Kuringai council nursery - hidden treasure

[bonborn]

I would not have been able to sleep if i didn't share this place with you guys. I felt i just had to shine some light onto this place. I was heading down to St Ives today and saw this nursery on the way. I decided to pay a visit. There was a gate in the front which was shut. I opened it and walked through. On the left hand side was an office with no one in sight. A sign said to ring the bell which i did. Damn it sounded like a fire alarm .

A nice little lady approached me. I told her i wanted to look around and pickup some ficus and eucalyptus. She said she has many eucalyptus but only one ficus. The sandpaper leaf ficus which didn't interest me. Anyways while walking down to where the plants were kept i saw some really amazing trees. These were infact neglected bonsais, overgrown and underfed. I fell in love instantly with an eucalyptus. Lady said she will keep it aside for me, price it up and let me organise pickup. It's huge.

Anyways walking down and seeing all the plants, i was like a kid in candyland. Amazing. Simply amazing. . Some of the best stuff i have ever seen. Literally bonsais in pots. Needs some trimming back and ramification but the rest is there. These plants have been in pots for too long. Sort of semi neglected. Massive variety of stock and amazing places. 20L pots for $25. 40L (i think) pots for $110, tube stocks for $3 and slightly larger $5 - $8. Absolutely worth it. The tube stocks are infact overgrown in their pots and have amazing movement.

I took as many pics as i could with my iphone 3s . Sorry can't afford a better phone. The plants take all my money.

This place is a MUST to visit. One not to be missed. I promised the lady there i will write about this place and bring some attention to the place. I feel the place is very much understaffed and neglected by the council. Too many plants for 1 full time and 1 part time staff to look after.

I picked up 7 plants myself. Pics to follow of my ones later but pics in general from the nursery are below. Enjoy.

Kuringai Council Nursery
430 Mona Vale Rd, St Ives NSW 2075
(02) 9424 0825 , 02 9424 0376
Monday - Friday 9 - 3.30pm






I photoshopped the can for size. This is the one i have got put aside.

[bonborn]

Is a watergum $110







Not sure what this is

[bonborn]

Just wanted to add that these pictures do not do these plants justice. There is a lot more movement in these plants than the photos are showing.

[Isitangus]

Wow great find! Only 10 minutes from my office-will definitely pay a visit!
Thanks for sharing

[Jhalkhoree]

Damn! You found my secret stock supply. Yes I agree with you they have some great stock and if you have a chat with one of the gardener there he will point you to stocks that are not display. I have picked up decent size banksia serrata and eucalyptus from there.

Also check out the Cumberland State Forest nursery near castle hill. Plenty of natives tube stocks at decent prices.

Good luck

Jay

[Rory]

Yeah, I've been going there for years. I wouldn't say they are fantastically cheap, but just a little bit cheaper than cumberland state nursery. All council nurseries are the same, they have great stock at great prices compared to private nurseries. Be warned though, their stock can be seriously pot bound, and some beyond repair.

Cumberland State Forest nursery is no longer owned by council/state, and has sold into private hands. It was the last of that range to go private. Shame.

[bonborn]

Be warned though, their stock can be seriously pot bound, and some beyond repair.

Cumberland State Forest nursery is no longer owned by council/state, and has sold into private hands. It was the last of that range to go private. Shame.

I somewhat agree with you about their stock being pot bound but not all. It's the stock in the older style pots that are pot bound but the stock in the newer air pots are nowhere close to root bound.

It's a shame the Cumberland nursery has been made private but that is where the Kuringai nursery is also headed. From what i can see the councils are neglecting their nurseries driving them to loss year after year. They then show these nurseries to be a failure and sell these off privately or the land to developers. Kuringai nursery is running understaffed with lack of awareness.

Not pointing fingers but it is a shame seeing people not talk about or create awareness of such nurseries. We need to support and promote them rather them hogging on to them. The more stock we by, the more stock will get replenished.

[Rory]

Be warned though, their stock can be seriously pot bound, and some beyond repair.

Cumberland State Forest nursery is no longer owned by council/state, and has sold into private hands. It was the last of that range to go private. Shame.

I somewhat agree with you about their stock being pot bound but not all. It's the stock in the older style pots that are pot bound but the stock in the newer air pots are nowhere close to root bound.

It's a shame the Cumberland nursery has been made private but that is where the Kuringai nursery is also headed. From what i can see the councils are neglecting their nurseries driving them to loss year after year. They then show these nurseries to be a failure and sell these off privately or the land to developers. Kuringai nursery is running understaffed with lack of awareness.

Not pointing fingers but it is a shame seeing people not talk about or create awareness of such nurseries. We need to support and promote them rather them hogging on to them. The more stock we by, the more stock will get replenished.

True. I hear ya. In my photo gallery on here, a lot of stock was purchased from them and I have always encouraged people to go to their council nurseries for raw stock, and to go to bonsai nurseries if possible, for starter stock and bonsai / materials. I agree it is good to promote council nurseries such as this, as the guy that works there full time, is a really nice chap too, and always happy to help out. Last time I was there I told him all the stock I was purchasing was going to be used for bonsai, so he took me around to show me gnarled trunks and stunted trees that he thought I might like. It is always a great trip out there, I'll have to go back again soon when I can get away from the family for a moment.

For only $3 or $3.20 I can't remember the prices, some of their tube stock have amazing potential. When you go in spring, its a plethora of native beauty at their nursery. I always pay them a visit if I'm going to the bonsai nursery at Terry Hills for their soil mix.

--

Oh, also, forgot to mention, I have spoken of them before, but there is another great place to go if you like their stock.

The Big Flower, Ourimbah, Central Coast

It is about 1 hour north of Sydney. It has THE largest range of 8inch tubs I have ever seen. All stock is $9.95 in the orange tubs. I was pissed off, because they used to grow Casuarina, but when I found out about them, they stopped stocking them because of lack of interest.
They too, have some way overgrown stock, that has massive bonsai potential. But the best thing about this place is they are ordered well, cheap, and a lot of different varieties. Between this and the council nursery at Kuringai, I have spent a lot of money combined.