Epiphytes…. the new frontier

Epiphytes 'mother trees'
Epiphytic ‘mother tree’

Interior-scapes are making a resurgence …. so for sustainable interest and designer ‘pop’, what could you be looking for far beyond the humble pot plant .. ?

Modern day plant hunter, horticulturist and nursery & plantsman Bruce Dunstan's epiphytic encrusted from gate in Nundah, Brisbane
Modern day plant hunter, horticulturist, nursery & plantsman Bruce Dunstan’s epiphytic encrusted from gate in Nundah, Brisbane

The exciting truth Peeps is found among many planting outcomes now required for a realistic match to growing conditions, of inside/outside interfaces in commercial and residential settings. Head and shoulders above most options is the diverse epiphytic genus Rhipsalis or Mistletoe Cactus mostly from Brazil.   

Rhipsalis ewaldiana a texture like thick seaweed
Rhipsalis ewaldiana a texture like course seaweed

Textural wreaths, greenwalls, eco pillows, horizontal green-bands, vertical green-blades, green-roofs & pseudo-greenwalls have all exceeded the basic hanging basket, as a catch-all destination for these fascinating plants.

Rhipsalis platycarpa
Rhipsalis platycarpa brings foliage colour
Weberocereus imitans
Weberocereus imitans one of the ric-rac Jungle Cactus
Disocactus amazonicus looks like lime green kelp
Disocactus amazonicus looks like lime green kelp
Disocactus chiapis nelsonii with quill like stems forming  a 'birds nest'
Disocactus chiapis nelsonii with quill like stems forms
a kind of  ‘birds nest’ habit
Rhipsalis capilliformis like  foliar ultra-fine gauze
Rhipsalis capilliformis a gauze of foliar ultra-fine
Codananthe 'Lime Delight' a pendulous  gesneriad
Codananthe ‘Lime Delight’ a pendulous gesneriad

Leading among an enthusiastic band of visionary growers, is Justine Smith  at Peats Ridge on NSW Central Coast. While there will be an impressive stall space at Plant Lovers Fair Kariong come 22nd & 23rd September, contract growing is preferred.

'Sea-Changer' Mirror Deck with epiphyte loaded greenwalls
‘Sea-Changer’ Mirror Deck with epiphyte loaded greenwalls

Among many garden making outcomes for these plants are more sheltered growing spaces like courtyards. Fast draining medium levels can be raised as ‘planting humps’ to separate wet sensitive root fibre from the cold winter ground. Lush sense of arrival is assured for the front door and epiphytes combine very convincingly with small palms, aroids, ferns and bromeliads.  

Justine Smith 0408 741 336 Kawana Nursery kawanagardensnursery@icloud.com        

Cac & Succ relly’s can set your design apart ..

Kalanchoe beharensis - shrub form
Kalanchoe beharensis – shrub form

Long gone are the days when anything succulent was relegated to  ‘that corner’ at most nurseries and disregarded collectively as weirdo cactus. Go to any decent Plant Fair and you are spoilt for choice with plants possessing some of the most ornamental characteristics imaginable. And why choose them ? Because they set your design apart like few others can AND offer huge advantages in low water use.

Kalanchoe beharensis – Madagascan Felt Plant is very often encountered in its larger leafed form as a kind of living sculpture. Did you know there are smaller oak leafed forms that make rather impressive texture hedges or can be used to anchor otherwise ‘fly away’,  leafy combinations that run a risk of looking all the same when seasonal flowers have gone over.  

Kalanchoe somaliensis a perky choice for texture rug ground covers
Kalanchoe somaliensis a perky choice for texture rug ground covers

Kalanchoe somaliensis excels for unirrigated garden spaces, beneath an open sky aspect with much valued ground-covering & weed suppression qualities. Also has high ornamental appeal as a ‘textural rug’ that brightens with winter night air. Contrasts with just about anything but especially appealing with an ultra-fine like Lomandra fluviatilis ‘Shara’.

Cyanotis foecunda gives excellent weed suppression
Cyanotis foecunda gives excellent weed suppression

Cyanotis foecunda an equally drought resisting, stoloniferous sheet cover and unsurpassed as a turf replacement, where weed suppression is important and low maintenance a part of the design brief. Providing its a ‘no go’ look to surface only, that’s NOT  expected to withstand even light foot traffic due to its snappy stems that would crush under foot. I’ve used this one many times with the benefit of its self striking stolons that also grip surface soil to help prevent erosion across slight falls.          

Orders are best contract grown to be ready for designs you may have planned for Autumn ’19 from Peter & Ruth Donnelly at Coachwood Nursery Sommersby on the NSW Central Coast ‭0432 590 754 www.coachwoodnursery.com 

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