Fantastic Frangipani

Feature Interview

Frangipani Society of Australia
So many gardeners love the sight of flowering Frangipani's with their exotic scent, and colourful blooms.
Frangi's as they're known, can have a bewitching effect on the  collector, admirers and avid gardeners.

Sometimes if you weren't a collector but went to a Frangipani Show, you suddenly became one because there are so many colours and cultivars that you just have to have.
Not everyone can grow them though and there are some helpful tips that need to be followed.
I'm talking with Anthony Grassi, Coordinator of the Frangipani Society of Australia's shows.

Why isn't my Frangipani flowering?
Often a question asked and her'es the answer.
Frangipani's need 6 hours of full sunlight to initiate flowering.
However, if you have a tree that was grown from seed, then expect to wait a minimum of 3 years, and sometimes up to 10 years, before it starts to flowers.
Cutting grown frangipani's will flower in the first year, but not in the second because the tree is putting it's energy into establishing a strong root system.
Flowering will recommence in the 3rd year.

Fertilise when the claws first appear in Spring with a 6 months controlled release fertiliser and add granular sulphate of potash.
Sudden Impact for Roses is also a good alternative.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Which Foods Can You Re-Grow?
Have you ever wondered about re-growing food from the bits you cut off from veggies?

Instead of throwing those ends into the compost, or giving them to your chooks or worm farm, while all these things are good, you could be saving yourself some money by popping them into the veggie bed.
Here a just a few of the many that you can re-grow.

Let's start with the greens like lettuce, Bok Choy and cabbage are relatively easy to grow from scraps.
Place any leftover leaves in a bowl with just a bit of water in the bottom.
Keep the bowl somewhere that gets good sunlight and mist the leaves with water a couple of times each week.
After 3 or 4 days, you will notice roots beginning to appear along with new leaves. When this happens you can transplant your lettuce or cabbage in soil.

Celery: to re-grow celery, cut off the base of your celery and lay it in a bowl with just a bit of warm water in the bottom.
Keep the bowl in direct sunlight as long as possible each day and after about a week, leaves should appear along the base.

When this happens, you can transplant your celery in soil and wait for it to grow to full length.

Lemongrass is a snap to grow.
After trimming the root that put it into a jar with enough water to cover it and leave it in the sunlight. 

After a couple of weeks, new leaves will shoot and you can plant those into your herb garden.

Gardeners the world over have probably tried growing Avocado from the seed just for fun.
All you need to do if you haven't tried this before is to wash the seed and use toothpicks to suspend it over water in a jar.
The water should come up enough to cover the bottom few centimetres of the seed.
Place your jar in a warm place but not in direct sunlight and remember to check the water every day and add more as needed.
It can take up to six weeks for the stem and roots to appear and once the stem reaches about 15 cm you will need to cut it down to 7 cm.
When leaves begin appearing, you can plant the seed in soil, remembering to leave about half of it above ground.
Of course there’s no guarantee that your resulting tree will have the same fruit as that of the seed.
Pot luck I guess.
Who knew that potatoes can be grown from potato peelings?
You need peelings that have eyes on them. 

Cut those peelings with at  least two or three eye, into 5 cm pieces. 

Dry them out overnight,then plant them about 10 cm deep in your veggie bed.
It helps if the eyes are facing up when planting.

In a few weeks your potato plant will begin to grow.

Sweet potatoes can be re-grown as well.
You just have to cut the sweet potato in half and suspend it using toothpicks above a jar or take-away of shallow water.
Roots will begin to appear in just a few days and sprouts will be seen on top of the potato around that same time.
Once those sprouts reach about 10cm or so in length, just twist them off and place them in a container of water.
When the roots from this container reach about 2-3 cm in length, you can plant them in soil.

Ginger or Turmeric root is very easy to grow and once you get started, you can keep your supply of ginger full.
Plant a spare piece of your ginger root in potting soil, making sure that the buds are facing up.
You’ll notice new shoots and new roots in a few weeks.

Let this grow for about a year before harvesting the roots.
Remember to save a piece of the rhizome so that you can replant it and grow more for the next time you need it.

Pineapple is easy.

It’s been mentioned before on Vegetable Heroes but you can grow your own pineapple even if you don’t live in the tropics.
You just cut the top off and insert a few toothpicks to hold it above a jar filled with water or pot it up into Bromeliad mix
If you’re growing it in water, remember to change the water every other day or so and keep the container filled so that it reaches just about the base.
You’ll notice roots in about a week or so and once they are formed you can transplant into potting soil. 

