Ceratopetalum Johanna's Christmas is a dwarf form of the NSW Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum) growing to around 1.5m high and much the same wide.

This unique dwarf form was originally collected in February1969 by Don Blaxell of Sydney Botanic Gardens, just south of Evans Head at Chinaman's Beach. It would seem this particular form had been growing where Don found it, just above the high-water mark on sand dunes for some unknown period, exposed to wind and salt spray with possibly generations following the same dwarfing genetic program.

Some foliage was collected by Don and a few plants were propagated by cutting.  

Some little time later upon another visit to the site it was discovered it had been cleared of vegetation as part of a rutile mining operation.  Other nearby locations were inspected but this unique form had not been repeated.

It was fortunate indeed that some plants were propagated from the material originally collected and now, over 50 years later the progeny remains true to the original plants growing there.  Needless to say, propagation must be by cutting and not seed if the particular dwarfing genetic quality is to be reliably reproduced.

On 11 January, 2001 Brian & Carol Roach registered this very special plant with the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA 902) and gave it the name Ceratopetalum Johanna's Christmas after one of their daughters.  Brian had received a plant in the early 1980s and for some years he continued to propagate it by cutting in very limited numbers before well-known gardening identity, Angus Stewart became involved along with Ramm Botanicals in attempting to propagate the plant in commercial numbers, including unsuccessful trials with tissue culture.  Then increased success with cuttings led to a period of four and a half years' propagation and distribution by Ramm Botanicals (2012-2016) until that company withdrew. Brian & Carol, through their small native plant nursery, Westleigh Native Plants then resumed propagation and distribution activities. As at January, 2024 plants are available in 6"/140mm pots and semi-advanced plants in 8"/200mm pots. Supplies are also available from Harvest Native Plants, 281 Mona Vale Rd., Terry Hills (02 94502699 - https://www.harvestseeds-nativeplants.com.au/). For more information contact Brian Roach on 0418115630 or at westleighnativeplants@gmail.com

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THE MORE DETAILED STORY by BRIAN ROACH.....

It was more than forty years ago, in 1983 that a work colleague and native plant enthusiastic, Jim Semmler came to my home at Westleigh in north-western Sydney proffering a potted plant. He asked if I would like a dwarf form of the NSW Christmas Bush. While I hadn’t heard of such a form, like any self-respecting gardener I grabbed it out of his hand before he had a chance to change his mind.

Over the next fifteen years or so I not only grew this plant but also propagated a limited number by cutting, also planting most of them in our garden. They proved to be ‘dwarf’ as Jim had claimed, growing to around 1.5m on our shallow soils over Hawkesbury sandstone.  Clearly, they were different to the type specimen of the NSW Christmas Bush – Ceratopetalum gummiferum which grows as a small tree to around 6m on a single trunk.

 

In the late 1990s, as a member of the North Shore Group of the Australian Plants Society, of which I was a member, I mentioned to another member, Helen Moody, who was a well-known horticultural journalist that I had such a plant.  She was quick to tell me there was no such thing. I managed to convince her to the point that she said she would make inquiries in the industry and get back to me.

A couple of monthly meetings later she said her inquiries had supported her view that no such dwarf form of the NSW Christmas Bush existed.  She went on to say that if I had such a thing, I should do something about it.

So it was that in January, 2001 I lodged an application for registration of this cultivar with the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA), giving it the name Ceratopetalum Johanna’s Christmas after one of our daughters. Ultimately, in January, 2004 that registration became official – ACRA 902

 

In the process of seeking registration, and not knowing the origin of the plant I received from Jim nearly twenty years earlier, I said it came about as a ‘chance seedling’.

It wasn’t until 10 September, 2007 that I learnt the true origin of the plant.

 

On that day I had the Bateau Bay garden club come to our home at Westleigh for a garden visit. In the process of pointing out many of the plants in the garden, I mentioned the several specimens of this dwarf form of the NSW Christmas Bush. A long and lanky member of the group sidled up to me and said ‘I can’t believe you’ve got this’ indicating Cereatopetalum Johanna’s Christmas.  He went on to tell me his name was Don Blaxell and as a senior officer at Sydney Botanic Gardens he had found this dwarf form up at Evans Head in northern NSW in 1969.  He said he led a group from SBG who had a brief to determine the northern-most distribution of the NSW Christmas Bush and also to compile a report recommending the establishment of flora reserves to the NSW Government. Don also told me that some cutting material was collected from this dwarf form and taken back to the Gardens for propagation. He went on to say that a few months later, staff from SBG went back to the site to collect more cutting material however a rutile mining operation had begun and nothing was left to be collected. He also told me he completed an official record of his finding and that record can be viewed on the Australian Virtual Herbarium website.

 

Not surprisingly, Don asked me how I came by the plant. I told him the story and said I would contact Jim and ask just how he originally got the plant he had given to me over twenty years earlier.

A few days later, I spoke to Jim who lived at Avoca on the Central Coast and he informed me he had bought two plants from a ‘backyard’ nursery on the Central Coast and had given me one and unfortunately the one he kept had died.  He went on to say the vendor had ceased business and left the area. 

I contacted Don by phone shortly after and gave him this information.

All was then revealed!

 

Don told me that a particular employee at SBG had looked after the cutting material that had been collected and had produced a number of plants.  He told me the employee had resigned from SBG and guess what, the few plants that had been propagated simply disappeared. He went on to say the former employee lived on the Central Coast.

 

Needless to say, I spoke to Don and expressed my concern about having unwittingly received property which had previously been stolen and which I had registered as a ‘chance seedling’ and which I had been propagating and selling on a small scale to my financial advantage. Don very graciously said that so far as he knew, I ended up with the only plant to survive from his collection in February, 1969 and had it not been for my involvement, this dwarf form of the NSW Christmas Bush would have been lost forever.

