AU & NZ travelogue: conclusion
I'm splitting this because threads with too many images get annoying to use for people on portable devices. Please post any follow-ups here...I will post a note to that thread closing it and pointing replies here.
So, after leaving Canberra I drove up towards the renowned Illawarra Coast region. Here the escarpment creates a rainforest-like microclimate...but only along the coast. This was dramatically illustrated during my drive: I turned off the Hume Highway - AU's biggest highway but not very big by US standards at all - onto A48, and passed through the town of Moss Vale. This town, on a 2000' plateau and having a slightly cooler climate than, say, Sydney, had one of the biggest, healthier looking blue spruces I saw on the whole trip. In fact the entire drive had many northern hemisphere conifers and trees...but also I had to keep a schedule so couldn't stop to photograph any of them. (firs though...remained scarce if present at all...even heat tolerant ones...and were extremely rare to see anywhere on my entire journey)
However as I approached the escarpment, there was one of the most rapid shifts in observable microclimate I've ever seen...comparable to what you see in Italy taking the Centovalli train from Zone 9 Locarno into the Alps. Around Robertson, I saw the first wild tree ferns I'd seen since I was back on the lower reaches of the Snowy Mountains. Small and stunted at first...but getting bigger, quickly. Suddenly, you hit the escarpment itself...greeted by this scene.
Suddenly, in just a few miles of driving, the background pattern of plant growth changes from almost seeming interior European...like a drier part of France or England that is mostly plains and hedges...to seeming like a jungle. You start to descent and the road is lined with huge gums (Eucalyptus) and tree ferns. There are unrecognizable vines. Suddenly there are huge Livistona palms.
At the bottom...it's incredible how things have changed. There are huge Jacaranda blooming...almost every type of palm you can think of besides Coconuts...etc. etc. To my eyes...almost looking like Hawaii, though I've never been there. Again, only a short drive away from a place where, if you were careful about your camera angles to avoid Eucs and Callistemons, could almost shoot a film supposedly in Northern Europe. I checked into my AirBnb and got yet another taste of Aussie hospitality. The host offered to take me for a hike up the Escarpment. First, some Illawarra Flame trees in town:
The hike was grueling for out of shape old me. According to google maps, it's about 700 ft. up; but the final bits are so steep you need to use a series of ladders. I'm sure there's youtube video somewhere if you're curious. This is what the rainforest looks like: trees ferns, Eucs, Fig-looking things, Livistona australis, I saw a baby Bunya Bunya.
At the top is the reward:
Next, day...well the next day I did the Sydney Bridge Climb. Following day, went to the Blue Mountains where "Phil in Sydney" on Growingonthedge was kind enough to spend the day showing me around. He was extremely generous with his time...and was an expert guide to Aussie flora. He's the Mt. Tomah Botanic Garden. What a setting!
A Puya and Buddleia:
I think any strange Araucariaceae they can manage to grow here, they do. As before, the Wollemi looked better in this mountain climate than they did in the lowlands.
I worried Phil was slightly annoyed that I was so enamored with the non-Australian Proteas lol. But they were amazing. The best collection (well, only!) I know of besides the San Francisco Botanical Garden. I give this one a slight edge: they seemed healthier. But they didn't have a few strange ones I remember seeing there, like the black and white one. But maybe it blooms at another time of year.
They had a fantastic Taiwania. Interesting the only even slightly sickly looking conifer here was a Lawson Cypress. Maybe it doesn't like the wet summers, even if they are mild.
Also a fine spruce; which I regret not checking for a label.
Continuing...
Comments (17)
davidrt28 (zone 7)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoNext we went to the Three Sister/Mt. Katoomba tourist area. There's a really amusing ride here, you can read about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katoomba_Scenic_World#Railway
They have a nature hike to give punters an appreciation for what the Blue Mountains rainforest is like. Phil pointed out most tree ferns here are Cyathea, not the Dicksonia I was mostly seeing back in the mountains east of Melbourne. Here are some pics:
You noticed the reddish new growth on the Euc. On my entire trip through AU, I noticed how this gives valley scenes an odd brownish-green color. Assume the same thing can be seen in parts of Asia with broadleaved evergreen forests.
