soon.
pos02
19 years ago
Callistemons will survive in dry spots, but they are a riparian species, so prefer to have good moisture. They never tell you these things on the tags, so don't pay much attention to them. They only way to find out what the plants really need and where they naturally grow is to look them up in a reference book (there are plenty around).

If you provide enough moisture (water once a week should be fine), I think you should see some growth. As mentioned before, they can take a few years to take off.

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