AUSTRALIAN PLANTS SOCIETY (SGAP) Warrnambool & District Group Inc. Newsletter November 2016 No 421

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1 AUSTRALIAN PLANTS SOCIETY (SGAP) Warrnambool & District Group Inc. Newsletter November 2016 No 421 Correa reflexa Grannys Grave Plants of the Great South West, book on plants of South West Victoria $20, available from Kevin Sparrow at Ph: Like us on Facebook Incorporation No: AOO1312OX ABN: Web: apswarrnambool.org.au EDITORIAL Hi members, With Christmas threatening to engulf us, it means that this will be our last newsletter for the year. It doesn t mean that that s it for the year though, we still have one members night to come on Friday 25th and a good one it will be. Wimmera group members and eremophila enthusiast's, Maree & Graham Goods will be speaking to us on eremophilas!! Please bring along some of your eremophilas from your garden to show what we can grow here in the south west. I will be booking a table so come along to the RSL at 6.30pm and have a meal with Graham and Maree. Again a big thank you to Bev Bell (with some assistance from Joyce) for putting on the display at the Warrnambool Show recently and Friends of Swan Reserve, June Preece and Liz Halls for supplying the plant material. Bev always comes to the fore to represent our group with her floral displays. Colac/Otway Visit: Due to the inclement weather, only 6 members attended the garden visit to Paul Kennedy s and Brendon Stahl s gardens in Colac. Both gardens received considerable rain during the week but not to be deterred, we pressed on regardless and enjoyed a great day despite the weather. Paul s garden is fairly new still but he still had plenty to show us including many rare hakeas. Thanks to Paul and Brendon. Christmas Breakup: Our breakup BBQ will again be held at Dorothy and Michael Mattner s garden at 1 Hervious Lane, Cudgee on Saturday 10th December from 12.00noon. As usual, can members bring along a plate of salad or sweet to share, our group will supply the meat for the BBQ. BYO drinks and chair. Following lunch, Michael will guide us around their magnificent garden. New members are particularly invited to attend, it is a great way to get to know your fellow members. If you need more information, you are welcome to phone me on I hope to see you at our members night on the 25th and at our Xmas BBQ. Best wishes, Kevin We wish to acknowledge the Maar people as the traditional owners of the land on which we live and pay our respects to their elders past and present. Next Members Night: On Friday 25th November at 8pm, our speakers will be Maree & Graham Goods. Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

2 Group Diary Of Activities 25th November - Maree Goods speaking on Eremophilas 29th November - Committee Meeting at Halls. 10th December - Xmas Breakup at Mattners Garden at Cudgee. 27th January Summer BBQ/Get Together TBD 24th February - Royce Raleigh speaking on Grampians Plants TBC 24th March - TBA 28th April - Our 40th Anniversary Dinner (OK its really our 41st!) 26th May - AGM and Members Propagation Night. Above photo (K. Sparrow): Eremophila mackinlayi Please submit your articles for the newsletter by the end of the second week of the month President: Kevin Sparrow Phone: Vice President: Bob Artis, Brown St, Allansford. Phone: Secretary: John Sherwood. 26 McConnell St, Warrnambool Phone: jsher@deakin.edu.au Treasurer: Mike Halls, 127 Rooneys Rd, Warrnambool 3280 Phone: mandehalls@bigpond.com Newsletter Editor: Kevin Sparrow 35 Swan Street, Warrnambool. Phone: ksparrow93@gmail.com Publicity Officer and Librarian: Vacant Public Officer: John Sherwood. APS Reps: vacant, History Book Coordinator: Joyce Sparrow. Other Committee Members: Kerry Artis, Laura Prentice, Louise Sheba, Michael Mattner. The APS Warrnambool & District holds meetings on the 4th Friday of each month at the Mozart Hall Warrnambool at 8pm. APS Warrnambool & District is a District Group of the Australian Plants Society (Vic) All members are required to also be a member of APS Vic. 2 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

3 Committee Notes LAST MEMBERS NIGHT: At our last members night, our guest speaker, Helen Lovel from Neutrog gave us a presentation of Neutrog s products. In particular, their new product, Bush Tucker which is designed for use on native plants. Helen left us with free samples for members to trial, (these are large 1.5 kilo buckets, see photo at right) you just need to give them your address so they can keep in touch with you to see how you are going. (Let me know and I will pass it on for you) I have quite a few of these left, so if you missed out, I will bring them along to our next meeting. I have since received a letter from Neutrog advising us that we can purchase bulk orders of their products at greatly reduced prices. For example: 20kg bags of Bush Tucker are priced at $30 each with similar prices for their other products. See me for the list of products and prices. This includes FREE DELIVERY to a central point from where they can be picked up. Please contact me if you would like to be included in a group bulk buy of any of their products. TEAR DROP BANNERS: The committee has purchased two tear drop shaped banners with our new name and logo on it for use when we are promoting our group. They were used on Sunday at the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens and handled the strong wind as they are designed to do. 40th ANNIVERSARY DINNER: We are planning to hold our 40th Anniversary Dinner in April next year, it will be a bit late of course as it was due early this year. But due to a very busy year with the Fred Rogers Seminar to plan for, it didn t quite happen. Nevertheless, we cannot let the opportunity pass unnoticed, we plan to invite every member we can find that has been a part of our group over the years. Current members are of course especially invited to attend. Photos: Left taken at our 30th anniversary dinner. Right photo of our 30th anniversary cake made of course by Dorothy Mattner. 3 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

