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Image Credit: Anna Povey – with permission
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Image Credit: Anna Povey – with permission
Scientific Name: Dillwynia sericea
Common Name: showy parrotpea
Family Classification (Clade): Eudicots
Family: Fabaceae
Form Description: Erect shrub with stiff, lightly haired branches.
Height (m): 0.3 – 0.6
Flowers: Pea, crowded in long sprays, orange/apricot/red tonings with blunt keel which is often greenish yellow.
Fruit: Seed pod – small, sparsely hairy, turn brittle at maturity. Each pod contains only one or two seeds which become hard and turn from green to dark brown when mature.
Municipality
Plant Communities
Habitat Notes
Widespread and frequent in dry open habitats.
Site Tolerance
Dry
Soil Tolerance
Fertile, Loam, Nutrient-poor, Well-drained
General Notes
Requires well drained soil and part shade to full sun. Responds well to pruning.
Propagation Calendar
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Flowering Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec -
Seed Collecting Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec -
Sowing Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec -
Cutting Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Pods can be picked close to maturity and stored in a warm area.
Seed Treatment Method
Hot Water Hot water is used to soften the hard seed case of some species. This replicates the weathering process. Pour hot (not boiling) water over the seeds and allow them to soak for 4-12 hours.
Seed Treatment Notes
Seed extraction can be difficult although leaving seeds attached to the branch appears to aid opening. Pods that do not open will need to be crushed. Seed should be soaked in hot water (just off the boil) for a few hours. It should then be dried before sowing, or seed may be nicked .