The following day was my last in Sydney, so I checked my bags at the Central station and visited the Sydney Botanic Garden. This tropical tree was notable for...from a distance...looking like a giant Rosaceae of some sort. Like an incredibly showy apple or something. But it's actually in the mallow family.
As expected this garden seems very tropical. (which is also true of Sydney, generally. As I suspected when I was in Melbourne...though the very tropical looking palms can clearly grow there, few people plant them. Here, things like Archontophoenix, Erythrina, Jacaranda, etc. are much more common)
This amazingly showy tree is called a Castanospermum. Parrots were going crazy, fighting over something up there. Nectar maybe?
A gigantic Dracaena draco!
But as usual, the mild climate of SE Australia throws you a HUGE curve ball. Look at this somber Quercus ilex - right out of an English Cathedral town! Not going to see any of those in South Florida!
davidrt28 (zone 7)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoSO...on to New Zealand. The Air New Zealand airfare deal I got included a free stopover of any length in NZ, so it would have been crazy not to stop there.
First, Christchurch. Lovely town but, wow, what a change from AU. The vast majority of plants are northern hemisphere and temperate, but besides that, just the feel of it was very different from AU. The most commonly planted NZ native is Cordyline australis, and where do you see a lot of those, too? England. In a way in was the least interesting stop on my journey, but that is in no way meant to slight it. It is what it is.
The Botanic Garden is nice, but not quite up to the amazing standards of the ones in AU. (there's no shame in that: I'm not sure anywhere has free, public gardens as well maintained as those in AU!) Funnily, they've just started planting a lot of rare plants like Parajubaea, which seems perfectly fine so far, as though it only recently occurred to them how mild they really are. However I spoke to a gardener there for about 30 minutes - super nice guy - and he complained that the climate...in downtown Christchurch especially, was very difficult by NZ standards, because the summers are dry. He said the hills off to the SE, facing the sea, were milder and more humid, and if I'd had time to go there could have seen proteas planted out in people's gardens. He said the central English-style perennial border has to be watered twice a week. But they had some neat plants. He said this North Island Metrosideros had once been in giant wood pots, wheeled into the greenhouse for winter, but they started to root one summer in the ground so were just left outside. Obviously they are happy where they are...just starting to bloom now. Alas, I was too early to see the famed southern rata, its south island cousin.
They had a nice Abies pindrow - 8' or so. One of the only firs I saw on the whole trip. (Abies firma should grow like gangbusters in Sydney, but apparently nobody has tried one. )
This gargantuan Arbutus unedo is the largest I've ever seen by far:
The garden had a Arbutus canariensis too; pic is somewhere on my smartphone which is harder to find. It looks so much like 'Marina' it confirms my suspicion that is the true other parent involved, not Arbutus andrachne.
Of course there are plentiful strange NZ natives, like their wacky Araliaceae.
Oh wait, I do have that picture of Arbutus canariensis:
There were a couple strange plants in this garden I'm going to post to a separate "mystery plants" thread. Stuff that didn't have labels.
They had tree ferns with an almost black trunk...I believe this is a separate species?
The gardeners at Christchurch Botanical Gardens gave me a tip to visit the Ilam Gardens at the University, where that famous series of hybrids was bred. Funny enough, the showiest rhododendron there in my opinion was good ole PNW-bred Nancy Evans! But I don't want to bog the thread down with Rhodie pics. I did notice a curiously smooth barked oak. Any ideas?
Now...a trip through the heart of the South Island on the Tranzalpine train. Picture as we started ascending the mountains:
You can see that European Gorse is a HUGE problem there. It was prolific in most places I went in the South Island. Yes, the water really does have that surreal color.Related Discussions
Can I safely can kiwi jam?
