Decided to plant these yesterday afternoon, a native Australian plant known as Sturt's Desert Peas.
Once you get them growing they are prolific flowering plants that can spread out across the ground for about 1 metre in diameter for each plant BUT getting them started and keeping them alive is the HARD job.
They ARE desert plants, cannot be transplanted because once the roots are disturbed the plant dies quickly, the seeds ARE the only way to go but they are coated with a waxy substance so they need to soaked in warm water for a minimum of 4 hours before being planted.
Must be planted in an area where they will only get a minimum of water, preferably rainwater, won't grow in rich garden soil, no, they prefer soil that even most weeds would shun.
The flowers produce seed-pods that look like pea-pods but contain anywhere between a dozen to 2 dozen very tiny little seeds.
This year I'm trying them out both in a Hanging pot as well as a patch of ground that ONLY gets watered when it rains.
It IS illegal to pick the flowers or try to transplant the bushes from the wild BUT harvesting the seed pods is quite legal, so a few years ago I went with a friend and we collected pods from an area where there at least 30 or more plants growing and found one plant that was actually producing 'albino' flowers, i.e. white bodies with black centers.
So, hopefully, we got some of the albino ones as well and they may just decided to flower in my garden.
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6 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Weird little "eyes" on their "faces", but gorgeous color!
AnneWimsey
Level 9
Apr 26, 2021
0
Very pretty flower! I wish you luck in this endeavor. 
Redheadedgammy
Level 9
Apr 26, 2021
1
My yard might be perfect for them.
GeorgeRocheleau
Level 8
Apr 26, 2021
2
Is it as dry as a Dead Nun's twat and as fertile as a desert?
Many Australian plants have been imported here and do quite well, I suspect the difficulty germinating seeds and transplanting plants may be the reason they don't grow them here.
@Triphid Close.
@GeorgeRocheleau Then, If I knew how I could send you some seeds BUT they are truly the hardest plants to grow in a garden though.
@Triphid I may be able to buy seeds here. Thank you for showing me something new.
@GeorgeRocheleau No 'Dave Murrays' packets of Sturt Pea seeds are available through Plant Nurseries and seed producers, I think companies like Yates and Farmer Brown package and sell them BUT you need to follow the instructions very carefully though.
I know of a friend from Sth. Africa who I sent seeds to about 40+ years ago has them growing every summer.
@Triphid Australian Outback Plantation plant nursery sells seeds, I should be able to buy them.
@GeorgeRocheleau Remember to let them soak in WARM, NOT boiling, water for at least 6-24 hours and any seeds that float are infertile so throw them away and when planting the swollen seeds put them in the ground and cover them with a very thin layer of dirt.
IF weather conditions are extremely dry for prolonged periods, ONLY give them a VERY light sprinkling with water, do NOT soak them because they will get root rot very quickly and die.
@GeorgeRocheleau Most seeds from Aussie Native plants and trees are coated with a thin layer of a wax like substance that protects them for months or even years when they are in the soil until good and decent rains come along.
Some native seeds also need to be put through a process known as 'smoking, ' i.e. placed in a chamber/container and allowing the smoke from smouldering leaves and wood from other native trees to swirl around them before they will be ready to germinate.
That could be due our trees have evolved in a land where bush-fires are prevalent and the seeds need to be 'prepared' by the smoke.
I've been experimenting with a number of 'seed smoking' methods for the last 5 + years but none have been quite as successful as I'd like them to be so far.
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