If you live in a cooler area, it is best to grow your pineapple indoors.

Who doesn’t know about re-growing garlic from scraps?
Sometimes the garlic sprouts a green shout while it’s still in the fridge.
Garlic is really easy to grow and can be done from just one clove.
When you buy garlic, you get several cloves so just pull one off and plant it with the roots facing down in potting soil.
Non-organic garlic has been sprayed with chemicals to stop it sprouting, to bleach it and to kill insects and plant matter.
However, if you do manage to see one sprout, Garlic likes plenty of direct sunlight so in warmer weather, in a sunny position during the day.
Once you notice that new shoots have established, cut the shoots back and your plant will produce a bulb.
You can take part of this new bulb and plant again.

Onions and Leeks:If you want to re-grow onions or leeks, when you've cut the end off  make it at least 1 cm of onion. 

Put this piece in the veggie bed and cover lightly soil and keep in a sunny area. 

Growing from seed is sort of like re-growing scraps because the seeds are coming from the veggies your bought home with you.

If you like your pumpkins, you can save those seeds and plant them.
Just spread the seeds out in a sunny area outdoors and cover with soil. You can also plant an entire pumpkin. 

Of course many gardeners grow a number of hot peppers from the seeds that are leftover. 

Just collect the seeds from your habaneros, jalapenos or any other peppers that you have on hand.
Plant them in potting soil and keep in direct sunlight unless it is warm outside and then you can just plant them in your garden area.
Peppers grow relatively fast and don’t require a lot of care. Once you get a new crop, just save some of the seeds for replanting again.
Just be mindful of the growing season of peppers.
Pepper seeds are best planted in late Spring, or early Summer so they can grow in the warmest months of the year.

If you like tomatoes then become a seed saver and grow your own by saving those seeds of your favourite store bought tomato.
You just have to rinse the seeds and allow them to dry.
Plant in a good, rich potting soil until you notice growth coming in.
Allow the seedlings to get 5 cm high before transplanting them outdoors.
During cold weather you can grow your tomatoes indoors.

Of course many stone fruit and citrus can be grown from their seeds but in Australia, all citrus is grafted onto a hardier root stock so the one you grow yourself from seed won’t be as vigorous and the fruit could suffer as a result.

Mushrooms are good to go!

Unbelievable you can grow mushrooms from cuttings, although they are a bit more difficult than many other vegetables.
You’ll need a warm area with a lot of humidity and soil that is rich in nutrients.
It’s much better to grow your mushrooms in a pot as opposed to in the ground because you have a better shot at controlling the temperature and the humidity.
You just have to cut away the head of the mushroom and plant the stalk or stem in the soil.
Leave the very top exposed and this base will begin to grow a new head.

To regrow bulb fennel requires that you keep the roots intact.
You need about 2 ½ cm of the base of the fennel to get it to regrow.
Just place this base in a jar or bowl with about a cup of water and leave it in direct sunlight.
When the roots grow strong and you notice new green shoots coming up from the centre of the base, you can transplant into soil.

Re-grow, Basil and Coriander from a piece of stem about 5 -10cm high. 

Place this stem in a glass of water with the leaves well above the water line.
Leave the glass sitting in a bright area but not in direct sunlight. Roots should begin to form in a few days and when those roots reach 5cm long, you can transplant them in soil.
Re-grow a turnip for the top that you've just cut off when preparing to cook them.
Put this cut off piece into a jar of water.
You should notice new green tops growing in just a few days after you begin.
Just allow the root to continue growing until it’s ready to be transplanted in the ground. This works with many root vegetables such as beets, turnips and even parsnips.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Burmese Honeysuckle: Lonicera hildebrandiana

If you like the colour golden yellow and you like perfume in the garden, consider planting one of the world’s most spectacular climbers.

The scent is to die for and it’ll knock your eyes out as well.
Yes, it’s a climber but you can let it scramble over the ground.
Let’s find out about this plant.
I'm talking with the plant panel Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au


Burmese honeysuckle is a non-invasive version of honeysuckle but be warned it’s a climber on steroids.

Often said by Peter Nixon garden designer, " you might need a whip and a chair to keep this one under control."

What may entice you though is that its berries taste just like Gin and Tonic.