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Comments (70)Greg wrote: Nathan, these sorts of examples are broadly accepted and acted on by environmental scientists, governments, CSIRO, government land managers, Greening Australia, conservation organisations and now many farmers. You can't seriously be suggesting that they are all be acting on flawed logic and false assumptions! Goverments have a good record of doing things for reasons other than logic. I am constantly amazed how people do the wrong things for all the right reasons. Just the other day in my work I discovered that the 'right way' to solve a certain computer algorithm was slower than another way known about for even longer. After a certain point behaviour becomes entrenched and self-catalysing even when it is known to be wrong. Nathan I reckon that no matter what evidence or logic anyone puts in front of you it will not change your mind because it doesn't fit your own belief system. Au contrair, I am far more likely to change my belief system than you. As I said, I used to believe what you believe, but then I began to doubt the fundamental assumptions. I notice that you still haven't managed to write an argument. Is it too hard? Robert wrote: There is an obvious philosophical line and/or point of view, that goes through Greg's posts. It may well be one that we disagree with, but it is clearly there. There was an obvious philosophical line etc from Stalin. It is possible to be convinced about one's beliefs and yet be wrong. It is also possible to write scientific papers, and be wrong. Sometimes people even retract their statements, but this seems to be very much in a minority. Nathan, consistant ridicule and condescension might satisfy your ego but it unfortunately inhibits constructive debate. Actually, as far as I can tell, I've been trying to have constructive debate, but it's hard to debate when the counterviewpointholders don't even know what they're arguing for. I've tried asking indirectly, I've tried asking nicely, I've tried giving hints and even suggesting methods and started writing greg's argument for him. But he refuses to actually state his cause. How can one have a constructive debate when one isn't sure what the other person's reasoning is, and when at the same time, one feels that that person's actions are illogical and harmful? Whether the issue is the threat of exotic garden plants becoming weeds and therefore their resultant impact on biodiversity or whatever native plants we plant and where we plant them, bludgeoning someone who has not provided the right words for you, is unhelpful. You mean saying things like 'in the big picture you are irrelevant' and 'Clearly there are people in this forum who are not 'converted''? I'm just asking for a simple sketch of why greg believes that we should grow indigenous only gardens with base beliefs, middle deductions and final conclusion. There is no 'right words' about it. Lets say I were a medical scientist, and I......See More"Tai Haku" Great White Cherry Tree
Comments (11)Genetic backgrounds of most Japanese cherries of garden origin are not known, some kinds are more than 1,000 years old. Some are hybrids, others can be seen to be variations of particular wild species. The practice of leaving out parental designations when referring to Sato Zakura not known to belong to specific crosses with their own epithets is the same as with numerous other garden plants including garden roses and flowering crab apples. In the old days western botanists gave Japanese cherries of garden origin (and various other newly described plants of garden origin) botanical names, as though they were wild species. For instance the name Prunus serrulata Lindl. (P. serrulata 'Alboplena') refers to a specific, double flowered garden cherry* introduced from Canton in 1822. And is not, therefore applicable to any other Sato Zakura. As in it being used as part of a combination indicating a cultivar is a pure form of it. P. serrulata 'Tai Haku' for instance. That would only be a valid combination if there actually was a pure species P. serrulata Lindl., of which 'Tai Haku' was a non hybrid variant. Since P. serrulata Lindl. is itself a horticultural variant - to which many of them are not even known to be related - it is never correct to list other Japanese cherries of garden origin as cultivars of it. *And is still in use, despite being inapt...See MoreBunya Mountains, Qld
Comments (4)"I'm surprised he didn't recognize it though; they are both pretty well-known plants." So was I! Although when I mentioned that an edible nut came from it, he vaguely recalled having heard of such trees being native to Australia (i.e., edible nut conifers), but said he'd never heard of them being sold in supermarkets and only at places like craft fairs, etc. He said a friend of his was more into "bush foods" (? I think that is the term you use down there for edible natives) and would surely have recognized it. It was only 1m high so just looked like a prickly shrub of course. He seem to best know the native showy plants like Illawarra flame tree, etc. I'm not planning any write-ups beyond the ones already posted to GW: Oohh heaven is a place on Earth (apologies to Belinda Carlisle) AU & NZ travelogue: conclusion And on GOTE: http://growingontheedge.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10292...See Moredavidrt28 (zone 7)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoLots of interesting mountain scenery I could cram in here, but I'm going to stick to the plants, mostly.
