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Hardenbergia violacea Common names "Native Wisteria", Native Lilac", "Native Coral Pea", "False Sarsaparilla". Hardenbergia after Franziska Countess von Hardenberg, a 19th century patroness of Botany, violacea for violet. A member of the Pea Family, Fabaceae, it is widespread throughout South Eastern Australia from Southern Queensland, through NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and of course South Australia. The flowers are normally purple, but pink and white forms can be found naturally. Most plants growing in the bush are semi shrub/twiners, that can look great tumbling over logs and twining gently in other shrubs. These Hardenbergias grow in a wide range of conditions, they will tolerate heavy soils, and partial shade, but flower best in full sun. They will last longer and flower better if you prune them hard after they have finished flowering.You may have seen the vigorous climber Hardenbergia "Happy Wanderer", a registered cultivar that flowers profusely with dark purple racemes for up to two months over late winter. It does best on a support such as a fence, trellis or pergola, and is a true climber. It too will be better for pruning after flowering, this stops it from getting woody. Other climbing cultivars you may find are H. violacea "Free 'n Easy", which has white flowers with touches of pink. You may also come across H. violacea "Strawberry Shake", a pink climber. The cultivar forms need to be propagated from cuttings, but the purple, pink and white forms of Hardenbergia violacea grow readily from seed that needs to be treated as for others seeds in the Pea family. The flowers, which appear in winter and spring, are usually violet in colour but pink, white and other colours are sometimes found. The flowers are the typical "pea" shape consisting of 4 petals; the "standard", the "keel" and two "wings" as shown in the diagram below. A number of colour varients of H.violacea are becoming generally available in nurseries, with some imaginative cultivar names attached - for example:
H.violacea is a popular and generally hardy garden plant which is widely grown. It is adaptable to most soils and aspects although sunnier positions will usually result in better flowering. Given the wide range of the species, however, forms from drier areas may not be vigorous in tropical areas, and vice versa. Where possible, it is best to select forms from similar climatic zones to the area where they are to be cultivated. Propagation is easy from seed following pre-treatment to break the physical dormancy provided by the impervious seed coat. Pre-treatment can be carried out by abrasion or by the use of boiling water. The seed retains viability for many years. Cuttings strike well using firm, current season's growth. |
