It is common for important native plants to be growing amongst exotic trees and woody and herbaceous weeds. These native plants can be an invaluable start to your revegetation program, providing a source of seed for natural regeneration and for growing tubestock, and providing protection for seedlings you plant. It is important to start to familiarise yourself with those plants that are native to your property, and those that are weeds.
There are many good books available to assist you in this including “It’s Blue with Five Petals” by Ann Prescott, and “Plants of the Adelaide Plains and Hills” by Dashorst and Jessop. Also the third edition of the publication “Watercourse Management – A Field Guide”, contains good information on identifying native and weed plant species, and this will be forwarded to you from the Board when it is completed.
Revegetation can be undertaken using either hand or machine direct seeding, or by planting tubestock (seedlings, typically raised in small tube-like pots). When deciding on the revegetation method(s) to be used consider the following advantages and disadvantages (from Dalton, 1993).
Direct seeding – Advantages
- Lower cost
- High plant density and random distribution providing a “natural” look
- Plants are more wind stable as the root systems are not disturbed.
Direct seeding – Disadvantages
- Less reliable than tube stock
- Seedling distribution can be patchy
- Much greater quantities of seed are required than for tube stock (however, compare this with savings on propagation and planting costs)
- Limited to species which germinate readily from seed
Tube stock – Advantages
- Reliable results
- Tried and well proven method
- High control over species mix, density and spacing
- More visible results in the short term
Tube stock - Disadvantages
- Higher cost and more labour intensive
NOTE:
Sourced from Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board