Growing Grevilleas

Learn to Grow Grevilleas

• As a landscape plant
• As a cut flower
• As a container plant

There are more than 250 species of Grevillea and hundreds if not thousands of different varieties and hybrids, many probably not yet named.

• About 50% of all Grevilleas are tropical.
• The majority of species are stenobasic (ie. having more or less one dominant stem or trunk).
• Twenty of the known species are trees.
• 176 of the known species are shrubs
• 17 of the known species are prostrate shrubs

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction.
   • Scope and Nature of the Grevillea genus
   • Review of the system of plant identification
   • Botanical Terminology used to describe Grevilleas
   • Flower Structure
   • Plant Name Pronunciation
   • Characteristics of the Proteaceae family
   • Characteristics of the Grevillea genus
   • Different ways of classifying Grevilleas into groups: by flower type (eg. toothbrush); McGilveray's system dividing into 11 groups
   • Resources, information contacts (ie: nurseries, seed, clubs etc.)
2. Culture
   • Environment, Nutrition, Soil Requirements
   • Planting, staking, mulching
   • Water management
   • Pest and disease found on Grevilleas
   • Feeding, pruning, protection from wind, salt air, etc.
3. Propagation
   • Methods of propagating Grevilleas
   • Cutting Propagation
   • Methods to Improve Cutting Success
   • Seed Propagation of Grevilleas
   • Transplanting
   • Hardening off and Growing on Young Plants
   • Grafting Grevilleas
   • Tissue Culture and Aerial Layering
4. The Most Commonly Grown Varieties.
   • Clearview Hybrids
   • Grevillea banksii and banksii hybrids
   • Grevillea alpina
   • G. rosmarinifolia
   • G. dimorpha
   • G. lavandulaceae
5. Other Important Groups.
   • G. alpina cultivars and hybrids
   • G. rosmarinifolia cultivars
   • G. Poorinda hybrids
6. Other Grevillea Varieties.
   • Ground Cover Grevilleas
   • Trees
   • Review of many other species
7. Making The Best Use of Grevilleas
   • Cut Flowers
   • Bird Attracting
   • Scented Grevilleas
   • Container Growing Grevilleas
   • Potting and Types of containers
   • Growing Grevilleas in Baskets
   • Rock Gardens
   • Designing a Garden with Grevilleas; design principles, garden styles, drawing a plan
8. Special Assignment: On one selected plant or group.
   • Problem Based Learning Project
   • Plan the establishment of a collection of different cultivars of Grevilleas suited to growing in a specified locality.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Identify a range of different Grevilleas.
• Explain the culture of different types of Grevilleas.
• Propagate different Grevilleas
• Discuss different uses for Grevilleas
• Compare identifiable characteristics and cultural preferences of a range of Grevilleas.
• Discuss a range of Grevillea hybrids and cultivars
• Identify and compare a range of commonly cultivated Grevilleas.
• Discuss one Grevillea species, cultivar or type in depth.

Grevilleas are a group of around 250 species of plants (genus); all but seven species coming from Australia. They are widespread across Australia, occurring in both cool temperate, and hot tropical climates. There are species that grow satisfactorily in most parts of the world.

Known commonly as “Spider Flowers”; the Grevillea flower is more like a brush than a traditional flower. It has obscure petals, but is none the less very colourful. Flower colour varies greatly; and most hold their flowers for a long period.

Grevilleas include both small to very large plants (from prostrate ground covers, through small and medium shrubs up to large trees).  Their hardiness is variable according to species. The foliage is also variable ranging from small, entire leaves to lobed or pinnate leaves. All are arranged alternately on the stems and some have hairy undersurfaces.  Most have a  medium to fast growth rate.

The way you should treat a particular species of Grevillea will differ from place to place, and according to what you are trying to get from the plant.

General Guidelines for Grevillea Growing

• Grevilleas are shallow rooted plants – mulch is beneficial to protect the roots from exposure and to retain moisture in the soil.
• Due to their shallow rooting - it is beneficial to stake grevilleas that are growing in raised beds.
• Grevilleas may be root-pruned (unlike many other native) – you can remove up to 1/3^rd the root ball of pot bound specimens however it is advisable to use a rooting hormone to promote root growth afterwards.
• Grevilleas cannot be moved once they are established – very young plants can be moved in autumn to early spring - but will need extra attention to watering for some time after. Rooting hormones may be of benefit.
• Use only low phosphorus fertilisers.
• Select species to suit the environment in which they are to grow.
• Never buy pot-bound or sickly looking plants.
• Grevilleas will grow in pots but are best planted out before they reach 3 years old.
• Attract birds to your garden to aid in pollination – you may just produce a new variety!
• Never plant grevilleas in heavy shade.

FREQUENT QUESTIONS

Why Choose This Course

• Course notes and materials are unique (written by our staff) and up to date (most revised annually) –our graduates are more up to date with what they learn than many other institutions.
• We don’t just present you with information; we also work to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field.
• Start any time, study at your own pace, study from anywhere
• Don’t waste time and money traveling to and from classes
• More choices in your assignment work –courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you.
• Tutors more accessible than many colleges – academics are hard at work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day, and answering individual queries from students are top priority and always attended to within a day –often within an hour.
• Be treated like an individual –don’t get lost in a crowd of other students. Our tutors interact with you one to one.
• Extra help at no extra cost where needed.. If you find a task you can’t do, we will help you through it or give you another option.
• Support after graduation –We will advise on getting work, starting a business, putting a CV together. We will promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Any graduate who asks will be helped.
• Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.

About ACS

ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia).  Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.

Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world. 

In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses. 

A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia

How You Study

• When you enroll, we send you an email that explains it all.
• You are given a short orientation video to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
• You are either given access to your course online, or sent a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
• You work through lessons one by one. Each lesson has at least four parts:
• An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
• Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
• Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
• Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
• Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
• You are given access to and encouraged to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
• You are provided with a "student manual" which you can refer to if and when needed. It provides a quick solution to most problems that might occur (some people never need to use this; but if you are studying late at night & have a problem, the manual provides a first port of call that can often get you moving again).

Recognition

• ACS is known and highly respected internationally: by employers and academics alike:
• Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
• ACS has been training people around the world since 1979
• Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
• Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
• A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.

Extra Books or Reference Materials

• The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
• Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
• Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com

Learn How to Grow Australian Grevillea Plants by Home Studies -Garden School Training Program -UK College