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My Favourite Aussie Plant - Black Boy

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Author Topic: My Favourite Aussie Plant - Black Boy  (Read 379 times)
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caskur™
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« on: May 03, 2009, 09:03:32 am »
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http://www.grasstree.com/

ABOUT GRASS TREES

Grass Trees are very slow growing with mature plants being centuries old. Grass Trees only grow in Australia.

These remarkable plants have a lifespan of 600 years but are very slow-growing. The trunk takes a decade to form initially as it is composed of a mass of old leaf bases held together by a natural resin. It is then a further 20 years or more before the mass of thin, linear leaves rises above it. From then on, it grows only about 1-2cm (0.4-0.8in) in height per year. We have observed plants which have taken 27 years to grown 30 centimetres (one foot).

This plant grows to a height of over 4 metres and often has branches. It’s growth rate is only about 1 metre every 100 years. However, the flowering stalk grows at a rate of 2 – 3 cm per day reaching to a height of over 3 metres. Mature plants will result in flowering every 2 – 3 years. The Grass Tree attracts a wide range of lizards and insects that shelter in the plant’s massive foliage. The flowering spear of the plant attracts honey eating birds, bees, ants, and butterflies.

One of the casualties of clearing land is the unique Australian Grass Tree. Many of these plants are hundreds of years old. Removing these plants from the land prior to clearing and replanting them later is one way of saving the plants. By adding plants to commercial and residential land not only ensures the plants will live on for generations to come, they also make splendid features that require very little water and maintenance. Local councils have discovered how versatile these plants are by planting them in nature strips. Landscapers use Grass Trees to produce long-life garden features that will never become outdated.

Inside or out, potted or hanging, with Grass Trees you can create your own stunning native feature.
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arete
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« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2009, 03:23:15 pm »
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That IS awesome!  I would love to have some of those
in my yard.
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caskur™
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« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2009, 03:32:04 pm »
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They are fantastic but they wouldn't grow where you live...

Traditionally they were called "Black Boys" but the PC brigade put a halt to that and now they're called "Grass Trees" they aren't even a tree but related to the lily family.
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caskur™
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« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2009, 03:42:01 pm »
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They hate being transplanted and even in their native land that is the case.....they grow a foot every hundred years.....we are losing them as they clear the land to build houses....I get stressed out that we're losing our native fauna to development...

here is a comment from out ABC forums...

From: CJW® 30/12/2001 11:37:09
 
Subject: re: 'Black Boys' growth rate? post id: 26058
 
They are difficult to grow if they are pinched from the wild - and I think they all have to be. I've seen that many dead ones standing proud in someone's front yard.

They have to be seasoned in a pot for at least a couple of years before you can be assured (to any extent) that they will survive.
 
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« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2009, 03:46:14 pm »
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Growing
Little care is needed for these. Provide them with full sun, a well-drained soil and once a year tidy the brown spent grassy spikes off the trunk, unless you wish to have that “skirt” effect.
Grass trees are drought resistant and salt tolerant.
Propagation is from seed, but the downside to this is that these plants may need some 20 years to develop stems and more than 100 years to flower .....!
It is an offence to take them from their natural habitat, and they do not take well to transplanting.
Luckily most nurseries now have some in various sizes for you to select from. They should be planted while very young.
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« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2009, 04:01:33 pm »
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twK3-NhaDr8&feature=player_embedded


I am going to buy one.
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« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2009, 04:05:28 pm »
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And Yangebup is righ next door to me so I haven't got far to go to get one..
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arete
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« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2009, 04:05:40 pm »
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I'd buy some too if I lived there.  Lovely.
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« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2009, 04:07:51 pm »
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I can't believe they're trimming them like that...check the youtube out....

they absolutely HATE being transplanted...

they would never grow in the USA....
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arete
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« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2009, 06:02:03 pm »
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Well, I bought two crepe myrtles last year.  I thought
one of them died but to my surprise it's blooming!
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