Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

The New Rural Industries
A handbook for Farmers and Investors

Welcome to the BLANDFORDIA chapter of RIRDC's major new publication (contents page here) on nearly 100 new rural industries.

Blandfordia

Introduction

The genus Blandfordia (Christmas bells) is very distinctive, and is recognised as a monogeneric family Blandfordiaceae. There are four species in the genus: B. grandiflora R.Br; B. nobilis Sm.; B. cunninghamii Lind.; and B. punicea Labill Sweet, all endemic to eastern Australia. They are distributed along the eastern coast of Queensland, NSW and Tasmania, with B. grandiflora occurring on the mainland and Fraser Island from 24 to 34°S, and B. nobilis occurring from 34°S (Sydney, NSW) to approximately 36°S. B. cunninghamii occurs in the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains regions of NSW (34°S) and B. punicea is endemic to Tasmania.

The natural habitat of the genus has been disappearing since the time of European settlement, and it would seem that the whole genus may be under threat in the wild, since its distribution along the eastern coast of Australia, includes some of the most heavily populated and rapidly developing areas of the continent.

The genus has been exploited as a bush-picked seasonal cut flower crop for many years on the domestic market, and increasingly for overseas markets. Commercial cultivation of Blandfordia species began about 9 years ago. Blandfordia is among many members of Australia’s indigenous flora which are now begining to be cultivated commercially for international and domestic markets).

Blandfordia is a very attractive focal flower, with a wide range of colours, an attractive shape and a long vase life. Eleven types of the flower colour (from red to yellow) and eight different shapes have been identified.

Blandfordia grandiflora is a very slow-growing crop taking at least 3 years to produce its flowers. It has quite specific requirements for soils, water and nutrients. It is also subjected to weed infestation, and requires close husbandry. A good understanding of horticultural practices and postharvest handling is required for produce this crop.

At present the growers from eastern Australia (Port Macquarie area, see map) are the only world suppliers of this novel cut flower variety. It is believed, however, that Zimbabwe, Israel and other countries are now preparing to market Blandfordia.

Markets and marketing issues

The formation in 1989 of a group of growers, researchers, advisers and other interested parties known as Blandfordia Research and Extention Group (BREG), has consolidated efforts to develop and market Blandfordia as a commercial cut flower. At present, Blandfordia is cultivated by a small number of growers in northern New South Wales, and some blooms are still harvested from the wild under licence. Flowers harvested from the wild are sold on the domestic market only. Blandfordia flowers during October–January (early summer, Christmas). There is a scarcity of flowers during the northern hemisphere winter, so this product has a ready market there and could earn substantial export income for Australia.

Blandfordia blooms are grown and packed for market on the farm. Those destined for the domestic market are sent directly to agents at the metropolitan flower markets or to local retailers. Flowers destined for export must be carefully checked for quality and freedom from pests and diseases. They are graded and usually fumigated or dipped before packing on the farm, and kept in cool storage until transported to the exporter. They are again checked by Australian quarantine officers before being dispatched to overseas destinations. On arrival, flowers are checked again by the importer’s quarantine services before being auctioned and distributed to customers.

Trial shipments of the Blandfordia flowers to Japan began in December 1991, and further shipments have been made each year since. The price at the Tokyo flower auction reached $A5/ stem in 1991, with an immediate order for 20,000 stems per week for the Tokyo market alone!

Only cultivated flowers are of export quality and can meet Japan’s phytosanitary requirements. The flowers were shipped to Holland for the first time in 1993. Total export production has increased slowly to a total of 50,000 stems in 1996, while home consumption is around 250,000 stems (IHM 1997).

Production requirements

The natural habitat of B. grandiflora are the Moist areas of coastal heathland with an annual rainfall of 1000–1600 mm, and a temperature range of 0–35°C, are the natural habitat of B. grandiflora.

The preferred growing medium for Blandfordia is a mixture of equal quantities of peat and coarse clean sand. The pH should be in a range 5.0–5.5 and lime and dolomite are used to achieve this.

The water requirements of Blandfordia plants of different ages have not been determined, but it has been suggested that older plants require less frequent watering. The plants require adequate water during budding and flowering. Through the summer, daily watering is required. In winter plants are watered less frequently.

