I did not mean to offend anyone, natives are good but you can't just plant them and leave them. I think you would have to do a fair bit of research regarding the best natives for your situation. You cant just stereotype them, give them the same treatment and expect them to look good. I did not tell nickyz to forget natives, just reconsider where they are to be planted. Palms (natives) do not cause the same leaf (and root) problems as other plants near pools to that would be the best option for this situation. On the gold coast I imagine that you can grow a very pleasing tropical native garden. If you do choose natives, you have to look after them. A really good book to get started is "Starting out with natives" by John Wrigley and Murray Fagg.

Hi Not sure how cold you get in Perth. The Brachychiton acerifolius will handle a fair amount of cold and frost, much more than a Pawpaw will. My Tamarillos have handles below 0C, but no frost and must be protected from strong wind. There are some beautiful Australia East Coast Rainforest trees that handle cold well and look Tropical. Target Warm Temperate ones or high altitude Sub Tropical. Ivory Curl Flower (Buckhinghamia celsissima), Blue Berry Ash (Elaeocarpis reticulatus), Black Bean (Castanospermum australe) and Riberry (Syzygium luehmannii) are excellent. They also attract birds to your garden (on the east coast at least). There are now a large number of species including a good range of lillypillies (Acmena, Syzygium and Waterhousia) in cultivation. If you can get Syzygium cv cascade grab it. It is a 1.8-2m weeping bush with stunning new growth and watermelon pink shaving brush flowers. The new foliage is very tropical and as the leaves mature they go through hot pinks, red white and then to green. If you have a frost free area, try Costus Barbados. It is an excellent tropical looking plant for places that get to a min of -1C and no frost. Looks fantastic with it's big head of deep red bracts and yellow dayflowers through summer. Also Zingibers can grow well down to Â1C or -2C if protected from strong winter wind. My Zingiber specible cv Champagne is currently in flower and has been through a few -2Cs. Protect when young and you will lose foliage for the first winter or so. The deciduous Zingibers are very hardy if grown with a dry winter. There is also all the Kaempferia, which grow well even in cold areas as long as the ground doesnÂt freeze and stays on the dry side during winter, but note snails love them. Hope this is helpful. By the way I enjoyed your web page. Very well done. Regards Rob H.

Experimentation is fine if it is based on understanding the peculiar aspects of what ever plant we are dealing with. When it comes to Australian native Proteaceae plants there are unique considerations that need to be taken into account. Once we have an understanding of these characteristics then by all means we can take advantage of them. Experimenting blindly is not nearly as constructive. Australian Proteaceae plants are sensitive to Phosphorous to varying degrees. BUT it all makes sense if we are aware of what their original environment was. Proteaceae from the skeletal sandstone soils that have always been very low in nutrients, especially phosphorous, have over thousands of years, developed special adaptions known as proteiod roots. They are noticeably different. (I shall spare you further details about Proteiod roots, but a Google might give you more.) Plants developed these in order to maximise the surface root area so they can absorb the scarce nutrients that may be present in these sandstone derived soils. However in the more nutrient rich rainforest zones it is quite possible that Proteaceae are more tolerant of nutrients and maybe even Phosphorous. I always err on the side of avoiding common fertilisers with high rates of phosphorous. Even chook poo can cause problems, although I do give my rainforest plants a dose of Dynamic Lifter once a year. For example, I find Banksia ericifolia to be very sensitive while some Grevilleas are a bit more tolerant. As for your last remark Nathan I assume it is a joke. Anyone being wrong, should not inferr anyone is not wanted.

If you wanted to try cuttings, Pos02, check the advice given on raising Gymea seeds on the forum. This info is also true for cuttings. You need relatively new growth to form the cutting material and there are various ways of providing a cover for the cuttings. Use cut off plastic drink bottles and remove the cap. A number of cuttings will fit into a 5" pot and when carefully separated, are easily transplanted to their own pots to grow on for a while.