What's wrong with Hovea?

[Diane Whitehead]

I am considering buying seeds of a couple of Hovea species on
rareplants.de, which has a good selection.

I decided to check them out in several books that I consult to
see whether Southern plants have a chance to be hardy for me.
Not mentioned.

I have a stack of Australian garden books (how to grow Australian
plants in Australia).  Also no mention.

Is there something wrong with Hovea?  The pictures look pretty.

[fermi de Sousa]

Diane,
nothing's wrong with them but they are hardly grown!
Goldfield Revegetation Nursery sell some which is where I got ours.
Collecting the seeds is probably difficult.
Ours survive down to -7^oC
(and 40+^oC - which we are expecting tomorrow!)
cheers
fermi

[Diane Whitehead]

We rarely experience -7 (though never get past +32), so maybe one will grow
in my garden.

Which species do you have, Fermi?

rareplants.de lists acutifolia, elliptica, lanceolata, linearis, longifolia, montana, pungens, rosmarinifolia, and trisperma

[Maggi Young]

It doesn't seem as though too many folks are growing Hovea in the UK, Diane.
The RHS Plantfinder only lists one nursery www.plantbase.co.uk which seems to offer two species -  H. montana and E. elliptica

[fermi de Sousa]

We rarely experience -7 (though never get past +32), so maybe one will grow
in my garden.

Which species do you have, Fermi?

rareplants.de lists acutifolia, elliptica, lanceolata, linearis, longifolia, montana, pungens, rosmarinifolia, and trisperma

I'm not entirely sure, Diane!
I think it's a form of the "common" form - Hovea heterophylla as it's certainly not the "tree Hovea" (H. elliptica) being barely 20 cm high but growing in tough conditions at the base of a rock - it hasn't spread much in 8 or so years.
This is a link to the Goldfields Nursery site: http://www.goldfieldsrevegetation.com.au/index.asp
cheers
fermi

[Diane Whitehead]

They have an exciting range of plants, including ones that my books
say are very difficult from seed.  Some are available as "tubestock"
which sounds sterile enough for export, but no mention about selling
let alone exporting.

I guess I'll have to drop in next time I go down under.

[fermi de Sousa]

They have an exciting range of plants, including ones that my books
say are very difficult from seed.  Some are available as "tubestock"
which sounds sterile enough for export, but no mention about selling
let alone exporting.

I guess I'll have to drop in next time I go down under.

You're welcome to visit us - we're 30 minutes South of them
"Tubestock" usually means 1" or 2" tubes of potting mix - bark/wood-based material not soil.
I don't know if they export but you can always ask them.
cheers
fermi