Cool Down with Frangipanis

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Design Elements

part 3, designing a cooling garden with landscape designer Louise McDaid

As the summer temperatures beat all record around Australia, we’re looking to escape the heat preferably in the cool of the garden.
Think Pina Coladas, lying in a hammock under the waving leaves of some tropical plant. Or maybe a G & T and a garden bench next to the bubbling pond.
Whatever your scene, there’s always different options to increase the enjoyment in your garden to escape the heat.
Today, it’s all about foliage and flower colour for cool gardens.
Let’s find out ..

Cooling blues, and palest of hues, as Louise said, increase the feeling of coolness. Or what about minty green combinations? Green as a colour can be varied quite a bit in your garden.
If you have any questions this week’s Design elements, why not drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in for a fact sheet to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,

VEGETABLE HEROES

BOTANICAL NAME: Melothria scabra syn. pendula
Cucumber Mexican Sour Gherkin  (available from www.diggers.com.au )

This heirloom micro-sized climbing cucumber tastes both sweet and sour, just like a gherkin without the work! The fruit is really quite different-about the size of large grapes so that’s why it’s called mouse melon, Mexican sour gherkin, Mexican miniature watermelon and Mexican sour cucumber.

So where do you think it come from?
Mexico but of course.
But in England they’re called Cucamelons.
Like cucumbers, gherkins need a rich soil that doesn’t dry out, and has a pH of above 6.5.
Seeds sprout quickly at soil temperatures of 20 degrees.
Mexican sour cucumber gherkins love to grow up a trellis or tepee, in fact they could be used as a seasonal screening plant.



When is the best time to grow some cucumbers?

Just like last week, the times for Gherkins, is the same as for Cucumbers.
Sow the seeds of Cucumber in late Spring and early Summer for cool temperate districts, spring and summer for arid and temperate zones districts, from August until March in sub-tropical areas.
Only the cooler months for tropical areas-so April until August unless you're inland.
And where can you grow these delicious cucumbers gherkin thingys?

Like all cucumbers choose a sunny well ventilated spot as they are prone to moulds and mildew in humid, still weather.
Most cucumbers want a decent amount of growing space in your garden.

These Mexican cucumber Gherkins need to grow up a trellis, and like last week, growing them this way would be a great way to avoid all the mildews and moulds that cucumbers are prone to in still humid weather.


That’s what would be normally said of cucumbers, but not these little guys, you can squeeze in one plant per 15 cm around a trellis without too much worry about those mildews.
Growing cucumber Gherkins
These cucumber gherkins are easier to grow than your regular cucumber. Not that growing cucumbers is all that hard.
They grow heaps of fruit but watch out in warmer areas as these may self seed.
Pick your Mexican sour cucumber gherkins often as soon as they're an edible size to encourage new flowers and fruit.
How do you eat these Mexican Gherkins?
The fruit can be eaten straight off the plant, or tossed into a salad, like a Greek salad with some virgin olive oil.
I think they would be just right for a quick snack with  cheese and biscuits and drinks of course.
In case you have trouble sourcing these Mexican gherkin cucumbers, I have some other varieties you might like to try.
How about Armenian cucumber? It’s an heirloom variety, that means you can save the seed, www.thelostseed.som.au
Armenian cucumber is known as 'Yard Long Cucumber'.  It’s a light-green, ribbed, cylindrical fruit 20-60cm. 
It has a thin, soft skin, so no need for peeling. 
Grows best on a trellis. Plus it grows quickly.  This cucumber is actually a melon, but is grown & eaten like a cucumber and is ready to eat in 50-89 days

Can't get Mexican Sour Gherkin? Try these varieties instead.

West Indian Gherkin, or Cucumis anguria.   Another heirloom coming from Africa dating back prior to 1793.  
This one’s got small, oval shaped, green fruit 8x4cm.  best picked when still young and it does best in warmer weather.  You’ll get heaps of fruit in about.  55-70 days.  80 seeds.
Use it fresh in salads, soups, or pickled. 

