A Gum For Little Gardens - May 07, 2009
I was heading down the coast on a fishing trip in march and we passed through a town called Mogo. As a kid I used to hate Mogo because my mother would always want to stop and look at the pottery studio. At the time we had more mugs and sugar bowls than anyone in Australia.
Now Mogo is famous for it's zoo and the spectacular W.A red flowering gum trees which are planted on the roadside. I stopped and got my photo taken beside one of the trees which was in full bloom. What a sight! Several parrots were busy enjoying the nectar from the flowers.
These red flowering gums are a dwarf form called " Wild Fires". They only grow 6 metres high by 5 metres wide so they are a perfect choice for today's courtyard sized gardens. The brilliant fire engine red flowers are much bigger than the original variety and it has bright yellow stamens. The tree is suppose to flower in Summer but I have seen it flower throughout Autumn too. When it finishes flowering it has large ornamental gum nuts. Remove these on young plants to encourage faster growth.
Wild Fires is a grafted variety so it flowers within 12 months and it's guaranteed to flower true to label. They need lots of water for the first 3 months or they will shrivel up and die. Once established they require no hand watering. If you don't like red flowers look for the orange, pink or purple forms in your local nursery now.
As with all grafted plants remove any shoots that appear below the graft with a sharp pair of secateurs.
Tim Pickles is a CNP horticulturist and director of Tim's Garden Centre 2 Queen St Campbelltown. 46267022.