Nuytsia Floribunda, known as the West Australian Christmas Tree, belongs to the Loranthaceae family. It can grow as either a shrub or as a 10 meters high tree.
This famous Western Australian native has a beautiful golden flower display in winter. Its blooming time comes around Christmas, which explains where it got its name from ‘West Australian Christmas Tree’
How to Grow Nuytsia Floribunda
From Seeds:
Seeds always need to germinate before sprouting. As for Nuytsia floribunda, seeds need to rot first. Sow your seeds in sandy soil or a special sterile seedling soil mix. This will allow the bacteria and fungi in the soil to rot the seeds.
After that, sow each seed in a pot individually, or you can sow a few in a larger pot. Once they sprout, you can transplant them to the ground. I would personally recommend you move it to a big pot until it grows a bit thick and large.
Note:
This plant can take up to 20 years to flower from seeds. If you do not want to wait that long, you can find a potted one in a nursery. However, since Nuytsia floribunda can grow quite large, you may not find it. You can still order it from any nearby nursery and they will provide it for you soon.
Related article: How to Grow and Care for a Jasmine Plant
Conditions and Requirements:
Even though Nuytsia floribunda loves a warm environment, it can resist drought. So, it is best to always keep it moist and never dry. Make sure you plant it in a cool and shaded place.
When your plant grows a bit bigger, you can move it to a sunny area. It would need around 4-5 hours of sun every day. Sun helps it to grow faster. It is completely okay to keep it in a shaded area as long as it gets at least 7 hours of sunlight daily.
Soil
This cheerful plant prefers sandy soil or sandy loam. However, it can still grow in some other soil types.
As for the Ph level, acidic, neutral, or alkaline soil is all ok to use to grow west Australian Christmas Tree.
Water
Nuytsia floribunda does not require much water, however: the soil needs to always be moist. A drainage system needs to be provided as well. So, if you’re using a pot, make sure it has holes at the bottom.
Water it only once you see the top inch of the soil dry. Don’t overwater it otherwise you can cause root rot and eventually kill your plant.
Related article: Can too Much Water Kill your Plant
Nutrients
Potting soil already contains enough nutrients for it to grow. Once the plant doubles in size, move it to a new pot with new potting soil.
Nuytsia floribunda is a hemiparasitic plant, which means that it needs a host plant to grow along with and to get nutrients by attaching itself to the roots of other plants and sucking their sap.
I hope this information was helpful 💕
Photo Credit: By Photographs by Gnangarra…commons.wikimedia.org, CC BY 2.5 au,
