Should I cut off my flower spike? Sending up a flower spike is an energy sapping process for the tree and so it is often considered that removing the flower spike early will limit the amount of energy used to produce the spike and increase the likelihood of consistent growth of the roots and leaves instead.
Flower spikes make fishing spear shafts and firesticks ; the tough seed pods are used as cutting implements ; and the flower's nectar forms a sweet, slightly fermented drink. Grass trees are also known as 'yacca', which is likely derived from a South Australian Aboriginal language, mostly likely Kaurna.
With the upper fronds securely tied up with string, remove all yellow or brown fronds from the trunk. Use a sharp pruning tool such as long-handled loppers or a sturdy pruning saw. When all the brown or yellow fronds are removed, gently release the healthy green fronds.
Grass tree is low-maintenance if correctly replanted with the original soil. You can feed it with a native compatible fertiliser every 6 to 12 months. The only disease this resilient plant contracts is scale, a white insect that appears on the tree's inner crown. White oil helps to treat scale quickly.
Take a cup of brown sugar, put it in a bucket of water and water your grass trees once a month for two years with that mixture. The sugar feeds the mycorrhiza and gets it going and your grass tree will survive.
But in reality, grass trees have an amazing ability to survive – and going dormant for long periods of time is one of those strategies that make grass tree stunningly unique. Patience and consistent watering is the best way to nurture it through this dormancy period. Regular seasol won't hurt either.
A good indication to determine if the tree is to survive, is to pull gently at the centre needles. If they come away, this indicates the crown is rotting and unfortunately there is no remedy.
Grass Tree – Xanthorrhoea Fertilizer
Grass Trees will benefit from a light feed of dynamic lifters or blood and bone in October and January. Also half a cup of raw sugar mixed in a watering can may be beneficial for the microbial activity necessary for good root growth.
Yates Dynamic Lifter and Acticote+Instant Booster are great fertilisers for grass trees.
Give Your Grass Tree Enough Water, But Not Too Much
Once or twice a week is usually enough during dry spells in the summer, but make sure that you keep the actual trunk of your grass tree as dry as possible – too much water on the trunk will soften it, leaving it vulnerable to pests and diseases.
The mulch should be at the same level as the soil was in the pot, keep the mulch away from the trunk of the grass tree as this can cause fungal diseases. Lastly back fill with soil and water in. Don't water the grass head, always water the soil around the base.
So it's especially important that the grass and weeds surrounding a newly planted tree are continuously removed. Mulching your newly planted trees can help make the job of weed and grass removal a little easier by shading the space and creating a ground cover inhospitable to airborne seeds.
Let's start the story from when a grass tree begins as a seed. After germination, Xanthorrhoea seedlings develop roots that pull the growing tip of the plant up to 12cm below the soil surface, protecting the young plant from damage. These roots quickly bond with fungi that help supply water and minerals.
X. australis flowers from July to December, but younger plants may flower in June. The common name grass tree is accurate as the trunks and branches of the tree varieties are literally made out of the leaf bases, not wood. Grass trees are often very long-lived with some estimated to be 350 to 450 years old.
A Raceme is a flower spike where the flowers have stalks of equal length, and the tip of the stem continues to grow and produce more flowers. Flowers open from the bottom up. The example is Linaria vulgaris. A Panicle is a branched raceme, each branch having a smaller raceme of flowers.
A spike is a raceme, but the flowers develop directly from the stem and are not borne on pedicels, as in barley (Hordeum). In angiosperm: Inflorescences. A spike is a raceme except that the flowers are attached directly to the axis at the axil of each leaf rather than to a pedicel.
Apply Seasol regularly for several months before any fertilising is done. Once the tree is starting to respond to the Seasol treatment, apply an organic fertiliser such as Dynamic Lifter, blood and bone or slow-release tree tablets. Note: Sadly, some trees will be damaged beyond repair.
Inhalation: Material may be an irritant to mucous membranes and respiratory tract. Skin contact: Repeated or prolonged skin contact may lead to irritation. Ingestion: Swallowing can result in nausea, vomiting and irritation of the gastrointestinal tract.
You can use both in your garden, one of our Yates Professional Blood and Bone (Plus Potash) has got potash in it which is great for flowers and fruit. Dynamic lifter is goof for all round good growth, just make sure that you water in well.
White Wax Scale is a sucking insect that feeds primarily on the inner, softer, fresh growth of the grass trees. Left unattended to fester and multiply, the White Wax Scale can cause some serious harm to your grass trees.
This is perfectly normal. As new growth emerges from the centre, it forces the older growth to the outside which eventually dies off and hangs down beside the trunk. In the wild it would eventually form a brown 'skirt' of dead leaves until a bushfire came through and burned it all up making the black trunk.
Free draining, slightly acidic soil is crucial for it to survive and flourish. Waterlogged roots will lead to the death of the plant. Grass Trees do not like to have their delicate root systems disturbed. Choose a sunny position with free draining soil.
Grass trees can be grown in a pot or most Australian soil. You'll need to be patient if the goal is to have a full-size plant in your garden. Grass trees grow at a slow rate of just 2 cm each year. It can take over 20 years for Xanthorrhoea to grow a trunk, and it takes years for them to reach full size.
Grass trees can readily grow from seed, however, the growth is slow and a reasonable specimen can take 3 to 5 years to develop. Be careful not to overwater. Grass trees don't like getting wet feet.