Mid October each year finds me scrutinising the Kurrajong’s (Brachchiton bidwillii ‘Little Ripper’) near bare branches, looking for tiny signs of secrete flowers to come ..
This one has the slightly more pink coral flowers of the B. bidwillii type, in a hybrid called ‘Little Ripper’ by Brent Vieritze at Colours of Eden. He’s actually ingeniously grafted the hybrid flowering B. bidwillii ‘Little Ripper’ onto a B. rupestrus – QLD Bottle Tree trunk. A little ripper it is !!
My tree is now around 4 years old here at ‘Sea-Changer’ and I’m guessing will reach around 4m tall, so it fits the small space garden well for a norther aspect. Brent doesn’t know if the trunk beneath the graft, will swell out to become the characteristically ‘bottle’ shape. Time will tell and if it does I’m imagining a hero tree with a rather interesting silhouette, like a barrel with a small domed canopy on top.
I noticed northern beaches artist Julie Hickson’s very beautiful Pod &Pod display of all native, woodblock inspired freshness at The Other Art Fair by Saatchi at Barangaroo last weekend. Among so many beauties, there was also a new work featuring Brachychiton bidwillii a perfect Xmas gift for garden loving friends & fam.
