Aussie Gardening

[Shane_O]

I have recently bought a plant called virgilia (also known as cape-lilac or tree-in-a-hurry) apart from what the tag sais I have no other knowledge of how this tree does in Australian conditions.

Has anyone grown this tree? I live in the Adelaide region so am interested in any advice on watering, feeding and if the root system is invasive.

If anyone can help I would really appreciate it.

Shane

[grosh147]

g'day Shane, thought i did have some growing at my place as the flowers are similar but leaves are different. these cape lilacs[there are a couple of cape lilacs, but different species] don't live long and as they come from South Africa should be suited to adelaides climate, as most South African plants are. virgilias belong to the fabaceae family and are legumes like the cassias. they grow exceptionally fast, as much as 6 foot a year to a height of about 30 feet or 9 metres and flower in late spring. they are shallow rooted so may need staking in windy conditions. regular watering in summer can prolong flowering until autumn. apparently they propogate readily from the seeds so you may get seedlings emerging around the tree. sorry but the imfo i've got hope it helps