AusBonsai

Hi All,

Hoping to find readily available native stock, mainly seeds and/or seedlings.
Trees like Callistemon, Maleleuca, Acacia, Leptospermum, Ficus.

The local nurseries usually have plenty after winter, and I have also found a couple of sites online that sell tube stock for $4ish each, but some of these are often limited in regards to different varieties, so was also wondering if anyone on here sold young seedlings or seeds of various varieties?

Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Obviously digging up natives are a no-no without the relevant permissions, so I'm not going to go down that road.

Thanks,
Steve.

Hi Steve.
Great that you are trying some natives.
Technically, all Callistemons are now classed as Melaleuca but even if we continue with the old names there's still a lot of species in that group. Might help if you had some idea of which of the species you'd like to try. There's probably a couple of species with seed in our garden.

Acacia is another really big and very varied genus with species from small groundcovers through multi trunk shrubs all the way to huge, long lived trees. Some with large, bipinnate leaves and others with smaller, simple phylodes. One of the most popular Acacias for bonsai is A. howittii prostrate form but it needs to be propagated as cuttings. Not even sure if it sets seed but probably won't be the same if you do grow from seed.

Ficus is also a big family but we mostly use just a couple of the Aussie species for bonsai - F. rubiginosa would be the most popular. Pretty sure Ficus seed loses viability quickly if stored so you'll need to source fresh seed or rooted cuttings.

Yeah that's fair.
I guess I was just probing to see what people had available, if any, rather than asking for something specific and coming up empty.

If I had to specify, then probably just the 'popular' ones.

You might want to do a road trip. The national botanic gardens in Canberra do a twice yearly sale . It sells out in about an hour, but worth queueing up for.

You could try here:

https://www.sydneywildflowernursery.com.au/

Never been, but they seem to have a big range from recollection, and get stock in frequently in different pot sizes.

I did once ask about a larger Kunzea and they let me know when the next stock arrived. I just couldn’t get there to check them out.

For anyone wanting to try natives from seed I recommend Nindethana Seeds in WA. They stock a huge range of both common and many rarer species. Service has been excellent whenever I've used them and prices good.
https://www.nindethana.net.au/informati ... -list.aspx

Will check to see what seed is available in our garden when I get home today

The only issue with Nindethana is they have a $50 minimum spend per order, which is most likely going to mean seed volumes far more than needed by one person. Might wanna think about doing a combined order with other people and splitting the seed packs to make it a viable/better value option.

The only issue with Nindethana is they have a $50 minimum spend per order,

Thanks for the update. That's new policy since I last purchased seed from them so I was not aware.

shibui wrote: ↑June 10th, 2025, 7:25 am For anyone wanting to try natives from seed I recommend Nindethana Seeds in WA. They stock a huge range of both common and many rarer species. Service has been excellent whenever I've used them and prices good.
https://www.nindethana.net.au/informati ... -list.aspx

Will check to see what seed is available in our garden when I get home today

I just got my first shipment from them today after having a few species on their list i've wanted to try for a long time.
Yes, it was $50 minimum, but arrived well packaged and on time. Will sow in Spring

I have purchased seedlings from other online suppliers, but it can be hit and miss. Some were really good, and other shipments have sometimes arrived literally on almost deaths door.