Another unusual one is the African Horned cucumber (www.newgipps.com.au) Cucumis metalliferous. This unusual cucumber has unique Golden horned fruit growing to 10 cm. long. Green flesh has a taste of the tropics. Can be used as a dessert. A tip from the seed suppliers it that it may not fully mature in cold areas.
Why Are They Good For You?
Cucumbers or gherkins have lots of Vitamins C but why you should eat them is because the silica in cucumber is an essential component of healthy connective tissue, you know, like muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone.
Cucumbers have some dietary fibre and Cucumber juice is often recommended as a source of silica to improve the complexion and health of the skin, plus cucumber's high water content makes it naturally hydrating-a must for glowing skin.
So eat them quick AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

 Feature Interview

Here I am speaking with Events Coordinator, Anthony Grassi from the Frangipani Society of Australia.
www.frangipani.org.au
Frangipanis are called Temple flowers and graveyard flowers in various countries because they grow there without any care. Much like some wild bush  roses grow in various graveyards around Australia.

Frangipanis originate in Central America and grow into a candelabra shaped tree of around 5-8 metres.
The flowers are whirled petals, five in number, but because the reproductive parts are deep inside the floral tube, it takes a very specialised pollinator to fertilise them.
Humming birds and hawk moths don't reside in Australia, so growers have to resort to using nylon fishing line to hand pollinate flowers.
Although some flowers have been known to set seed in tropical areas from pollinators unknown.

Anthony gives a bit of a rundown on grafting and caring for Frangi's as they're affectionately called by passionate members of the Frangipani society.

Listen to this.

If you want the most fragrant flower, go for the Classic White Frangipani, or Vera Cruz Rose, or Orange Glow. All other frangipanis do have fragrance to a varying degree in strength and a variety of perfume notes-from spice to vanilla.
TIP ON CUTTINGS:When planting a cutting of frangipanis, place the cutting in well drained mix, water in well, then only give a drizzle of water of very hot days. Otherwise leave them alone until next season, when you can re-pot them after they flower.
Fore more information of frangipani cultivation, visit society page, listed above.

Plant of the Week

Lilly Pillies have come in such a variety of sizes that it’s hard to know which one’s the best for you.
They can grow in all parts of Australia, offer fluffy flower heads, are brightly coloured fruits, are bird attracting, and once established take care of themselves.

Here’s some of the popular species-syzygium australe, syzygium luehmannii, syzygium cascade, syzygium paniculatum, syzygium smithii, syzygium jambos or 'Rose Apple' (Malabar Plum).

S. paniculatum or Magenta Cherry grows to around 15m.
Typically has creamy white flowers with beetroot purple berries in late summer to autumn.
New growth is pale bronze that turns green. Is affected by pysllid bug.
There’s a dwarf version of this one called Lillyput which is useful for hedging.

S. luehmanii or small Leafed Lilly Pilly grows to 6 x 3m. Some creamy white flowers and a red coloured berry in summer.
New growth on this one is pale pink which turns to red then ages to green. Not prone to pimple psyllid.
These lillypillies are one of the most popular in gardens because of the way they’ve been marketed. Neighbours Gone, and Hedge in a Hurry are a couple of names.
Those two are usually a variety of S. luehmanii.
This tree is usually free from pimple psyllid which most people know as the bumpy appearance on new leaves. Impossible to control.
Syzygium species of Lilly Pillys grow all around Australia as long as they don’t dry out.
Best part is they tolerate just about any soils-from clay to sandy soils.
They grow well in shady areas as some of them originate as understorey trees in rainforests.
They have attractive polystemonous (multiple stamens) creamy white flowers in late spring and summer followed by attractive red or purple berries.
All Lilly Pillys attract birdlife.

The downside is they’re not drought tolerant, so on hot dry days give them a good drink of water.

Only a couple of the Lilly Pilly’s were featured today, but there’s plenty more out there.
If you want a hedge, try for a variety that’s close to the hedge height that you want.
That saves you trying to rein in a tall growing plant that wants to shoot upwards and eventually gets a too big to control.
As a feature plant, you can’t go past, Magenta Cherry,

Florence Fennel Goes Alfresco

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm Sat. 12noon, 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
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Design Elements: How do you create that spot in the garden to make having lunch there inviting? Have a few friends around, share a cup of tea, or maybe a glass of wine on some comfy chairs around a big table. Listen here for some other ideas with Lesley Simspon garden designer and Marianne (host)

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Vegetable Heroes:       Florence Fennel Foeniculum var. azoricum
Florence Fennel? Some might think that I’m promoting the roadside weed that is found all over Australia. No, I’m talking about the culinary fennel.
 Now is ideal, when the temperature is stable, day length is consistent and there's at least 16 weeks for bulbs to develop. 
 In sub-tropical areas, you can plant or sow seeds from March until until May, in temperate zones, from February until May, in cool temperate zones, you have from February until about mid- March, and for cold or mountain districts, it was February then not again until November/December unless you have a greenhouse.

