QA Forum

Question & Answer

We are discussing Gardening, Growing and Green Thumbs!
With Brian Walters, Diana O'Brien and Pauline Cornish

Question:
Why do some of my Australian plants die? Shouldn't they be suited to Australian conditions?

Answer:
Brian - It depends on what you define as "Australian conditions".

The problem was more common some years ago when the cultivation of Australian plants native to all parts of the country was attempted in all other parts. This failed to recognise the fact that there are many climatic zones in Australia and that attempting to grow plants from one climatic zone in another was bound to lead to problems. While it was accepted that alpine plants would be difficult to cultivate in (say) arid areas, the effect of less obvious climatic differences was recognised mainly by bitter experience.

We now accept , for example, that plants native to areas of dry summers (such as south Western Australia) may be difficult to grow in gardens in areas of wet, humid summer conditions (such as the east coastal strip of New South Wales and Queensland). Having said that, there are many plants that adapt well to climates that are different to those of their natural habitat.

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