Woody perennials

The Grevillea project has been expanded to include a much stronger component of staff research and breeding activity. The general aims remain as the production of hybrids with improved potential for cut flower use coupled with greater tolerance of environmental conditions such as waterlogging, high soil phosphorus levels and frost. Developmental analysis is being used to explore the utility of pruning and training systems for increasing the proportion of first-class blooms.

In the Ficus project a promising pink-petioled form of Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) suitable for indoor plant use has been selected from seedling populations and an examination of the developmental histology of callus formation in cuttings of Moreton Bay Fig and Port Jackson Fig (Ficus rubiginosa) has been undertaken to improve understanding and control of vegetative propagation systems for superior forms.