•  Florence Fennel is a perennial which can grow quite tall-to about 1 ½ metres-about 5 feet, so at the back of your garden bed so it doesn’t shade out the other veggies. It resents disturbance and responds to any shock by bolting: producing feathery fronds and flowers, but no swollen stems.
•  Because it grows so tall, the feathery leaves may need some support, particularly if you have windy days in your area.
• The bulb grows only partially below ground, and mostly above ground it suits those districts with heavy soils. Otherwise, you can grow it in a pot-by itself.
• Florence Fennel isn’t too fussy with soils as long as the veggie bed, or garden bed is well drained as has compost or decayed animal manure dug in, In cool temperate districts cut back the plant to about 10cm above the ground as winter draws nearer.
• Fennel likes a well-drained soil, fertile from having been manured the previous year. 
• Florence Fennel seeds need to be planted 5cm deep, and unless you’ve got a lot of space, you don’t need more than 2 or 3 because they need spacing of about 50cm.
• Never let soil dry out. Water is needed for germination, steady growth and swelling. If roots become visible or plants seem unsteady, earth them up to stabilise them. This will help make bulbs white and tender and, later, exclude frost.
• After about 6 weeks you can hill out the soil around the emerging bulb so that, like Celery, the base stays white and is more tender than if you allow the sunlight to turn it green.
•  Plants take several months to mature that’s 3-4 months after sowing. 
• Use a fork to loosen the roots and cut the bulb off about 2.5cm above the ground. Further, feathery shoots will appear which can be used as celery/dill-flavoured seasoning in the kitchen.- Some seed uppliers online     www.edenseeds.com.au and www.diggers.com.auwww.cornucopiaseeds.com.au

Plant of the Week: Plumeria rubra-Frangipani. Plumeria rubra  Apocynaceae (dogbane)family.
Plumeria is generally a small tree growing to about 5-8 metres. Its broad, usually round-headed canopy with a thick trunk and several broad branches.
Often as wide as the tree is tall. . The leaves are usually glossy green but may be dull green; they are generally pointed (P. rubra var. acuminata or var. acutifolia)
In temperate and colder  districts no matter what type you bought, the leaves will fall during wintertime, and new leaves emerge during or following the spring flowering period.
It is easy to grow in hot, dry areas and is found in Adelaide in sheltered positions, as well as further north.
It grows and flowers best in full sun and in a well drained, slightly acidic soil. Shadier positions tend to give it problems like scale which then leads to sooty mould growing on the leaves, and the Frangipani won’t flower as well.
It has moderate wind resistance and salt tolerance. For best growth and flowering in the landscape, irrigation is needed during dry periods.
The trees reach maturity (full size) in about five years in tropical climates, but take quite a bit longer here in colder districts.
Plumeria can be grown to a relatively large size in large tubs because they have such tiny root systems.
Propagation:The usual way to propagate plumeria is by hardwood cuttings in late winter, early spring  because this method maintains the selected cultivar. Tip cuttings 30-60cm or even longer.
The old-fashioned method says you should be allowed to “cure” in a dry place for at least two weeks before planting.
The new method needs none of this. Get a plastic bag about 7cm in size. The frangipani society of Australia use zip lock bags. Half-wet some sphagnum moss, not dripping, just like a wrung out sponge and place it around the cut end. Enclose this in the bag, then tape it up with duct tape or something similar.
Put it upright into a pot so the leaves will grow upright. In 6-8 weeks you should have new roots-they look quite white and brittle. Leave it longer if you like but be very careful when you’re potting it up. The roots are extremely brittle. Any pulling of the bag, and you’ll rip the right off. Proceed with caution.
Pot your cutting up into a very small pot and stake it as well. Large pots will mean that surrounding soil won’t heat and enough and this will set back the growth of your Frangipani cutting.
Do not water too much or too often while plant is settling in. It can stay in the pot for 2-3 years or you can plant it out into the garden at that point..
The young root systems are brittle, and transplanting, if necessary, must be done carefully. Do not leave plants in small containers too long, or the circling roots will cause problems of weak establishment when the plant is transplanted into the landscape.


Photo of new method of taking Frangipani cuttings.

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