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Boronia pinnata - Sm.

Pinnate Boronia

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Shrub growing to 2m.

The plant prefers light (sandy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; South Wall By; West Wall By;

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

Essential.

An essential oil is obtained from the flowers and the leaves[154, 200]. Used in perfumery[200].

Scented Plants

Flowers: Fresh

The flowers emit a powerful balsamic perfume.

Leaves: Crushed

The leaves have an orangy smell, something like Ruta graveolens

Cultivation details

Requires a rich well-drained lime-free sandy soil in a sunny sheltered position[200]. One form of this species is resistant to salt spray[157]. A very ornamental plant[1], it is hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[157] but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens because of our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. One report says that the plants might succeed on a wall in the milder areas of this country[166], another says that they require greenhouse protection[1] and yet another says that they can be grown outdoors in tubs during the summer but need to be bought indoors in the winter[200]. Plants can flower in their first year from seed if they are pot grown and the young shoot tips are pinched out constantly[78].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse at 15°c[78, 138]. Do not allow the compost to dry out. Germination usually takes place within 4 - 9 weeks at 24°c[138]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe shoot tips or side shoots, 5 - 10cm preferably with a heel, July/August in a frame[78].

Links

Permaculture.info Details of this plant in the Permaculture.info project, a community plant and permaculture database.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria. 0
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[265] Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. Flora of the Sydney Region Reed. Australia. 1993 ISBN 0730104001
Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.

Readers Comments

Boronia pinnata

Micki Perepeczko Sat Nov 20 19:04:16 2004

I would like to grow this plant in Chimoio, Mozamique Africa - where can I get the seeds from

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