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Rae
11th November 2016, 01:40 AM
Does anybody know if it would be possible to grow Sassafras in the SW of Western Australia? After a visit to the forests in Tasmainia I'd really like to grow some. I saw that somebody was growing them in the Dandenongs. I suspect they would need a moist micro-climate somewhere.

TasSculptor
11th November 2016, 07:28 AM
Wikipedia says :
" Atherosperma moschatum, the southern sassafras or blackheart sassafras, is an evergreen tree native to the cool temperate rainforests of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales in Australia. It is common in the rainforests of Tasmania and Victoria, but more scattered and rare in the higher altitudes of eastern New South Wales. The northernmost area is at Mount Grundy, west of Port Macquarie."

If you want the black heart stain you might have to climb up and break the top out or pull some branches out.:D

Rae
11th November 2016, 10:39 AM
So unless WA turns to cool-temperate rainforest I may not be able to grow them. Given the current spring, this may be on the cards.
Getting the seeds legally to WA would probably be an issue too. Growing a small stand near back yard where they could be watered may be a solution. We are sitting on a perched water table here and once their roots were down they could get plenty to drink.
The westerly winds would probably blow the tops off them once they gained enough height.

Willy Nelson
20th January 2017, 11:26 AM
There is an experiment at the moment growing Tasmanian Blackwood in the South West of WA, the timber looks Okay, if I wasn't told it was Tassie Blackwood, I wouldn't have known what it was.
Willy

Rae
20th January 2017, 10:24 PM
By Blackwood do you mean the Acacia blackwood?

Rae
20th January 2017, 10:33 PM
Fast forward to 1:10 to 1:20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON_jvS8b7oM