4 Once again we had a good display of plants from members gardens. June Preece brought in her entry in the Longest Stipa Competition. June grows a spear grass Austrostipa breviglumis which comes from the Whipstick Forest around Bendigo. The normal length of the stems is around 1.7m, but June found one a huge 2.5m high. I checked both Natureshare and the Atlas of Living Australia and neither have any recordings of this threatened species. Among others, June also brought in Leptospermum Aphrodite a dark pink coloured teatree and Ajuga australis, loverly blue coloured form that grows in full shade. Liz Halls did the honours last month by picking some interesting flowers from their garden in Rooneys Road. Liz loves the Chamelaucium sp, Common Name Geraldton Wax, she brought in a number of C. uncinatum, Purple Pride, one delicate one called Sweet Sixteen and a very dark unusual pink form of unknown name. I have put the last two pieces in as cuttings and so far, they are looking good. Mike and Liz also grow the spectacular Chamelaucium hybrid cross with Verticordia called Paddy s Pink which is spectacular at the moment. Mike and Liz also have had great success growing Darwinia Coolomon Pink which is a selection of Darwinia lejostyla a seedling which came up in someones garden. Among other things, Liz also brought in a specimen of Boronia heterophylla, a lovely pink Boronia Display Table Report October 2016 by Kevin Sparrow Kevin Sparrow brought in a wide selection of plants from their garden in Swan Street, one was the spectacular, Scaevola crassifolia (photo below), this one a shrub unlike the usual prostrate varieties. It grows to about 1.5m high and is covered in bright blue flowers at the moment very pretty. Olearia phlogopappa var. salicina is a plant that I collected from the Boggy Creek area a few years ago, it has different leaves but the same flowers to the normal O. phlogopappa. I was asked to send a sample of this plant to the herbarium in Melbourne to be checked out and it now has variety name of salicina. Apparently the closest population of this plant is at Anglesea, the other side of the Otways. I also brought in two eremophilas, one E. mackinlayi which I grew from a cutting, it now is in a large pot and flowering spectacularly. (Photo on page 2) I also brought a grafted E. nivea which I grafted from a piece brought in by Mike Halls. I used a cutting graft technique and struck it as a normal cutting after grafting it. I grafted it onto a piece of Myoporum insulare collected down the beach, placed a zip-lock bag over the scion (grafted piece) to maintain the humidity and put it into my cutting box to strike. Bit of an experiment but sometimes things work out. I intend to have a go at some other eremophilas. They graft onto Myoporum species well as they are very closely related. Worth trying. I also brought in a Dendrobium cultivar (orchid) called Red Rocket a spectacular purple flowered orchid. I donated one of these and another to the raffle at the Fred Rogers Seminar and the winner was pleased to win them. 4 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

5 Warrnambool Botanic Gardens 150th Family Fun Day Display Last Sunday despite the threatening weather, our group put on a floral display at the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens as part of their 150th Family Fun Day. Thank you to Bob Artis for supplying the Marquee Tent (We needed that with all the passing showers), John Sherwood and Kerry Artis for manning the table and Mike and Liz Halls and Friends of Swan Reserve for providing the plant material for Joyce to put together the magnificent flower boxes. (Photos left and right). Although crowd numbers were down due to the weather conditions, it is a great way to introduce people what our group is about. 5 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

