WildFlowers Australia - What's New?

Export of native flower products from NSW now permitted

Breaking news!
The Federal Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities has advised that the New South Wales plan “Protected and Threatened Plants in the Cut-flower Industry Sustainable Management Plan 2013-2017” (prepared by the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage) is an Approved Wildlife Trade Management Plan for the purposes of section 303FO of the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
The plan provides for artificially propagated specimens and for material to be harvested from wild populations for the cut flower industry. The declaration is effective as from the 1 January 2013, to cover any propagation materials that may have been collected from 1 January that might be grown on for export.

  

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New wildflower industry publications from RIRDC

irrigation manual cover 2013 thumbnail_12-015.png

The Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation has recently published several reports on completed projects, including the Wildflower Irrigation Handbook.

For details, and to download a free copy or order your print copy, please go to:

http://www.rirdc.gov.au/publications and select 'wildflowers and native plants'.

 

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National Student Floristry Competition on again in 2013

+ Sharon Webster - Campbelltown Cat 1 First place.jpg
Through their teachers, WildFlowers Australia Ltd (WFA) is again inviting Certificate III level students from TAFE and private floristry colleges which are Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) across Australia to participate in the competition.

The competition theme is ‘Wildflowers for a Centenary Event’ - Our nation’s capital celebrates its 100th year.

The competition aims to encourage students to explore the versatility, availability and beauty of Australian grown wildflower products.

Details of the competition have been sent to all RTOs teaching floristry around Australia.

In addition, all necessary information and documents such as the competition outline, entry form, prize list and marking schedule are available at floristry-competition

WFA would like to acknowledge the following companies whose generous sponsorship has made the 2013 competition possible:

 

H.E. Koch & Co. Pty Ltd

 

The Flower Association of Qld Inc

 

East Coast Wildflowers

 

WAFEX and Waratah Ridge

 

Apack Pty Ltd

 

Civil & Structural Engineering Design Services Pty. Ltd.

 

The Cedar Hill Corporate Group, via Premium Greens Australia and Australian Flora Corporation

 

Smithers-Oasis Australia Pty Ltd.

Further enquiries can be directed to competition@wildflowersaustralia.com.au

 The image shows the arrangement by the 2012 national winner (category 1) Sharon Webster.

  

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Celebrating 100 years

Our unique and beautiful native flowers have captured attention for a long time and the industry reaches an important milestone this year. It is now 100 years since the Parry family first cultivated Australian species in row crops for cut flowers. They did this at their property ‘Floralands’, located at Kariong, on the NSW Central Coast.
An important industry has grown from these beginnings, and today a significant volume and range of Australian species is grown commercially, not just in Australia but in many countries around the world. Australian species are sought after for their unique flowers, interesting foliage, bud and nut products in cut flower markets around the world.
Several activities are planned to commemorate this event. Please contact us at management@wildflowersaustralia.com.au to find out more.
 

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Industry 'tool kit'

Handy links to key resources for growers and industry members

Go to -industry-tool-kit-

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Grafting wildflowers

Comprehensive research report now published
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Results of a grafting project undertaken over 5 years and funded by RIRDC and NSW DPI are now available (see link at end). The work aimed to solve problems experienced in cultivating several Australian native perennial flower crops which were promising new products, but did not achieve the expected market impact.

The project report includes extensive discussion on a wide range of topics, ranging from the fundamentals of grafting, to detailed information about the extensive range of  scion and rootstock species trialled in this project, the trial results and the ‘best bets’ for growers.

The project confirmed that there is a role for grafted wildflowers in the commercial cut flower industry, to provide a greater choice of crops to grow, by introducing new product lines, providing an alternative for hard to propagate lines or making the cultivation of current lines easier.

On-farm Evaluation of Grafted Wildflowers for Commercial Cut Flower Production, by Jonathan Lidbetter from NSW DPI is available on the RIRDC website at https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/11-149

The report is illustrated with many useful photos and these are of higher resolution in a print copy - available on request from alison.saunders@rirdc.gov.au

Photo shows grafted Pimelea physodes (Qualup bells) which impressed the growers who trialled it

 

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