Photo Of The Week by Larry Hurley Native Plants Are Where You Find Them

This photo, taken October 15, 2007 is of wild Red and Green Kangaroo Paws, along a sandy stretch of road near Margaret River in Western Australia. The other is of actual kangaroo paws, attached to a pet kangaroo at a farm we stayed at for a couple of nights.

My wife and I spent a couple of weeks in Western Australia, much of it driving around to various parks and gardens, looking for exotic (to us) plants, native to Western Australia. In the dim past South Africa and Western Australia were once attached to one another, and are both have an incredible diversity of plants. Kangaroo paws are a common landscape plant in Western Australia, used like we might use ornamental grasses.

You may see some potted kangaroo paws for sale at your local garden centers. I saw them at several outlets here in Wisconsin, and I believe we occasionally carried them in the Annuals Department at Behnke Nurseries. You are most likely to see them in orange/yellow/red tones. Perennial in their native environment, but annual in Maryland. A quick look at the web saw numerous listings for “kangaroo paws near me,” although “near” was an exaggeration, as websites popped up for California and North Carolina.

Thinking about where they grow naturally, they are going to do best in warm climates with very well-drained soil, infrequent watering, and low humidity. So in Maryland, they are going to be a real challenge. I vaguely recall trying to grow one in a pot in Maryland about 20 years ago, and it lasting about a month under my care. (Or less.) They probably grow great in San Diego. The real point is, when you travel, try to get out to the local nature preserves. You are likely to find many plants of interest, some that may even be in your gardens. by Larry Hurley