Cactus Island Nursery – Plant catalogue September 2009

It’s been a dry, dry month here at the nursery. We haven’t seen rain for months and can’t wait for the rains to arrive. Forecasters are predicting there will not be any rain until November…. Rain or no rain however, the plants have definitely decided Spring’s here, and all are growing well. We have added quite a few new plants this month, some of which are:

Lampranthus Deep Purple & Lampranthus Hot Pink. Commonly called Iceplants, these are truly tough little succulents, which are great for use in rockeries or as groundcover. Spathiphyllum Rob. Commonly called ‘Peace Lily’. Beautiful foliage plant which is excellent for use in shady positions and as indoor plant. Liriope gigantum, the Turf Lily or Giant Liriope. A staple plant for every garden and suited to pots, or as border plant. Pandorea Lady Di, the White Bower Vine. A stunning climbing plant with gorgeous white flowers. Randia fitzalanii, the native Gardenia with edible fruits. Michelia coco, the Large Leafed Port Wine Magnolia with beautiful white fragrant flowers. Garcinia mangostana, the edible Mangosteen, known as one of the most tasty tropical fruits on earth. One of my personal favourites is Murraya Min-a-Min, it’s fragrance draws me to the shade house every morning, it is delicious! It is very, very tough and suitable for low hedges up to 1m tall, topiaries or just a general garden plant!

Some of our Azalea’s, including the popular Azalea Magnifica, are ready for sale again as well, as are 2 of our Bougainvillea’s, Bougainvillea Scarlet Glory & Bougainvillea Orange Glory. Bougainvillea Orange Glory comes with tags as it is Trademark protected by ColourStream Growers. All are available in limited numbers only, grab yours soon if you’d like some! Chamaedorea elegans, the very dainty & elegant Parlour Palm has also come up; we’re now selling small seedlings of those as well.

As always, if any of the plants below are not available on the website, just send me an email to set you up an order – I usually respond within a few hours, and can send a PayPal invoice to make it easy for you!