Varieties

At present three biotechnology companies are involved in micropropagation and trials of selected clones. These clones were released under contract by the University of Technology, Sydney. New selections are being made and are being micropropagated for future trials. Blandfordia is very slow growing, however, and the commercialis-ation is still very much in the trial-and-error stage. There is still much to be done before production of this crop will meet the market demand.

Other species in the genus also present horticultural potential, but have not been investigated in detail so far. B. nobilis, for example, with small bells has great potential as a pot plant. B. cunninghamii presents qualities other species do not possess. It has long leaves which droop gracefully and spectacular bells, and would be attractive as a cut flower or pot plant. B. punicea, which is endemic to Tasmania, usually has scarlet flowers, finished off with brilliant yellow wings. This species also has cut flower potential.

Table 1. Average prices per stem achieved in Holland and Japan ($A)

Agronomy

To date, Blandfordia has been grown commercially in 5–7 litre plastic planter bags with 3 plants per bag, but root-binding and crowding is apparent after 4 years of growth. This does not change the frequency of flowering, however, and the number of flowering stems has not fallen.

A new phase of crop development—field production—has just begun. Two-year-old seedlings have been transplanted into beds at densities of 65 plants/m2. Field production should make the crop more economic, although the initial costs of crop establishment are high. Protective structures are needed to prevent insect and bird damage to field-grown plants and so ensure the quality of blooms.

Although Blandfordia grow in poor soils in the wild, they do much better under a suitable fertiliser regime and, indeed, their growth is retarded if they do not receive appropriate nutrients. A range of slow-release fertilisers should be incorporated into the growing medium. To maintain good growth, a two-part soluble fertiliser should applied regularly. Regular application of fertiliser at fairly low concentrations, together with slow-release fertiliser, gives excellent results.

Disease control

Blandfordia grandiflora appears to be susceptible to soil-borne pathogens, namely Pythium speciesand Phytophthora species. Wet conditions and poor drainage must be avoided in the cultivation of Blandfordia. Botrytis flower rot has been observed during storage or shipment. It may be caused by hot, humid conditions, the preharvest fungicidal sprays or by storage at too low a temperature.

Helicoverpa armigera (corn earworm), Epiphyas postvittana (light-brown apple moth), Pseudococcus longispinosus (long-tailed mealy bug), and thrips have been identified as the main insect pests of Blandfordia. Pseudococcus longispinosus has proven to be the most intractable pest problem to date. Other insect pests encountered are scalea andaphids. Rats may attack corms, especially those in pots and planterbags.

Blandfordia plants do not compete well with other vegetation and can be choked out, with stoloniferous invaders particularly troublesome. Liverworts and mosses can be harmful, especially for young plants. Weed control recommendations are required for future production, based on herbicides, cultivation, and mulches.

Harvest and handling

At present, Blandfordia flowers are harvested when one flower per cluster is open, although earlier harvesting is being tried by some growers. The use of floral preservatives such as 8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate (HQS), sucrose and silver thiosulphate does not improve the keeping quality of Blandfordia stems picked with one flower about to open or already open. Blandfordia stems respond well to cool storage and appear not to be sensitive to ethylene. Flowers can be stored at 1°C for at least 30 days. At 1°C there is no bud opening at 2 weeks. Flowers stored at 1°C kept just as well when packed dry in plastic bags as they did when stored in water. Stems stored at 10°C for 1 week have a vase life of 6 days when transferred to 20°C. The vase life of stems held for 2 weeks falls to 4 days. Stems stored at 5°C for 2 weeks have a vase life of 7 days at 20°C, and 8 days when stored at 1°C. Bud opening is not stopped at 10°C and is only slightly retarded when stems are stored at 5°C . Worrall and Wade (1996) recommend on-farm cooling, forced-air cooling, closure of carton vent holes before shipping and single flower consignments to improve the postharvest cooling and hence product quality of Blandfordia:.-

The following points must be considered when presenting Blandfordia flowers for export.

Packaging is a major cost in exporting Blandfordia at present. The basic system used is a triple pack, comprising three shallow boxes, each holding 40 stems of 70 cm length or 60 stems of 50 cm. Stems are packed in two layers, 20 per layer, with 10 flower heads at each end of the box for each layer. To prevent the movement of the blooms within the box, the stems are clamped together by strips of polystyrene foam, secured with rubber bands and themselves clamped by the pressure of the box top. Flowers are covered top and bottom, both layers, with synthetic wadding. Bubble plastic liners are used on the bottom and top of each box to insulate from temperature extremes, provide shock resistance and retain humidity in the box. Each stem is placed in a plastic sachet holding 15 mL of water. This provision of external water supply during long or short (shipping) storage is not essential, but some importers, such as those in Japan ask for the flowers to be supplied with the sachets.

