Hort Journal Australia

Advanced Wollemi Pines ready for transplanting from cutting propagation (image supplied by Matt Coulter)

Propagation to save the Wollemi Pine

11/02/2024 admin 1796 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Matt Coulter

Wollemia nobilis is listed by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) as a critically endangered tree species. The species is commonly known as Wollemi Pine and is, in fact, not a pine but a member of a 200-million-year-old plant family, the Araucariaceae, predominately a southern hemisphere plant family that includes Araucaria, Agathis, and the monotypic genus Wollemia.… Continue reading

Butterflies have more than aesthetic value in gardens (image supplied by Denis Crawford)

Environment & Sustainability Pest and Diseases

Where have all the butterflies gone?

11/02/2024 DEnis Crawford 1505 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Denis Crawford

Butterflies are desirable in gardens because they are indicators of a healthy environment. Unfortunately, they are under threat from climate change.

People enjoy seeing butterflies fluttering around their gardens and in bushland. Butterflies are considered to be harmless, perhaps with the exception of the cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae), and they are often quite large, colourful, and aesthetically pleasing.… Continue reading

Carica papaya is a fast fruiting plant that produces masses of fruits (Image: Patrick Regnault)

Fruit Trees

Fruit production: managing customer expectation

11/02/2024 Patrick Regnault 1114 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Patrick Regnault

People like the idea of growing their own food, picking the fruits of their labour along the way, and juicing their own citrus every morning, fresh from the tree. If the picture in your head looks like advertising it is because it is as realistic as a commercial.… Continue reading

Newsbuds

Print media making a comeback

11/02/2024 admin 1177 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Karen Smith

All is not lost in print media, and according to ‘theconversation.com’ magazines still have the place in the market. Here is a summary of the article on their website.

Print magazines, though not as popular as they once were, have defied predictions of demise.… Continue reading

Tom May (Image: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)

Newsbuds

Australasian Systematic Botany Society Medal

11/02/2024 admin 1009 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Dr Tom May, Principal Research Scientist (Mycology) at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, was awarded the 2023 Nancy T. Burbidge Medal, the highest award of the Australasian Systematic Botany Society (ASBS).

Dr Katharina Nargar, President of ASBS, said the award honoured Dr May’s longstanding and significant contribution to the discovery, description, understanding and conservation of Australia’s vast fungal diversity.… Continue reading

Newsbuds

Online invasion

11/02/2024 admin 1070 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Many harmful, invasive plant species are let loose in the wild by careless actions of home gardeners and well-meaning professionals. There are several examples where plants were introduced to solve a problem only to become the problem. Classic example is bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp.… Continue reading

Editors editorial

Happy end of year to you all

11/12/2023 Karen Smith 1201 Views 0 Comments

It is that time of the year when daily life becomes a tad hectic. Retailers have to draw on energy reserves to cope with the pre-Christmas sales. Landscape contractors work around the clock to meet customer expectations of having their new garden ready for Christmas gatherings.… Continue reading

Knowledge sharing and networking is the foundation of urban greening (Image: Karen Smith)

Green Infrastructure Landscape

Partnerships are critical when greening our built environments

11/12/2023 admin 1196 Views 1 Comment

By Michael Casey

Greening built environments demands a blending of expertise from various disciplines such as architecture, urban planning, engineering, and environmental and horticultural sciences. Interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitated by partnerships, ensures a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable development.… Continue reading

Quality, consistency and uniformity can be enhanced with new technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) (Image: John Fitzsimmons)

Greenhouse Robotics

Greenhouses, AI and robots:

11/12/2023 John Fitzsimmons 1466 Views 0 Comments

Time to adjust our thinking.

By John Fitzsimmons

Reviewing recent developments in horticulture, and in particular in greenhouse production, is a regular process for growers and specialist media. But with the rapid emergence and development of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), sensory capabilities and robotics, it is time to look beyond hardware and even services and consider more holistically what our growing business needs and wants are.… Continue reading

Newsbuds

Extinction not inevitable

11/12/2023 admin 1017 Views 0 Comments

What is a Puteketeke (poo techie techie)? About 300,000 people worldwide now know because they voted to make it New Zealand’s bird of the century. Some Kiwi’s called foul (or should that be fowl) because of the influence of an American based talk show host who promoted himself as the Puteketeke campaign manager ruffling the feathers of many of New Zealand’s bird enthusiasts.… Continue reading