Kind regards, El – Cactus Island Online Nursery

Palms Remember! We offer great bulk discounts, starting at only 4 plants! Size Price Comments Archontophoenix alexandrae—Alexander Palm 50mm 3.99 Archontophoenix cunninghamiana— Bangalow Palm 50mm 3.99 Areca triandra—Triandra Palm 75mm 7.99 Out of Stock Areca vestiaria—Sunset Palm 100mm 9.99 Out of Stock Arenga engleri—Dwarf Sugar Palm 50mm 4.99 Beccariophoenix madagascariensis – Giant Windowpane Palm/Window Coconut Palm 75mm 6.35 Bismarckia nobilis—Bismarck Palm seedling 9.99 Only 2 left Butia capitata – Wine Palm / Jelly Palm 50mm 6.40 Carpentaria acuminata—Carpie 50mm 3.99 Caryota mitis 50mm out of stock Chamaedorea elegans—Parlour Palm Seedling 3.99 Very small plants Chamaedorea Metallica—Metallic Palm 50mm 4.75 Chamaedorea seifrizzii—Florida Bamboo Palm Seedlings 3.99 Very small – multi-planted Chambeyronia hookeri – Blonde Flamethrower Palm 75mm 9.25 Cyrtostachys lakka/renda - Lipstick Palm/Sealing Wax Palm Seedling 4.99 Out of stock – hope to have new plants in December Dypsis decaryi—Triangle Palm 75mm Seedling 5.99 3.50 Out of Stock Out of Stock Hope to have new plants in December Dypsis leptocheilos—Redneck / Teddy Bear Palm 75mm Seedling 5.50 4.00 Dypsis lutescens—Golden Cane 10x 100mm $25 Special! (Postage depends on postcode) Dypsis Pink Crown seedlings seedling 4.25 Howea forsteriana—Kentia Palm 75mm 5.50 Beautiful plants! Hyophorbe lagenicaulis—Bottle Palm 50mm 5.50 Out of stock Hyophorbe verschaffeltii—Spindle Palm 75mm 7.50 Out of stock Laccospadix australasica—Walking Stick Palm seedling 3.65 Latania loddigesii—Blue Latan Palm 75mm 7.85 Only 2 left Licuala grandis—Ruffled Fan Palm seedling 4.25 Licuala ramsayi—Australian Fan Palm seedling 3.35 Phoenix roebelenii—Dwarf Date Palm seedling 75mm 3.50 6.50 Out of stock Out of stock Pinanga coronata—Ivory Cane Palm 50mm 6.50 Out of stock Ptychosperma elegans—Solitaire Palm seedling 4.99 Out of stock Ptychosperma macarthuri seedling 4.99 Only a few left Ptychosperma microcarpum - Clustering PNG Palm 50mm 3.60 Ravenea rivularis—Majestic Palm 50mm 75mm 3.50 4.75 Roystonea regia—Cuban Royal Palm 50mm 5.99 Very tall stock – postage depends on postcode Sabal minor—Dwarf Palmetto seedling 3.95 Veitchia merrillii—Christmas Palm 50mm 5.50 Only a few left Washingtonia robusta—Mountain Cabbage Tree 50mm 4.50 Coconut Palms (inc. Dwarf Coconuts) Price reduction! Online Special…. All Coconuts are supplied as germinated nuts, with roots & foliage shoots. All are supplied with growing instruction. Western Australia can receive just-sprouted nuts only, with shoots up to 20mm in length. WA customers: please check whether just-sprouted nuts of the variety of your choice are available at the time of ordering. Every coconut attracts a $15 postage charge. Three coconuts can be posted for $20. Price Comments Golden Malay Dwarf Coconut 33.99 Golden Spicata Dwarf Coconut 33.99 Green Malay Dwarf Coconut 33.99 Orange Spicata Dwarf coconut 33.99 Red Malay Dwarf Coconut 33.99 Red Spicata Dwarf Coconut 33.99 Yellow Malay/Nias Yellow Dwarf Coconut 33.99 Any 3 of the above coconuts 90.00 + $20 postage Cycads Size Price Comments Cycas revoluta - Sago Palm 50mm 3.99 Zamia furfuracea—Cardboard Palm 50mm 75mm 3.50 8.10 Foliage Plants Size Price Comments Acmena smithii—Lilly Pilly 75mm 5.50 Alpinea ‘Red Back’ - Native Ginger 50mm 4.99 4 available Anthurium macdougalii 75mm out of stock Beaucarnea guatemalensis—Red Ponytail Palm 100mm seedling 9.25 3.75 Beaucarnea recurvata – Ponytail Palm seedling 3.50 Cordyline Hawaiian Sunset 50mm out of stock – can possibly order in Cordyline Pink Diamond 50mm out of stock – can possibly order in Cordyline Pink Tip 50mm out of stock – can possibly order in Cordyline Purple Compacta 50mm out of stock – can possibly order in Cordyline Purple Prince—deep plum purple 100mm 50mm 8.50 4.99 7 available Cordyline Red Edge 50mm out of stock Cordyline Romba—funky pink/ red/purple 100mm 8.50 Cordyline Rosebud 50mm out of stock – can possibly order in Croton Colours of Africa 50mm 4.99 10 available Dracaena concinna – Red Edged Dragon Tree 50mm 4.25 Dracaena draco—Dragon’s Blood Tree seedling 4.50 Dracaena hookeriana 50mm 4.25 out of stock Liriope gigantum (Turf Lily, Giant Liriope) 50mm 4.50 Monstera deliciosa—Split Leaf Philodendron/Delicious Monster 75mm 12.99 Pandanus monticola—Screw Pine seedling 3.99 Pandanus tectorius syn.pendunculatus —Beach Screw Pine 75mm 10.50 Rhoeo spathacea—Moses in a Cradle offset 4.99 Spathiphyllum Rob (Peace Lily) 50mm 5.00 Xhantorrhoea johnsonii—Blackboy/Grass Tree seedling, 40mm jiffy pot 5.50 Out of stock. Hope to have ready in summer Flowering & Fruiting Plants Size Price Comments Ananas comosus—Pineapple fruit plant 100mm 9.50 Back in stock! Azalea Brides Bouquet— double white 50mm 4.99 5 available Azalea Christmas Cheer—Best for bonsai, cherry 50mm 6.50 out of stock Azalea Dogwood—Salmon pink & white seedling 75mm 4.99 8.99 10 available 5 available Azalea Fairy Queen—Magical rosy pink 50mm 75mm 4.99 8.99 4 available 1 available Azalea Glowing Embers—Like fire! 50mm 6.50 out of stock Azalea magnifica—beautiful purple 75mm 8.99 Azalea Red Wing—Best all round performance. Red 50mm 75mm 4.99 8.99 5 available 5 available Bauhinia monandra—Pink Orchid Tree 100mm 19.99 (inc. postage) out of stock Bougainvillea Scarlet Glory seedling 4.50 5 available Bougainvillea Orange Glory (With tags) seedling 4.99 3 available Calliandra tweedii—Mexican Flame Tree 50mm out of stock Clivia Belgian Hybrid 75mm 8.99 Only 5 left Clivia miniata – Kaffir Lily 75mm 4.75 Doryanthus excelsa—Gymea Lily 50mm 4.99 Only 5 left Frangipani Darwin Harney cutting out of stock Frangipani Watermelon cutting out of stock Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen) 100mm 14.99 5 available Gardenia Aimee Yoshiba/First Love 75mm 7.99 out of stock Gardenia florida 50mm 4.50 Gardenia Golden Magic 50mm 7.99 out of stock Gardenia Professor Pucci 75mm 7.99 out of stock Gordonia axillaris—Fried Egg Plant 50mm out of stock Hibiscus Fantasia—Huge white flowers 50mm out of stock Hibiscus Jayella—Unique golden brown 50mm out of stock Hibiscus landersii—Cherry double pink 75mm 6.50 4 available Hibiscus Maui—huge tropical pink 50mm out of stock Hibiscus Regius maximus—Curvy red 50mm out of stock Hymenosporum flavum—Native Frangipani 75mm 7.99 Ixora Prince of Orange 75mm out of stock Mandevilla Crimson 75mm out of stock Mandevilla Pink Petite 75mm out of stock Mandevilla Red Riding Hood 75mm out of stock Markhamia lutea—Nile Tulip Tree 75mm 7.50 out of stock Medinilla magnifica—Malaysian Orchid 75mm out of stock Metrosideros Fiji—NZ Christmas Tree 75mm out of stock Michelia coco (Large Leafed Port Wine Magnolia) 50mm 5.50 Murraya Min-a-Min (Dwarf Orange Jessamine, Dwarf Mock Orange) 50mm 4.65 Nerium Oleander Dwarf Apricot 50mm 3.50 Nerium Oleander Madame Dubois (white) 50mm 3.50 Nerium Oleander Splendens—double Pink 50mm 3.50 Nerium Oleander Souvenir de Cazalis Alluf (red) 50mm 3.50 Pandorea Lady Di (tm) 50mm 4.75 Pyrostegia venusta—Orange Trumpet Creeper 75mm out of stock Randia fitzalanii (Native Gardenia) 50mm 4.95 Need fertiliser, plants quite yellow Stephanotis floribunda—Madagascar Jasmine 75mm out of stock Strelitzia Nicolai—Giant or White Bird of Paradise Seedling 75mm 4.50 9.50 Strelitzia reginae—Bird of Paradise Seedling 75mm 8.50 out of stock Succulents Size Price Comment Adenium arabicum—Fat Desert Rose Seedling 8.99 Out of stock Adenium Obesum—Desert Rose 50mm Out of Stock Agave bracteosa—Squid Agave Seedling 4.50 Agave filifera—Thread Agave Seedling 4.50 Agave parryi—Parry’s Agave Seedling 4.50 Agave Victoria-reginae—Queen’s Agave 50mm 9.99 Aloe Africana—African Tree Aloe seedling 4.99 Aloe juvenna cutting 5.00 Aloe parvibracteata offset 12.99 Postage depends on postcode Aloe vera 50mm 3.99 Aptenia cordifolia—Baby Sun Rose cutting 3.50 Out of stock Euphorbia grandicornis—Cow’s Horn Cactus seedling 5.50 Only 1 or 2 left Euphorbia Lactea—African Milk Plant 50mm 8.50 Euphorbia millii—Crown of Thorns 50mm 6.99 Euphorbia trigona—African Triangle Plant cutting 4.95 Huernia lavranii cutting 8.99 Only 1 left Huernia schneiderana cutting 6.50 Only 5 left Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi offset 5.50 Not all with roots Lampranthus Deep Purple (Iceplant) 50mm 4.50 Lampranthus Hot Pink (Iceplant) 50mm 4.50 Pachypodium geayi—Purple Madagascar Palm 50mm Out of stock Pachypodium lamerei—Madagascar Palm seedling 5.50 Pedilanthus macrocarpa—Slipper Plant cutting 6.50 only 3 left Plectranthus caninus—Dogbane offset 4.99 Portulacaria afra—Moneypenny/Jade plant cutting 2.50 Sansevieria Hahnii Gold 100mm 9.99 Only 3 left Stapelia grandiflora cutting out of stock Yucca aloifolia—Spanish Bayonet seedlings Seedlings coming soon! Yucca filamentosa Seedlings Seedlings coming soon! Yucca rigida—Blue Yucca 50mm out of stock Yucca rostrata—Beaked Yucca 50mm out of stock Cactus Island Online Nursery can source 1000’s of palms, cycads, succulents, azalea, foliage & flowering plants, exotics & native plants. If you are looking for specific plant species, send us an email, we may be able to help. Cactus Island Nursery is an online nursery / mail order nursery only. We post plants every Monday, payment cut off time is 8am. Orders paid for after 8am will be posted the following Monday. Postage is a flat rate of $15 - for unlimited amounts of plants, excluding coconuts. All items are sent via express post. Coconuts incur $15 postage per nut, or 3 coconuts can be sent for $20. Cactus Island Nursery cannot send plants to Western Australia, Tasmania or Internationally due to quarantine issues. W.A. can receive just-sprouted coconuts. Please review the plant growing information on the back of your invoice for tips and plant care instructions. Kind regards, Dan & El

