Native Flowers - Some Facts About Them. St Anne's Florist Stocks Native Australian Flowers For Perth Delivery

Australian Native Flowers are a great looking long lasting often beautifully scented flowers to have delivered to someone in Perth.

With over 25,000 species of flowering plants, Australia is only matched by South Africa in the abundance and diversity of its native flowers. There are so many flowering plants in Australia that they haven’t even named them all yet – some botanists estimate there are over 30,000 species. Many of these are endemic, which means they are found nowhere else. Native flowers have been used to decorate Australian homes since settlement, but became more popular during Federation (1901) and the Bicentennial celebrations (1988). Now many forms are used as cut flowers, both locally and internationally.

All states throughout Australia are home to distinctive native flowers, but Western Australia is the centre for this amazing diversity. There are over 12,000 species listed as endemic to WA, and many more are yet to be described. Many of the native flower species commonly used as cut flowers originated in WA, such as kangaroo paw, most Banksias, Dryandra, Geleznowia, and Geraldton waxflower. The wildflower season in WA occurs each year from July to October, and is considered one of the top botanical wonders of the world. Flowers start blooming north of Geraldton in July and slowly progress south. There are many reserves and bush areas along the coast and east into the drier areas, and in some places there are fields of everlastings and other wildflowers as far as you can see. The Wildflower Society of Western Australia website is full of information and has a great map of viewing locations around Perth for those who are interested.


Some South African flowers are often mistaken for Australian natives, which is not surprising as these two countries have very similar climates and the flowers of each country are similar in structure. Proteas, Leucadendron, Leucospermum and Erica are all South African natives that are sometimes mistaken for Australian locals. The tea-tree (Leptospermum) is also often thought of as Australian, which many garden tea-tree varieties are. But the most common cut flower tea-trees are bred from Leptospermum scoparium, which is a New Zealand species.

 

Most native flowers have woody stems and these will need to be re-cut with sharp secateurs, and immediately placed in water. Never bash or split the woody stem ends. As a general rule, keep cool whenever possible – there are no tropical Australian natives used regularly as cut flowers. Strip all the leaves from the lower half of each stem, then re cut at least 2 cm off each stem and place in cold water immediately. A preservative is recommended, but not essential. It is important to replace vase water with fresh preservative every day as all natives are thirsty flowers. Most native flowers are not sensitive to ethylene gas, but there are two notable exceptions. Waxflower and Waratah are both sensitive, so keep them away from fruit, car exhausts and cigarette smoke.

St Anne's Florist and Gift Baskets always has available a large range of Australian Native Flowers that are available for Flower Delivery Perth. You can order online at http://www.stannesflorist.com.au/, call us in our Perth Florist Shop on 08 9388 8844 or come into the Flower Shop in Perth at 111 Newcastle Street, Perth Western Australia 6000