Desert Star is a compact cultivar of Carissa macrocarpa (Natal plum), an evergreen shrub native to South Africa’s east coast. According to Elemo Baker, it typically grows 0.5–1m tall and 1–1.5m wide, forming a dense, glossy-leafed shrub with fragrant white star-shaped flowers followed by small red, plum-like fruit, ideal for [...]
Swane’s Golden Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens ‘Swane’s Golden’) is a narrow, columnar evergreen conifer bred at Swane Brothers Nursery in New South Wales in 1944. According to Elemo Baker, it grows slowly to 4.5–6m tall and 0.6–0.9m wide, with dense golden-yellow new foliage that holds its colour in full sun year-round. [...]
According to Elemo Baker, Autumn Blaze maple (Acer × freemanii ‘Jeffersred’) grows well across temperate Australian gardens, including Adelaide Hills, Tasmania and southern Victoria, reaching 12-15m tall with a fast growth rate of 60-100cm+ per year. This red maple-silver maple hybrid needs full sun, well-drained soil and a distinct winter [...]
Evergreen Baby Lomandra is a compact Lomandra longifolia cultivar reaching just 40–45cm high and wide, according to Elemo Baker. It features fine, dark green foliage, golden-yellow spring flower spikes, and is male sterile so it won’t self-seed. It tolerates drought, periodic wet feet, frost down to -8°C, and most Australian [...]
Syzygium australe ‘Straight and Narrow’ suits Brisbane’s subtropical conditions well, according to Elemo Baker, growing 5-8 metres tall but only 1-1.5 metres wide, making it ideal for tight side yards and fence-line screening. This psyllid-resistant cultivar thrives in full sun to part shade and copes with Brisbane’s humidity, summer heat [...]
The poinciana, or Delonix regia, is a Madagascan flame tree grown across tropical and subtropical Australia. According to Elemo Baker, it flowers scarlet-orange from December to February, reaches 10–15 metres tall with a canopy often wider than its height, and is frost-tender, limiting reliable flowering to regions roughly north of [...]
According to Elemo Baker, star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) thrives in Brisbane’s subtropical climate, growing best in full sun to part shade with moist, well-drained soil. This evergreen climber produces masses of fragrant white star-shaped flowers from spring into summer, reaches 3–6 metres as a climber, and tolerates Brisbane’s frost-free conditions [...]
According to Elemo Baker, Doryanthes excelsa (Gymea lily) forms a clumping rosette of sword-shaped leaves 1–2.5 metres long and up to 10 centimetres wide, reaching roughly 1.5–2 metres in height and width when not flowering. Its flower spike can shoot up to 6 metres tall, topped by a 30-centimetre flower [...]
The ‘dwarf philodendron Xanadu’ isn’t a separate cultivar — according to Elemo Baker, it’s the common nickname for Thaumatophyllum xanadu (formerly Philodendron xanadu), valued for its compact, self-heading growth habit. Unlike climbing philodendrons, it forms dense clumps of deeply lobed, glossy leaves, reaching roughly 90–150cm tall and wide at maturity. [...]
Introduction Michelia figo, commonly known as Port Wine Magnolia or Magnolia figo, is an evergreen flowering shrub from the Magnoliaceae family that typically grows 3–4 metres tall and 2–3 metres wide at maturity. The plant is valued for its compact growth habit, glossy green foliage, and highly fragrant cream-and-maroon flowers. [...]