New! Flamethrower Palms (Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. hookeri)

Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. hookeri is commonly called “Blonde Flamethrower Palm’. It is similar to the standard Chambeyronia macrocarpa, except for the cream to yellow crownshaft on the blonde version. New leaves emerge bright red, and fade to a shiny dark green after a few weeks. Some people believe new leaves on the Blonde Flamethrower Palm are redder than leaves on the standard Flamethrower Palm. This Palm is fairly small which makes it manageable for most gardens; it grows to 7-10m tall. The Blonde Flamethrower’s fronds arch very gracefully, and it is self cleaning as an added bonus! A well behaved palm in general... The Flamethrower Palm grows well in most parts of Australia, including Sydney and Melbourne, as long as the temperature does not go below 0 degrees. This palm is best grown in a shady position, as full sun does tend to burn the leaves. The Blonde Flamethrower Palm originates in New Caledonian rainforests, where it grows in very moist positions. To grow this palm well, keep it in a moist spot, in very fertile soil. Keep them well mulched, and fertilise regularly with a slow release fertiliser or palm & foliage fertiliser. Add lots of organic matter. Some people believe the Blonde Flamethrower Palm may be able to handle the sun better than the standard Flamethrower Palm, but make sure you adjust them slowly if you are going to attempt to grow it in a sunnier spot.

Cactus Island Nursery now has these beautiful palms available via mail order, or you can find them in the online nursery. Visit Online Nursery. Note the great discounts if you purchase multiple palms!

New! Wine Palm / Jelly Palm / Pindo Palm (Butia capitata)

Butia capitata – the hardiest feather palm in the world!

Butia capitata is commonly called Wine Palm, Pindo Palm or Jelly Palm. It is a beautiful, hardy feather palm from Brazil. Leaves are light green to bluish gray, and the palms are highly variable, every palm is different. It is a very manageable palm, growing slowly to 4-6m tall. They are also suitable as a very graceful indoor plant, in a bright spot. The Jelly Palm is not only very beautiful, it is useful too. One of the hardiest edible palms in the world; Jelly Palms bear delicious, edible fruits, which are sometimes called Pindo Dates.

Butia capitata palms are very cold hardy, making them suitable for gardens around Australia. These frost hardy palms can handle temperatures down to around -10! It is best grown in full sun to part shade, in a sandy, well draining soil. This palm tends to have longer, more graceful foliage in shady spots, but palms grown in full sun tend to be more compact.

