wanted to know if anyone has one of these to trade or postage? and what youre looking for in the trade. or where i could order one in the usa?plmk and thxs for helping
wanted:kangaroo paw plant
I tried these several years ago when I had my ill-fated Protea endeavor. They are almost impossible to locate outside arid regions. Mine came from a lady in New Mexico.
I know you asked for a source, and not for advice, LOL, but, here's my 2 cents.
This is one of those plants that is not widespread here in the USA for a reason: it doesn't grow well in very many places (like its cousins, the Proteas and Banksias), and the people who control the importation and marketing of plants here have realized this and not chosen to get behind trying to mass sell it here.
This plant does not like humidity in the least. It likes DRY. It reportedly does well in states like CA, NM, AZ etc (with very low year round relative humidity and not a lot of rainfall) but it tanks from fungal infection almost everywhere else.
My Walmart had them last year. Bought one and it survived until the first rain storm.
Ahhh... so they ARE mass marketing them, knowing that they will be a waste of folks money.....sad.
Bought some a couple years ago in TX. Yes to the mass marketing. I am in humid east TX so they lasted till the water got hot. LOL I still understand your wanting to give it a try. I had to too. Some plants I will try over again but not these guys. Good luck!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/626183/
They are in the compost now...
I planted one in October - it was dead by November.
The nuresey industry is so strange. They market things to people that they know will not do well. Every time I get those Spring catalogs in the mail with all that stuff...all those hostas, huecheras, and ornamental grasses, and bulbs...
Once I took a catalog to a friend who owns a large nursery here and has been in the nursery business for over 30 years, and I asked her about specific things. Of course we already knew hostas are out here, they never fulfill their promise of large lush gorgeous plants, they are lucky to even make it past July here in my yard...but I was surprised when she pointed out other things that were labeled "hardy zone 5-9" and said that they had tried these many times in the past and that they never did well here. Huecheras ('coral bells') have recently started to show up at places like Home Depot and Lowes in the past 2-3 years...she said they tried them several years ago and they did fine until mid0summer then they literally MELTED in the heat. Fuschias, even the ones labeled "Florida Friendly" and "heat tolerant"...AREN'T. And some of those gorgeous grasses that are marketed only show those colors in the dead of winter. All the rest of the year they are a blase green.
Kangaroo paws are very cool plants, but, like a lot of Australian plants, suited to very few places here. Just the humidity in the air here was enough to do in the protea I bought from Southern California and the volcanic slopes of Maui. It didn't even have to rain, LOL. They got fungal infections and died so fast it was like lighting a $20 bill on fire and watching it burn in 3 seconds.
At least that would be better than prolonged agony. lol
I also got a kangaroo paw last year, kept it indoors where it was a bit drier, but it crapped out too, much to my puzzlement. Now I know why.
It seems that the nursery industry is no different than any other industry, they all are about making money- period. Iv'e had or wanted other plants that were supposedly hardy to my region, then found this not to be so. Blue Himalayan poppies are one such creature.
It really pays to research before you buy and DG is so wonderful for that purpose.
Now I will definitely not try protea, sniff, sniff. Oh well, I'm sure there is something else equally unusual, appropriate to this area.
I love this plant, and it did good in NM when I lived there. I ordered one off ebay last spring, and it did fine all summer, but, Now that its out in my greenhouse, it looks half dead. There is still some more green, and I'm not sure if it will come back next spring or not. Remind me in the spring or summer, and if it survives, maybe I can get some to you.
WOW,i am so glad that you all gave me your opinion on this i was hoping to be able to grow this but looks like that is one that will have to be on the back burner but i would love to try it from seeds,has anyone ever tried it from seeds? plmk and thxs so much for informing mer on this info
i know that you all are saying they are hard to do but i would still like to try this if possable thxs
LOL ~ afraid all our plants were DOA before delivering seeds. Can't blame you for wanting to try tho... pod
Me neither. It's such a great plant. Maybe if you kept it indoors near a de-humidifier.
My DSD gave me a small piece of her Kangaroo Foot/Paw Fern this summer..she brought it up from Texas...
Mine is doing great here in Pa...I have it in a northern window with no direct sunlight ...
And now I have hers cause it lost all it's leaves and she thinks maybe i'll be able nurse it back to health...
As mine is doing great....
I have a wood furnance..dry air....so maybe that's a plus...
If I can get the momma plant growing again i'll keep you in mind for a piece of it...
All it has now is the runners on it...
lismil&lilsista59
thxs for keeping me in mind and i hope they do survive,maybe you will findone in spring lol thxs everyone for the info you have sent me,very helpfull
plantgeek88
that is what my best friend said i could do too lol,are u 2 talking to each other lol thxs again
LOL moretz. We both were channeling the spirit of an all-knowing botanist. And for only $19.95, you can too. lol Sorry, cash only.
lol yep i would want "cash only" too lol have you tried this plant from seeds? plmk and thxs
No, my plant was mature and in full bloom. I would think there is info on starting from seed somewhere if you google it, or check around on the Australian plant forum here on DG.
Good luck to you on this seemingly impossible mission. 'This forum will self-destruct in three...two...one...burp
wait...were you talking about the australian kangaroo paw plant with the flowers that look like paws, or the kangaroo paw fern? I noticed that lilsista was talking about the fern...which I belive I also have, but I was talking about the plant from australia...two different plants.
im talking about the kangaroo paw plant not the fern but the fern is cool too lol thxs for helping everyone!!!!!!!!!
happy new year too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm an aussie living in San Antonio TX. Kangaroo Paws are part of the spectacular anual wildflower display in the area of Western Australia where I grew up. I always had them growing in my garden in Perth. The two things they absolutely will not tolerate is wet feet and fertilizer! I grow my miniture pink at my front door in a terracotta pot in cactus mix with no fertilizer and it does just fine.
This message was edited Mar 9, 2009 11:01 AM
They used to grow good when I lived in AZ. I haven't tried them here though but I believe it about the humidity because they liked to be dry.
The Home Depot by the Mall in Orange Park has some now in front of the garden center in a mixed arrangement bowl. they were all either dk orange or red I can't remember which now. I will have to look again next time I go.
I bought one here at home Depot last fall. Unfortunately, I gave it to a friend to overwinter and I don't see him anymore. But I'll bet they'll sell them there again.
Glad I came across this thread. I have two paw plants coming to me next month. Any Californians out there to tell me how their plants do?