New research reveals a solution for Australia’s productivity slump

11/08/2025 admin 11 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Australia’s GDP could be boosted by up to $50 billion a year if supply chain data standards were improved, according to a new report.

A new research report from the Centre for International Economics and commissioned by GS1 Australia, the body responsible for the common retail barcode, reveals that industry use of supply chain data standards is quietly driving a significant share of Australia’s economic output, contributing up to $27.3 billion annually to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and could play an increasingly important role in reversing the nation’s lagging productivity.… Continue reading

The endangered Euphrasia lasianthera found growing in an open grassland in the Victorian Alps (Image: Alex McLachlan)

Australian Euphrasia Environment & Sustainability

Eyebright delight: Euphrasia in horticulture

11/08/2025 admin 13 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Alex McLachlan

Many Australian Euphrasia species face declining populations due to significant changes in climate, with rising temperatures in Australia’s alpine regions putting Euphrasia populations at high risk. Botanic gardens are actively working to conserve some of the rarest species, however much work remains before euphrasia can be considered truly safe from extinction.… Continue reading

Dr Chris Brosnan (L) and Stephen Fletcher (R) in the University of Queensland laboratory (Image: The University of Queensland)

Editorial Newsbuds

Maxing out chemical-free crop protection with dsRNAmax

11/08/2025 admin 11 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

A software package developed and validated at The University of Queensland can tailor safe, effective and chemical-free crop protection using RNA interference (RNAi).

The dsRNAmax software designs double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to target pest and pathogen species while excluding off-target species like beneficial insects.… Continue reading

Stall selling wild and farmed potatoes at the San Pedro market in Cusco (Image: Clive Larkman)

Plants Potato

Potatoes by the hundreds!

11/08/2025 Clive Larkman 11 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Clive Larkman

The Colombian Exchange resulted in many foods from the New World becoming common in European countries, including but not limited to the potato. Like so many Solanaceae, this humble vegetable is indigenous to the plains of the upper Andes and the lower regions of Machu Picchu and surrounds.… Continue reading

Editorial Editors editorial

Farewell message from the Editor

07/07/2025 Karen Smith 218 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

This issue marks exactly seventeen years since Hort Journal Australia began in July 2008. I have been the Editor from the beginning. However, it is now time for me to turn the page to a new chapter in my life. It is difficult to summarise my experience in this small editorial.… Continue reading

Pellenc's battery powered mowers are built to pro standards (images supplied by John Fitzsimmons)

Editorial Industry Event

Equipment and services benefit landscapers

07/07/2025 John Fitzsimmons 172 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By John Fitzsimmons

Landscape design, installation, and maintenance involve creativity, materials, equipment, and skill sets provided as a service. As such, its enterprises also need complementary support on the supply side for materials, equipment and business services. This was all present at the annual Landscape Show 2025, presented recently at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne by Landscaping Victoria.… Continue reading

Plant Palette Plants

Plug-and-play plants for neglected sites

07/07/2025 Daniel Fuller 140 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Daniel Fuller

Mass planting beds are favourable from a nursery and plant breeder perspective because less diversity will often equate to larger profit margins, even though they can be risky by having “all your eggs in one basket.” They are also easy for specifiers to use in designs, because it takes less research to source a single variety of plant that tolerates site conditions and can be replicated throughout large beds.… Continue reading

Business File Editorial

A business lesson from a master

07/07/2025 John Corban 136 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By John Corban

Charles M Schwab was a master at managing and inspiring employees. Let me share his simple but powerful management approach to see how you can apply it today.

By John Corban

Schwab, one of the world’s most successful business leaders during the last century, ran a U.S.… Continue reading

(Image: Getty Images 2020)

Business File Editorial

Proposed tax on superannuation balances over $3 million

07/07/2025 admin 109 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Tara Cuddihy

The proposed tax on superannuation balances over $3 million has raised concerns, especially for Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) holding non-residential properties like farming land. With a focus on taxing unrealised gains, the measure could significantly impact the agricultural sector and create liquidity and double taxation issues.… Continue reading

Queensland Bottle Tree taking pride of place in the newly renovated Arid Garden (Image: Michael Elgey)

Environment Environment & Sustainability

Australia’s iconic Bottle Trees and their enduring presence

07/07/2025 admin 220 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Michael Elgey

The genus Brachychiton, part of the Malvaceae family, comprises around 30 species which are endemic to Australia and one species native to Papua New Guinea. These trees have become horticultural icons, admired for their distinctive forms, adaptability, and spectacular seasonal displays.… Continue reading