The Jelly Palm is very adaptable and drought tolerant. A very good palm for South East Queensland where water restrictions are imminent and frosts common!

Butia capitata palms can be grown fairly close to the coast as well, but may need some protection from salt spray & winds by means of a fence / hedge or similar. Jelly Palms are fairly slow growing, but growth can be sped up by fertilising regularly, and providing adequate water.

Regular watering will improve the yield, just in case the 25kg or so of fruit isn’t enough to keep you satisfied. Fruits are very versatile, and can be eaten straight of the tree when ripe, or made into jelly or jam, or used in pies and cakes. The fruits tends to be fairly stringy (fibrous flesh), which is why it is usually made into a jelly. This is a shame as it would be a fruit which could rival your apples, pears & bananas! Fruits are orangey yellow, and vary in size from cherry to much bigger. Butia capitata fruit is delicious, very tropical, and is described as very strong, apple, pineapple, vanilla and apricot. All mixed into 1 fruit. Seeds contain almost 50% of edible oil, which is used to create margarine.

Butia capitata is sometimes crossed with the Queen Palm or Cocos Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) to produce the Mule Palm. The Mule Palm is very beautiful, but unfortunately sterile.

Cactus Island Nursery now has Butia capitata for sale, as always we offer discount for quantity as well. Contact us for mail order plants, or visit our online nursery

Queensland Going Green Expo

Queensland Expo - Commercial Halls 1 & 2 (RNA Showgrounds - Brisbane)

Friday  September 18
10.00 am - 6.00 pm
Business Day

Saturday September 19
10.00 am - 6.00 pm
General Admission

Sunday September 20
10.00 am  - 5.00 pm
General Admission

Admission: $ 15.00  
Concession:$ 10.00  Family Ticket: $ 25.00                                                                                                                                  
Children under 14 free if accompanied by an adult.

Make your own Virgin Coconut Oil

Home made VIRGIN COCONUT OIL – Cold process method
For 1-5 Mature brown coconuts (13months or older). Young coconuts do not have
much oil and you need heat to extract it. Mature coconuts have a higher lauric acid
content.

Instructions:
• Break the dehusked coconuts in half using the back of a big knife around the
equator. This should only take a couple of good hits.
• Save the coconut water. Strain this through a clean muslin or cheesecloth filter
into a large bowl.
• Grate the coconut meat finely.
• Place the gratings in a muslin or cheesecloth and wring it tightly to squeeze
out the milk. Do not mix it with water.
• Put it in a wide mouthed jar. Glass is best.
• Put the squeezed gratings into the bowl with strained coconut water and allow
them to soak it up well.
• Squeeze out the second lot of coconut milk.
• Mix both lots well into the large glass jar. (jar should be only half filled)
• Cover the jar and set it aside in a warmed dark cabinet (33- 37degrees is best)
If you are using a light to warm the cabinet wrap the jar in a dark cloth. The
mixture is photo-sensitive and will go yellowish if light gets to it.
• Do not move your coconut mixture once you have mixed the first and second
extracts of milk
• In around 10 hours (right temperature and well matured coconuts) your oil will
be ready. There should be 3 layers. The top is the white creamy layer; if you
did everything right it should be paper thin. This is called the protein cake.
The middle layer is your Virgin Coconut Oil and the lowest layer is your
water.
• Harvesting is the tricky part. Using a perforated stainless flat ladle, take out
the protein cake and put it on a mesh over a separate jar, to collect these oil
drippings, they are often used for massage oils.
• Using a soup ladle, slowly scoop out the white oil; avoid disturbing the water
level below.
• Sometimes there are still sediments of the protein cake, these can be removed
by pouring the oil through a coffee filter ~or 5 micron lab filter.
• The remaining water can be processed into vinegar and is already somewhat
acidic.
Remember, the coconut tree is the Tree of Life. All parts of the tree, from the tip of
the leaves to the end of the roots, to everything else that we get from it, from the
inside of the fruit and the inside of the trunk and from its flower, will keep us
healthier and ALIVE!!
Recipe supplied by Tess Mamangun, VIVIENDO Philippines