Why Do Plants Die? - Feb 06, 2025
Dear gardening friends
Drove past this Ivory Curl Tree growing in Menangle.
I love how the flower colour goes so beautifully with modern houses. I also love how quickly this tree flowers. New home owners are so impatient but this tree rewards you quickly with these fragrant flowers.
The foliage colour which has green and coppery tones also blends with the natural tones of modern houses.
I can't understand why this native tree has taken so long to be discovered. It's only in the last 5 years it's been talked about. So many gardeners have never seen it before here in NSW.
These tropical rainforest trees are much hardier than we think, even here in Menangle, where it can be frosty, this tree is growing. The concrete and houses heat up the area so these trees are more likely to survive winter.
An Ivory Curl tree might grow 4-6 metres here in Macarthur, they grow much bigger up north, but the cooler weather here, means the growing season is much shorter, so the trees stay smaller.
If I was landscaping a new garden in suburbia I'd be planting an Ivory Curl Tree. The birds and the bees love these nectar filled flowers. When you plant trees you attract nature into your garden. You create private nooks where nature can take refuge, you will seek out these resting places too. When you hear nature it makes us feel good. We relax and recharge.
When you're making a new garden plant the trees first, then plant your shrubs and ground covers around them. Start with the trees. They provide the shade.
Just had a family drop in from Dubbo. I caught the mother and the daughter staring at me. "Hello" I said. I could tell they wanted to talk to me, they follow us on facebook.
She wanted to know about Crepe Myrtles, if she buys one from us will it grow in Dubbo? It's a good question.
It is a good idea to shop at your local garden centre because they know what grows in your area. But with a tough plants like Crepe Myrtles I don't think you can go wrong.
The biggest cause for plant death is failing to plant them. If you sit a potted plant on the concrete, near a tap, within 24 hours that plant will need a big drink.
If you don't water it, the potting mix dries out and shrinks. It leaves a gap now between the root ball and the pot.
Leave it for another day, without water, and the hot concrete slow cooks the potting mix all day. The potting mix dries out more and it shrinks.
Finally you remember to water it, and the water runs out through the gap and straight out the bottom. The plant gets no water.
By the third day the plant is drooping, the potting mix is so dry it's become hydrophobic. Even if you do water it, the soil won't accept it, the leaves turn brown. It's on life support!!!!!!
The only way to save it now is to sit the pot in a bucket of water. The plant will float, it's that dry, it will take a few minutes to sink as the air in the potting mix is replaced with water. The potting mix will release bubbles.
These problems could have been avoided if the plant was taken out of the pot and planted. The plants chances for survival skyrocket when they are in the ground. Of course you still have to water them, but you don't have the concrete cooking them from below.
My mother's family is from Dubbo. I've spent a lot of time there as a kid. They had an amazing Buffalo lawn that very rarely got mown. Today's Buffalo varieties grow like Kikuyu and they have to be mown weekly.
I sold the lady a Crepe Myrtle "Natchez". It's a great shade tree for Dubbo and it's just so tough. They bought Tim's Best Potting mix of course.
Nice meeting you.
OMG we have the most amazing new Echinacea plants! Come see our amazing selection of Cone Flowers. New colours that will attract Pollinators into your garden.
These super hardy plants flower through spring summer and autumn. If they ever look tired, cut them back, and feed with Tim's Cow Manure. They will reward you with fresh new growth and more flowers. The bees love them.
Society Garlic looking fabulous today in Argyle street Camden. It's growing under a tree, so it gets little water, but it's thriving and looking spectacular.
This is a great landscape plant for mass planting. It can be dug up and divided like Agapanthus. It's a winner.
We have this and the variegated variety in the nursery today. Come for a visit. We have fabulous new plants this week from a crazy plant collector in Port Macquarie. Lots of shade loving plants that can be grown in pots.
Happy gardening
Tim