Cranebrook Native Nursery
Australian native plants are undergoing a tremendous wave of popularity with gardeners at the moment, mainly due to the release of so many new and improved varieties. A question we’re often asked is “Where do you get ’em?”, and over the years we’ve looked at many of Australia’s leading native plant nurseries. On this occasion we visited Cranebrook Native Nursery in Sydney.
Over twenty years ago Cranebrook Native Nursery opened with a small selection of the then-popular natives. These days they stock a fantastic range of really exciting and very colourful Australian native plants, including almost a hundred grevilleas, many prostrate and dwarf forms of eastern banksias as well as prostrate and weeping acacias. All these plants have been especially selected and grown for coastal areas, the Sydney region and the cooler Blue Mountains area. To make plant selection easier for gardeners there is a well established display garden, as well as expert staff on hand to give help and advice. Here are just a few of the plants that caught Don’s eye on the day of our visit:
Fringed Wattle (Acacia fimbriata ‘Dwarf form’)
Acacia fimbriata is a small tree or rounded shrub to about 7m (23′), but the dwarf form only grows to around 2m (6′). It has fragrant, lemon yellow flowers from July to October, and very dense foliage, making it an excellent screen plant. Prune after flowering to maintain bushiness. Acacia fimbriata ‘Dwarf form’is frost hardy and will grow in most areas of Australia except for the very hot tropics.
Geraldton Wax (Chamelaucium uncinatum)
Evergreen native shrub with aromatic leaves and showy flowers in shades of white, lilac, pink, purple and red. There are many new forms available which are hardier than the species and vary in size, flower colour and flower size. They are frost tolerant, and will survive in light shade although for a good flower display full sun is recommended.
Geraldton wax grows best in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and inland areas. It is worth a try in the mountains and Hobart.
Native Fuchia (Epacris longiflora)
Evergreen shrub to 1.5m (5′) high. The tubular flowers are red with white spreading tips or all white, and extend down the branches. The main flowering time is winter and spring, but spot flowering occurs throughout the year. The beautiful native fuchia is shade loving, and is found naturally growing on rocky ground in sheltered woodland understories. Epacris longiflora does well in cultivation in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and the mountains.
Bearded Bush Pea (Pultenaea aristata)
Pultenaea is just one of several endemic Australian genera nicknamed ‘Bacon and Eggs’ because they all have pea-flowers in shades of yellow, red or orange. Pultenaea aristata is an attractive species with grey foliage and lovely orange/red flowers. It likes a semi shaded position in well-drained soil, with protection from the hot summer sun. It is frost hardy, and will grow in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and the mountains.
Grevillea ‘Firesprite’ (G. longistyla x G. venusta)
‘Firesprite’, a hybrid between G. longistyla and G. venusta, was bred by grevillea authority Merv Hodge and is among the best of the new varieties. It grows 3 -5m (10-15′) tall, and has glowing red flowers with willowy, deeply lobed foliage. The flowers appear intermittently throughout the year and provide an ongoing source of food for nectar feeding birds. ‘Firesprite’ will thrive in most areas of Australia, except for Hobart and the Mountains.
Contact information
Our segment was filmed at Cranebrook Native Nursery, 175 Cranebrook Road, Cranebrook, NSW, 2749. Phone: (02) 4777 4256.
Other specialist Australian native plant nurseries include:
NSW
Annangrove Grevilleas Native Nursery, Kenthurst, NSW. Phone: (02) 9654 1380
Sydney Wildflower Nursery West, Marsden Park, NSW. Phone: (02) 9628 4448
Sydney Wildflower Nursery South, Heathcote, NSW. Phone: (02) 9548 2818
QLD
Fairhill Native Plants, Yandina, QLD. Phone: (07) 5446 7088
Nielsen’s Native Nursery, Loganholme, QLD. Phone: (07) 3806 1414
VIC
Kuranga Native Nursery, Ringwood, VIC. Phone: (03) 9879 4076
SA
Nellie Nursery, Mannum, SA. Phone: (08) 8569 1762
WA
Zanthorrea Nursery, Maida Vale, WA. Phone: (08) 9454 6260
