February 2026 Nursery update

Published on 12 February 2026

The council native nursery is in full swing since coming back from the holiday break. From early December we have commenced propagating with 49 different locally indigenous plant species being sown, including trees, shrubs and ground covers which will all be planted in winter in bush reserves and natural areas across the municipality. It is an exciting time, sowing the seeds we have collected and waiting in anticipation for the little seedlings to emerge.

When propagating native plants, different species sometimes require their seeds to be treated in a certain way to make them germinate. One example is the Acacia species or wattles. Acacias have a hard coat around the seed and it is difficult for water to penetrate the seed and make it germinate, so we either pour just boiled water over the seeds and let them soak overnight, or we use sand paper to rub the seeds and scratch the hard coating so water can get in and germinate the seed. This season we used sandpaper and we have had great success.

When the seeds have germinated and grown new leaves it is time to prick them out and pot them up and voila, we are now on our way to a brand-new plant ready to grow into a marvellous locally indigenous tree, shrub or groundcover. Each year we aim to raise and plant out 7000 seedlings in our reserves and this year we are on track to reach this target. The next couple of months will be busy in the nursery because we have many seedlings to pot up and grow on, but I can’t wait to see the fruits of our labour come planting time.