Vegetative propagation of Trichocereus cacti
Trichocereus cacti are beautiful, drought and cold tolerant, highly ornamental (flowers and form), medicinal and excellent grafting stocks for the propagation of other slower growing/rare/mutant…
Seed Dormancy and Germination
This is just a general guide to troubleshooting dormancy problems that may arise when you are trying to germinate seeds of varied species. Give Me…
Duboisia hopwoodii x myoporoides hybridisation
I haven't read of these 2 species hybridising before, there is the well known D. myoporoides x leichhardtii hybrids used for scopolamine production in Australia…
Preparation of Kanna from Sceletium tortuosum and other species.
Author: Darren Williams (B. App. Sci. Adv Dip. Hort.) Step 1: Gather your plant material from a Sceletium plant (Sceletium emarcidum or Sceletium tortuosum). Don't just add the…
Tabernanthe iboga seed germination
I recently acquired seeds of Tabernanthe iboga directly from Africa, of the long fruited variety, what they call in the region 'male' iboga. The round…
Acacia phlebophylla in habitat
Below are some photos of Acacia phlebophylla in habitat, photos taken by myself in late spring 2009. Above: Healthy new growth. Above: fading light on…
Duboisia hybrid leaf comparison
Below is a picture of 3 Duboisia leaves, on the left, Duboisia myoporoides, D. hopwoodii X myoporoides in the centre and D. hopwoodii on the…
Brugmansia ‘Culebra’ hybridisation
Last year I decided to have a go at breeding with Brugmansia 'Culebra', a mutated and unusual Brugmansia cultivar from the Sibundoy Valley in Colombia…
Building compost bins
My design of a large size (~2 cubic metres) composting bin for the cold composting of garden waste. It can also be used for hot…
Aussie native tuber food
This is a native Ipomoea species collected as seed by a friend in the Northern Territory Australia. The hairy seed were difficult to germinate but…
Osmotic seed priming for increased seed germination
I'm conducting some germination experiments using the technique called osmotic seed priming (AKA halopriming). This involves soaking seeds in a solution of NaCl (table salt),…
Drunken Lorikeets?
I saw this recently on the news, flocks of Lorikeets acting strange after feeding on the flowers of certain native trees. The simple explanation was…