As the train descends from Arthur's Pass, it becomes clear that you really are entering another rainforest-type climate. But much cooler and mist laden than AU's Illawarra coast. The next three days of my trip would be a constant stream of cloud, fog, rain showers...heavy and light. If it was a non-frozen form of precipitation, I was getting it at some point. Suddenly there were wild trees ferns again: the ones in Christchurch are planted and watered, for the most part. Or in watercourses at least. Here, they grow out in the full "sun", all over the place. Here's a typical residential scene in Greymouth: Norfolk Island Pine, Canary Island Date, rhodies, and tree ferns all over the damn place LOL.
On my drive down to Queenstown...I saw one of the most mysterious plants I'd seen on the *entire* trip through AU & NZ. And yes, that is saying something! You'd see the trunk of a native Podocarp ("white pine" they call it) being seemingly attacked by a bunch of pineapple plants! But I was sure Bromeliads were strictly new world plants, right? Thankfully the docents at the Haast Visitor's Center - which is by far the most impressive thing IN Haast - helped me figure out what it was. Again, that Aussie/Kiwi helpfulness and friendliness on display. It's called Freycinetia banksii. A climbing member of the screw pine family...just when you think you'd seen it all, another freakish southern hemisphere plant. Here's my best picture of one:
Sadly it was way too cloudy for me to get a good view of either Franz Josef or Fox glaciers, but I wasn't going to allocate too much time for touristy stuff like that. But basically, the scenery from the glaciers down to Queenstown is utterly amazing. Some of the best I've seen, anywhere. The rock faces in this coastal area are so moist, they become covered in epiphytic ferns. Tree branches are covered in lichens. It's like some wild combination of the wettest parts of western Washington State, and Hawaii. I did visit a small rainforest reserve and might post those pics and videos to a separate thread. Here's one of several waterfalls along the drive.
And the amazing scenery of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea:
Which finally leads us to Queenstown...one of New Zealand's top destinations. I found it utterly beautiful, and apparently a lot of other people do, too. Imagine some crazy combination of Vail and Berkeley, CA. The mountain scenery is probably even more amazing than the Italian Lakes region - I mean in a strictly geological sense. Though I think their climate is probably somewhat inferior...too chilly in summer. I doubt there are any crape myrtles in this town, which is kind of an indicator for having semi-warm summers. Lago Maggiore remains perfect: cool enough for Gunneras in summer, warm enough for Crape Myrtles.
Queenstown must have the best collection of Sequiodendron in the world, outside of California. They are huge, and all over the place. It and douglas fir are the most common large trees in town. All are 100% healthy. I put a human in this picture to give you some scale. Massive; though not as massive as the ones in the Sierra Nevada of course. Most were planted about 100-130 years ago. Still babies ;-)
All of the typical NZ plants are common, though, for example, the Cordylines don't get quite as big as they do in Christchurch. Although at elevation, the climate here is still a solid 9, maybe even 9b. No palms are planted other than a couple mangy Trachycarpus...I guess even though it is zn 9, the winters are just too cold on average for something like Phoenix canariensis? No tree ferns either: wild or cultivated. The last wild ones were just north of Lake Wanaka.
Here were some gorgeous Eucs. They are the next most common large trees here.
How's this for a pin oak though...at the Queenstown Public Garden. Not bad!
I'd say the trunk was at least 5' in diameter, and the tree at least 60' tall.
FINALLY - the first Monkey Puzzles I'd seen on the entire trip. And not looking too happy, in a climate that should be absolutely perfect for them. (cue twilight zone music)
No, I can't end on that sad note. This town is just 'getting caught up' with the rhodies they can actually grow. Old plants in town are only ironclads, but clearly more exciting ones will grow just well. Extremely well! The healthiest I'd seen since the ones at the start of my trip, at the National Rhododendron Garden of Australia. A flower of R. elliottii...parent of many great hybrids.
davidrt28 (zone 7)
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shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
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