78 Great Northern Hwy, Midland, WA, 6056               Ph: (08) 9250 3682               Shop Hours:   10am   >>   6pm

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Postage : Seeds only $4 / Plants $20

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  • Agave
    • vivipara var. marginata   CAG02018
      Agave vivipara var. marginata
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      A quick growing variety, small enough for a large pot but large enough to make a statement, with a stiff almost harsh demeanour, useful for stark architectural style or high contrast with softer forms, especially so in groups.

      Sparse, slightly taller than spherical rosettes of very rigid, long, tapering, glaucous green leaves, generously edged with cream variegation, short, dark, marginal teeth and terminating in a short black spine.

      Spreads moderately by underground stolons and such colonies are particularly attractive but need appropriate space.

      Individual rosettes produce after many (10+) years a spectacular tree like inflorescence, the remains of which are often used in floral art, bearing thousands of erect, yellow green, tubular flowers, in tight clusters, which are much loved by nectar feeding birds and insects, and then rapidly decline and die to be succeeded by younger offsets or bulbils.

  • Fallugia

    Rosaceae

    • paradoxa   CAG02239

      (Apache plume)
      Fallugia paradoxa
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      This intriguing member of the Rose family bears pure white five petalled rose flowers on very slender, twiggy, silvery-white branches, sparsely adorned with small, evergreen, clasping, leathery, filigree leaves and followed by long lasting, feathery, silvery pink plumes.

      Quite quickly forming an airy shrub at it's very best backlit by late afternoon sun when the feathery seed heads take on an ethereal glow.

      Found in desert regions of the south west United States and northern Mexico it should prove to be extremely heat, drought and cold tolerant as well as enjoy being baked by hot walls, paving, car parks and road edges. Unlikely to perform well on the east coast though it may prove more successful inland.

      All but poorly drained soils should be ideal.

      Evergreen in Perth, it could be deciduous with cold enough weather that few places in Australia are likely to provide.

  • Phacelia
    • campanularia   CAG02854

      (Desert bluebell)
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
      SEEDS

      A stunning winter annual from the deserts of California. Much loved by Vita Sackville-West, which should be enough enough commendation for anybody.

      Dark sapphire blue cup like flowers are borne over velvety, dark green, scalloped leaves in loose rosettes. An exotic beauty most at home in poor sandy soils and low rainfall areas but tolerates clay and even a pot.

      Scratch into bare sunny soil in autumn or early winter.
      Each pack contains 50+ seeds.

  • Salvia

    (Sage)
    Lamiaceae

    A genus whose popularity has risen exponentially in recent times. Offering a diverse range of form and colour there is a Salvia for nearly every garden situation with more and more being discovered and described all the time. The count now stands somewhere in excess of 1000, including subspecies, according to The Plant List. They are found on every continent except Antarctica.

    From a gardeners perspective they can not all be treated the same, they come from many different climates after all, but as a rule of thumb can be grouped into winter rainfall and summer rainfall species and with few exceptions they all prefer well drained soil.

    Soft leaved species from Central and South America are usually autumn and winter flowering. Coming from summer rainfall areas they typically need protection from dry heat and the accompanying high light intensity and they vary in their tolerance of winter damp. As with most plants the larger the leaves the more water they require, this also dictates how fast they grow with many growing several metres in a single season.

    Species from south western North America, South Africa, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands are all winter growers and are tolerant or demanding of dry heat and summer drought. Slower growing but usually longer lived these all tend to have small, densely haired, silver or grey leaves or a combination of these traits which help them conserve moisture. Most of these require no additional water in Perth and are well adapted to our climate. They tend tend to flower from spring into summer.


    Prune back to where vigorous new basal growth is seen, never to dead wood, they appear to store little food in their stems and without leaves stand a chance of starving to death or at least struggle to regenerate. The exception is those few that are tuberous or clump forming, these can be cut to ground level once the stems start dying back in late autumn.
    • dorrii var. pilosa   CAG02627

      (purple sage, Desert sage)
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      Pungently scented, silver spoon shaped leaves clothe the cork barked branches of this low growing shrub, adaptations that no doubt help it survive the harsh environment of its home in the deserts of south west North America. In spring slender spikes bear tiered whorls of sapphire blue flowers emerging from rosy bracts.

      A plant of rare beauty it is intolerant of wet feet and summer humidity, much preferring extremes heat, drought and cold preferably in sand or other poor sharply drained soil. Moist coastal gardens will invariable prove fatal as will mulch and soil improver.

  • Yucca
    • brevifolia   CAG01987

      (Joshua tree)
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      As seen on TV and so synonymous with the wild west and deserts in general to perhaps be considered little more than a cliché among those unfamiliar with its grandeur and natural habitat in the Mojave Desert.

      Rigid, blue-green, lance-like leaves encircle a thick trunk, becoming bare and fissured with age, eventually branching to form a tree like canopy increasing in splendour with passing centuries to appear prehistoric or alien-like. In maturity dense panicles of creamy-white flowers are borne from the tips of its branches.

      Seemingly quite growable given rapidly draining, lean soil and the occasional drink. The indulgent conditions of cultivation should see a decent sized specimen within a lifetime though with a large root system it is likely to amount to no more than a bonsai if kept potted too long. We'll collaborate success stories in a few decades.

      Ultimately hardy to heat, cold and drought, if it dies you smothered a family heirloom with inappropriate love.

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