6 A New Lease Of Life For Rare Orchids A NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR RARE ORCHIDS - A Media Release From Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. 24th June 2016 As farmers across Victoria celebrate the boost that this season s rain will provide to crops and pastures, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and partners are celebrating growth of a different kind. The rain has fallen at a perfect time for this year s plantings of the nationally threatened Candy Spider-orchid (Caladenia versicolor), Tawny Spider-orchid (Caladenia fulva), Melblom s Spider-orchid (Caladenia hastata) and Coloured Spider-orchid (Caladenia colorata) by the Orchid Conservation Program. These four orchid species are classified as federally threatened and reintroduction to the wild is critical for the survival. The Orchid Conservation Program is now growing 30 different endangered orchid species at its lab at Cranbourne Gardens for re-introduction projects in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. Orchids are complex to grow and reintroductions require an understanding of their mycorrhizal associations, pollinators and habitat requirements. Last year, six threatened orchid species were planted across the Wimmera; which survived dry conditions last spring thanks to hand watering with great outcomes. Orchid Conservation Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Dr Noushka Reiter and volunteers from the Australasian Native Orchid Society are now preparing to plant around 700 rare orchids throughout late-june and July. Dr Reiter said volunteers are thrilled to plant these species back in to the wild. There are a lot of people watching closely to see if last year s plantings worked and we re thrilled to say they have, she said. The Candy Spider-orchid reintroductions last year flowered and had significant seed set across the site. We are hopeful that this year s rains will see our first baby orchids emerge of this species at the re-introduction sites. This year s re-introductions will really strengthen these species overall. We aim to reintroduce into three sites eventually for each species in large enough numbers for these populations to be self-sustaining. The Orchid Conservation Program team partners with the Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Australasian Native Orchid Society, Department of Environment Land Water and Planning, Wimmera Catchment Management Authority, Trust for Nature, Parks Victoria, Alcoa/ Portland Aluminium and many enthusiastic volunteers to achieve these reintroductions. Funding for this year s re-introductions was provided by the Victorian Government Threatened Species Protection Initiative and Portland Aluminium /Alcoa. EDITOR: Noushka was one of our presenters at the recent Fred Rogers Seminar held in Hamilton. Photo Right: Caladenia hastata - Melblom s Spider-orchid (J. Blackman) 6 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

7 GHCMA Coastal Connections By Jarred Obst. Good afternoon and welcome to the Sept/October instalment of Glenelg Hopkins CMA s Coastal Connections . Our wet winter has definitely continued into spring with five consecutive months of above average rainfall recorded across our coastal region! Seasonal Weather Update The recent wet weather has been well documented through local media, particularly during the month of September when rainfall totals, and subsequent stream-flows, peaked across the region. The Bureau of Meteorology stamped the period from May to September as Australia s wettest on record, so if you re craving some warm and dry weather you re not alone! Our coastline has also been battered with a series of storm, wind and swell events during October, however the strong rain bearing systems appear to be weakening, so what lies ahead for late spring/early summer will be very interesting. Estuary Update While the destructive nature of floods has unfortunately been felt across our region, their environmental benefits should not be overlooked. In particular, the September floods have continued to flush stagnant water and nutrients from the depths of our estuaries, along with removing further volumes of sand from the mouths, leaving wide and deep entrances. With the receding October flows and large spring tides, these entrances are now facilitating fantastic levels of seasonal tidal exchange - a critical cyclic process which underpins the ecological integrity of the fish, bird and vegetation communities that we know and love! For a snapshot of current estuarine conditions, please refer to the Estuary Update & Estuary Photo attachments. Recent Activities Angler engagement programs o Regardless of the weather, spring is always a popular time for recreational fishing. The CMA have recently been active on this front, producing two short films associated with waterway health improvements and fishing opportunities. o Please refer to the attached links if interested; Electrofishing & Angler Engagement - Glenelg River VIC Fish Hotels - Merri River Hotspot Project, Warrnambool VIC Nelson Community Information Session o A big thank you to everyone that attended and contributed to a successful night on September 7 th. o One action arising from the night was to investigate a potential floating boat ramp and fishing platform on the Glenelg estuary within the Nelson township. o If you are interested in becoming involved or would support such idea, please let me know! Plastic Free Alliance Art Exhibition o Congratulations to all groups involved in the recent Plastic Free Alliance Art Exhibition on October 26 th. o This event aimed to raise awareness of a worldwide plastic and litter issue, and contributes to a larger education and engagement initiative being undertaken by the group. 7 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter

8 GMCMA Coastal Connections By Jarred Obst. Upcoming Events Estuary Management Plan Review Hopkins & Merri o The CMA will be initiating Estuary Management Plan (EMP) reviews over the coming years. o Please be invited to an initial community workshop to review the Hopkins and Merri EMP s on Thursday 29 th November, between 10am and 1pm at the Pavilion Café, Viaduct Rd, Warrnambool. o All welcome; please contact Melody Jane or Helen Arundel on for specific enquiries. MAD for the Merri, AGM & Water Rat presentation o A special presentation on the Australian Native Water Rat (Rakali) is being held by MAD for the Merri at their upcoming AGM. o The meeting will be held from 11:30am, with the Native Water Rat presentation to follow at 12 noon, lunch provided, at Mozart Hall (Corner of Gilles St & Merri St) on Wednesday 23 rd November. o All welcome; please contact Jileena Cole on jcole@warrnambool.vic.gov.au for further details. Funding Opportunities Finally, I m currently aware of two funding opportunities that may be of interest to local groups or committees. Please follow the attached links for further details; o Recreational Fishing Grants 2016/17 o DSS Volunteer Grants 2016 All the best until my next instalment, Regards Jarred 8 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group November 2016 Newsletter