New useful plants from Ozbreed

By Daniel Fuller

Nurseries must invest in trusted varieties, as many have failed by experimenting with unsellable plants. On the other hand, relying too heavily on past successes can also lead to failure if you can’t adapt to a changing market. With recent advances in plant breeding, it’s time to explore more of our new natives bred for the Aussie landscape.

Evergreen Baby™ Lomandra ‘LM600’ PBR is popular with landscape designers and architects for its compact size, unobstructed sightlines, and wet feet tolerance, even in subtropical Queensland. However, demand currently exceeds supply, so there’s an opportunity for more nurseries to take it on.

Baby Breeze™ Dianella ‘DCNC3’ PBR Intended is about half the size of the classic Breeze™ Dianella. With a faster and denser spread, this plant will be a major part of roadside plant palettes moving forward. Landscape architects can’t wait to specify it because it tolerates periodic wet feet and drought, outcompetes weeds and can even recover from being driven over from time to time. It’s available through Majestic Young Plants.

Two new salt bushes thrive in conditions other varieties can’t tolerate, performing better in heavy soils, and are native to much of Australia. They need no irrigation, require minimal care, and respond well to pruning or can be left in their natural shape.

Aussie Hedge Bush™ Rhagodia spinescens ‘SAB02’ PBR Intended is a medium-sized shrub that is available through Kellyville Plant Patch. Aussie Flat Bush™ Rhagodia spinescens ‘SAB01’ PBR is a low-growing variety perfect as a ground cover, and it’s already available through several nurseries.

Eremophilas are a classic native plant from WA, but landscape architects are wary of specifying them due to their reputation for rolling over and dying during a hard year. We’ve bred two new varieties and both are thriving in heavy, moist soils in humid parts of NSW. Having spoken with many landscape architects in NSW and Victoria, I can tell they’re really excited about these plants, which look absolutely nothing alike besides their flower shapes.

Thriver™ Eremophila ‘Erem01’ PBR Intended is a shrub that can be hedged as a box or as a ball, but where it shines is as a natural shape with coppicing every few years. It fits perfectly into the wild look which you might have noticed at MIFGS (Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show), and on Instagram is very much in fashion with landscape architects and designers. Remarkably for a WA native, this plant has proven itself for at least five years in Western Sydney. It should be available next year.

Blue Horizon™ Eremophila glabra prostrate ‘EREM1’ PBR is a prostrate ground cover with the most incredible blue glaucous foliage. Landscape architects will love it because it will live where other eremophila die, and because it’s a winter-flowering native that supports pollinators early in the season when few resources are available.

Hibbertias are another classic Aussie plant, but they haven’t traditionally performed too well in cooler climates or heavy soils. We’ve bred two new cultivars that can tolerate coastal positions, humidity, poor soils and frost much better, giving landscape architects an option in southern regions of the country outside of the ACT. They both flower sporadically all year round and are incredibly functional regarding landscape use.

Groundswell™ Hibbertia scandens ‘HBS01’ PBR Intended is a ground-covering variety with a remarkable ability to stay flat against the ground unless it’s climbing a structure. On the other hand, Straightup™ Hibbertia scandens ‘HBS02’ PBR Intended avoids covering the ground and grows as its name suggests or as a shrub. It also has purple foliage during winter in cooler regions.

Investing in new plants can be risky for nurseries, but if you don’t adapt to the changing market, you risk a slower form of failure as other nurseries fulfil your client’s changing needs. Ozbreed has built a reputation amongst landscape architects and designers as a source for no fuss, functional and reliable plants. Retail customers enticed by the beauty will love the reliability of these plants.

Daniel Fuller & Ozbreed

M: 042 6169 708

E: horticulture@ozbreed.com

W: Ozbreed.com.au