Description
Xanthostemon chrysanthus grows as a tree to 10–15 metres (33–49 ft) high and 5–8 metres (16–26 ft) wide in the wild, but generally much more compact in gardens. The bark is rough and the habit bushy. The shiny green elliptic leaves measure 7–22 cm long by 2–9.5 cm wide. They are arranged in whorls along the stems.
The flowerheads, or racemes, are terminal or axillary and measure up to 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter. They are made up of numerous small (1–2 cm diameter) individual golden flowers. Flowering is followed by small (1-1,5 cm) green or brown woody capsules which are ripe between August and February. Flowers can appear at any time of year
Planting and care
- Choose a sunny position and ensure the soil has good drainage. Improve the soil with compost and an organic pelletised fertiliser. The more organic matter in your soil the better it will perform. Generally it’s best to avoid planting into heavy clay soils. Apply some eco-flo gypsum to the soil before planting if you have any concerns.
- Once planted, water in with eco-seaweed and mulch around the plant to help retain moisture and keep the weeds down. Like most rainforest plants, golden pendas require regular moisture in order to thrive.
- Golden pendas can be grown from seed but germination is quite slow so it’s more common to purchase as a potted plant.
- As mentioned above golden pendas grow best in warm climates but they can handle some cooler winter weather. As a guide they will easily grow as far south as Sydney but can only handle the lightest of frosts. If you’re in a borderline region be sure to protect trees when young and select a position which receives maximum winter warmth. In these areas you won’t see as many flowers and growth will be slower.
- Young trees will benefit from a dose of eco-seaweed and eco-aminogro every 2-3 weeks to promote vigour and robust growth. Larger established trees will be content with a yearly top up of compost and organic fertiliser pellets each spring. However if grown in poor soil do this more often in a bid to improve your soil and plant growth.
- Note that golden pendas are not phosphorus sensitive so you don’t need to use a special native fertiliser.
- Golden pendas respond well to pruning so they can easily be maintained as a shrub or an informal hedge. Prune each year after flowering.
- The good news is that golden pendas suffer from minimal pests and diseases. Occasionally you might have an issue with some sap-sucking pests, like aphids which can be controlled with eco-oil or eco-neem.