Economics of production

Blandfordia is a plant of peaty–sandy wet areas of the south-eastern coast of Australia. Its sucessful cultivation has so far been limited to those areas.

An area of 1500 m2 on current spacing will be adequate, with generous service paths, for some 60,000 plants—probably as many as a family unit could manage. Alternatively, the plants may be established in pots or planter bags of around 6 litre volume with 2–4 plants per bag. A plant density of about 60 per m2 is recommended. The plants grow in sandy-peat with a pH of 5–6. The most economic planting medium is naturally occurring sandy-peat habitat. A sand–peat mixture can be imported for use in pots/poly bags or raised beds.

Blandfordia, like lilies, require a lot of water (slightly acidic, and low in salt), and a suitable place for their cultivation. Blandfordia grow in nature in the understory of heathlands, rarely exposed to full sunlight, so provision of shade is recomended. Thirty percent shade cloth is being used by a number of growers who have felt that 50% was too heavy, and flowers produced under it tended to be pale. Shade cloth also provides physical protection against birds and insects, and reduces wind damage. Fairly light fertiliser use has been the rule, and judicious use of oil sprays and insecticides gives good protection. For harvesting, a cold room and packing shade are requirements. Packaging has been too complex and fairly expensive to date, but changes are being made.

Establishment cost

To get started a new grower will require:

Key contacts

Paul Dalley
Mountain Nursery
Trappaud Road
Kempsey, NSW 2440
Phone: (02) 6562 7450

Gordon Dick
Southern Bells Nursery
P.O. Box 2390
Port Macquarie, NSW 2444
Phone: (02) 6583 2010

Tony Bloomfield
ARD 463
Westbury, Tasmania 7303
Phone: (03) 6393 1845
Fax: (03) 6393 1891

Barry Luff
Collins Lane
RMB 2494
Kulnara, NSW 2250
Phone: (03) 4376 1316

Florence Traverrow
Bogumbil Road
Goolambar, NSW 2480

John Ray
Brown’s Crossing Road
Eungii Creek, NSW 2441
Phone: (02) 6569 3246

Anthony Sarks
Cairncross Farms
P.O. Box 1681
Port Macquarie, NSW 2444
Phone/fax: (02) 6585 0328

Dr Krystyna Johnson
University of Technology,
Sydney
Environmental Biology and Horticulture
P.O. Box 123
Broadway, NSW 2007
Phone: (02) 9514 4156
Fax: (02) 9514 4003
Email:
Krystyna.Johnson@ uts.edu.au

Dr Ross Worrall
NSW Agriculture
P.O. Box 581
Gosford, NSW 2250
Phone: (02) 4348 1900
Fax: (02) 4348 1910

Key references

IHM Pty Ltd 1997. IHM Flower Growers Seminar Proceedings.

Johnson, K.A. and Burchett, M. 1997. Micropropagation of Blandfordia species (Christmas bells). In: Bajaj (ed.) Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry Vol.40 High-Tech anda Micropropagation VI. Springer and Verlag, 30–41.

Worall, R. and Wade, N. 1996. Development of pre and post harvest disinfestation and management technology for Blandfordia cut flowers. Final Report DAN99A. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.

Johnson, K.A. 1996. Blandfordia. In: Johnson, K.A. and Burchett, M. (eds) Native Australian Plants, Horticulture and Uses. NSW University Press, 260–273.

Dick, G., Dalley, P., and Gollnow, B. 1996. Growing Blandfordia commercially. Agnote DPI/148

Johnson, K.A. 1994. Ecological, and Physiological aspects of genus Blandfordia with the view to horticultural production. PhD thesis, University of Technology, Sydney.

*About the authors

Krystyna Johnson is a lecturer in urban and environmental horticulture at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) (see Key contacts for address), with a special research interest in the horticulture of Australian native plants, particularly the genus Blandfordia. She was co-editor of the major text, 'Native Australian Plants, Horticulture and Uses', published in 1996 by the University of New South Wales Press.