WHAT'S LOOKING EXOTIC IN 2017

You are right Pete......not the scorching temps you get inland. Tender perennials though do well here as the winters are warmer.
Will still look to grow some of those beauties you grow

 

Madam galen is a good un I think.
I tried the species, radicans,and really it tends to sucker too much for my liking, still trying to get rid of it.
Watering from below was the key, I found with, I'm gonna say it, Clianthus formosa, as it was known when I grew it.

 

I'm sure you stand a good chance with the likes of Bougainvillea and anything that likes a long season, your growing season is probably at least a month or two longer than mine.

 

Good suggestion pete.....will check out a few ​

 

If you have acid soil grow an Embothrium for me.
Never been able to here, even though I get away with a Rhodo and Camellias.
I think a lot of the Chilean stuff/ southern S.American, really do well in the west.

 

As my older Lemon (which fruited last year) had nothing this winter, I picked up a Meyers Lemon in a GC last February which had some 'marbles' on it, they are now ripening but I didn't know Meyers isn't a true Lemon being crossed with either a Mandarin or range.
Anyone else had the fruit?

 

I had a meyers lemon growing in my greenhouse border before I had to move it, the greenhouse that is.
It never tasted like a true lemon and was supposed to be hardyish, but only survived one winter, badly damaged, once the greenhouse was moved.
Nice lot of fruit on that small plant, I often wonder how they do it as in subsequent years it can be difficult.

 

@CarolineL - Swainsona is easy given the following;
1] avoid excessive root disturbance. I germinate them in moistened vermiculite and transfer to an 8cm pot with the drainage holes seriously enlarged. As the roots fill the pot I transfer them to the final pot in that growing pot which I hide with a layer of grit.
2] as @pete said I water the seedlings from the bottom. Larger plants can be watered any which way you want.
3] my growing medium is 30 or 40% sand with MPC and slow release granules.
4] don't let seedlings dry out

@Verdun - what inland heat! Today was two t-shirts, one long sleeved t-shirt and a woolly fleece day! And whilst I'm bellyaching about the weather whilst everyone else got some much needed rain on Wednesday we got 15 minutes of drizzle and that was it!

 

Thanks longk - I have tried growing in pure perlite, but not watering from below - I would have thought that in Oz they get rained on and don't live in places with snow melt which is normally why it is recommended. I will try again next spring!

 

Pretty warm, again, down here today. And tomorrow. Sorry longk
I think it has been an excellent summer
We should keep our summer stuff in flower for a good few weeks yet

 

Meant to add, the fragrance when I approached front door just now was intoxicating. I have several perennial heliotropes there incl some white varieties. The "cherry pie" smell is delicious....should be planted more folks

 

Ha ha nearly right

 

My first gardnerianum this year.

 

Gorgeous gardnerianum!
Here is cobaea pringlei - supposedly hardy perennial though I killed it a couple of years ago. Am now taking lots of cuttings!