 

In the course of my discussions with Don, one intriguing contradiction came to my notice.  While the official Herbarium registration noted that only three plants were seen at the time of discovery, Don actually told me it was the ‘dominant’ plant in the area. I have not discussed that with Don any further.

 

About a year before the Bateau Bay garden club’s visit, the ABC TV show ‘Gardening Australia’ filmed a segment in our garden at Westleigh with Angus Stewart as the presenter. I told Angus about ‘Johanna’s Christmas’ and in particular, I said I was not very successful in propagating the plant in commercial numbers. Angus was at that time working with the large propagation business, Ramm Botanicals and he suggested I could give him a few plants with a view to trialing propagation by tissue culture. I gave around six potted plants to Angus for that purpose.

 

From time to time after that I heard from Angus who continued to tell me that the attempts to propagate the plant by tissue culture were unsuccessful. In due course, Angus left Ramm Botanicals and headed off to Tassie.

 

The plants continued to flourish in my garden without loss and put on a magnificent display with the white flowers around October followed by brilliant colouring of the bracts or sepals around Christmas.

 

In early 2012 I was contacted by Geoff Cooke, then the managing director of Ramm Botanicals who told me that propagations by cutting was successful.  Shortly after, we entered into a commercial agreement under which we received a modest royalty from Ramm Botanicals on the basis of sales. In the following four and a half years to October 2016, 54,500 plants were put out into the industry Australia wide, accompanied by a Ramm designed, double-page label which was produced by Norwood, probably the largest plant label producer in the country.  On several occasions during Ramm’s involvement, I went to their premises on the Central Coast and saw the very large number of plants in large pots which were used as mother stock.  It came as no surprise then in October, 2016 when the new managing director contacted me to say that Ramm Botanicals wished to withdraw from our agreement because, although sales had been very successful, the mother stock was simply taking up too much room at the expense of other lines.  In severing our arrangement, the rights to the Norwood label were assigned to me and since then I have received again, a modest royalty from the sale of the labels.

 

Since then I have continued to propagate the plant by cutting from the 9 or 10 plants in my garden along with one in a friend’s garden. Early in the piece I was contacted by two wholesale nurseries who sought 5000 tubes a year. To say the least, I have not been able to fulfill these requests although something in the order of 5,500 tubes have been supplied to Parkland Nursery near Taree but as at February, 2024 that arrangement has come to an end. Recently I had discussions with Harvest Native Nursery on Mona Vale Road, Terry Hills and am now supplying them with cutting material for distribution as seen fit with my only benefit being their purchase of the Norwood label for which I receive a royalty.  I continue to propagate the plant myself in relatively small numbers for sale.  To state the obvious, propagation must be by cutting in order to guarantee the dwarfing quality of the plant.

 

Around mid-2021 my wife, Carol and I travelled up to Evans Head with a view to exploring the area in which Don made his discovery in 1969.  We were armed with the GPS coordinates as recorded by Don in his official registration along with his general description which was also recorded. Don had also previously told me that the particular location was in the area of Chinaman’s Beach at the southern end of the town of Evans Head. It quickly became apparent there was an inconsistency in his defining of the location. The general description stated the finding was around two miles south of the Evans River while the GPS coordinates, with the assistance of my mobile phone put the location north of the Evans River. Also, Chinaman’s Beach is on the southern side of the river. No doubt the accuracy of GPS coordinates in 1969 could not measure up with today’s technology and the description of around two miles south of the Evans River had to be the more reliable. Starting from the carpark at Chinaman’s Beach, my wife and I explored the area and while an abundance of wonderful plants were seen, all impacted by the wind and salt spray in that coastal heathland, no NSW Christmas Bush of any description was found.

 

Another opportunity to explore the area arose in June 2022 when Carol and I again headed up to Evans Head and we decided to pop into the Information Centre to see if any expect in the local flora was known. Hey Presto!  We met up with Richard Gates who knew the plants of the area like nobody else.  After our initial discussions, Richard took us along a sandy track heading south from Chinaman’s Beach through typical coastal heath.  After about 300m we can to a junction and Richard pointed out two NSW Christmas Bushes, each around 2.5m high and 6m wide. It was truly mind-blowing!  I was quick to collect some cutting material and the sixty or so cuttings I put down a few days later ultimately resulted in only three plants propagated and they continue to flourish as at February, 2024 although still relatively small.  So around fifty years after the rutile mining operation in the area, the local flora was looking great.  As I understand the process, before the mining commences, the top layer of sand is put aside and when the mining is finished, it is returned to the area. Presumably these two plants arose as seedlings when that was done.  But how do environmental conditions such a wind and salt spray not only cause affected plants to take on a low or prostrate habit but more particularly, how does the genetics of an affected plant change so that plants subsequently propagated by cutting retain the parent plant characteristics?  I certainly know that to be the case with Ceratopetalum Johanna’s Christmas.

 

But this amazing story continues because in the process of sending some plants by mail to a buyer up that way, I was told that a fire had gone through that particular area.  I was quick to contact Richard Gates seeking clarification. And sure enough, he replied saying ….

‘The news is not good about the two Christmas Bushes.  They were badly affected by this hot fire which was not well controlled….. More than 1300ha burnt and part of it was bulldozed when it should have been protected.  Can’t believe the damage NPWS did with the backburn. Need to return to take some follow-up pictures.

 

I was staggered and I could only imagine how Richard and the residents of the area would have felt. However I have since been informed by Richard that new growth is sprouting all around the base of the plant.  What an amazing story of survival

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