New Foliage and Cut Flower Species

Comments – This species has been extremely slow to establish at all three sites and has been slowest atthe Mareeba site. At the time of writing of this report, plants are growing very well at the Malanda siteand seem to prefer the climatic conditions at this site. Market comments have not been positive as thefoliage has no exotic or unusual features, and is also inconsistent in length and form. Juvenile foliage issusceptible to seasonal grub attack. The average vase life is estimated at 18 days. Vase life tests showedthat the foliage desiccates and the leaves abscise. After storage at any temperature, Dissiliaria surculosafoliage showed signs of desiccation.Grevillea baileyanaNatural Distribution – Widespread in North Queensland rainforests at low to mid altitudes. There aretwo forms of this species, the North Queensland form and the Cape York form, the latter havingnarrower and hardier leaves.Primary Propagation Method – Seed from cultivated plants at Yuruga NurseryPBR Status – NoneComments – Of the three trial sites included in the project, the species is growing best at the Mareebaand Malanda sites. The plants of this species are very poor at the Upper Barron site, where they displaya distorted leaf shape that becomes very evident during the winter months. At the Malanda site, theplants are thriving and produce long stems over 70 centimetres in length; however, the undersides of theleaves seem to lack the intense colour of the plants at the Mareeba site. The plants at the Mareeba siteare flourishing and produce an intense gold/bronze colour on the undersides of the leaves. The plants atthe Malanda site are expected to produce the same leaf colouring as they mature. Market comments arevery encouraging, as the golden colour is exotic and unusual. This species is susceptible to fungaldiseases after pruning, so measures should be taken to protect the cut branches from infection.The average vase life of mature leaves is estimated at 33 days. The mature foliage usually maintains thedark green and bronze/gold colouring of the leaves throughout the vase life. Occasionally, chlorosis ofthe veins on the upper side of the leaves was observed. Usually the overall form of the stem was held forthe duration of vase life, although on occasion the upper leaves curled and bent downwards.Juvenile foliage retained good condition and the original green colouring for several weeks beforedegrading. During degradation, the tips of each lobe usually became necrotic and progressed down eachlobe. The necrotic areas reached a length of approximately 2 centimetres. Accompanying the necrotictips was a loss of green pigmentation, with inter-veinal areas becoming a dark grey-brown colour. Thiswas usually seen in the stem and all lobes of the leaf.Leptospermum wooroonooranNatural Distribution – The main coast range behind Mossman and on Bellenden Ker, on the mostextreme, exposed areas; very high altitude and very high rainfallPrimary Propagation Method – Vegetative cuttings from cultivated plants at Yuruga NurseryPBR Status – NoneComments – This species has performed exceptionally well at the Upper Barron site; however, theattractive red and green foliage is only produced during the winter months when the plants are exposedto the constant moisture and windy conditions at the site. As the seasons change and the moisture levelsfall, the foliage becomes quite drab and unattractive. The plants at the Malanda site never produced theattractive juvenile red foliage seen at the Upper Barron site. Market assessments of the winter foliagehave indicated that the red juvenile foliage would be in demand at Christmas time. Unfortunately, the37