{"product_id":"fried-egg-plant-gordonia-axillaris","title":"Fried Egg Plant - Gordonia axillaris","description":"\u003cp\u003eFried egg plant flowers when most of the garden has stopped. From autumn through winter and into spring it opens wide white flowers with crinkled petals around a dense boss of yellow stamens, and when each one finishes it drops whole, so the ground beneath ends up dotted with them. It belongs to the camellia family and comes from southern China, Taiwan and neighbouring Vietnam. Botanists now list it as Polyspora axillaris, but Australian nurseries still sell it as Gordonia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOut of flower it is a tidy evergreen small tree with thick, glossy, dark green leaves. Through the cool months a few older leaves at a time turn scarlet before they fall, so the canopy carries flecks of red against the green. It is typically 3 to 5m in gardens, usually narrower than it is tall, and it grows at an unhurried pace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCamellia soil, camellia problems\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eTreat it like a camellia and it rarely gives trouble. It wants slightly acid soil with plenty of leaf mould or compost through it, and free drainage. In alkaline ground, such as soil over limestone or right beside a new concrete footing, the new leaves come up yellow between green veins, a sign the roots cannot take up iron. Waterlogged clay is the other killer. A plant that wilts while the soil around it is still damp has root rot, and by then it is hard to save. In clay, build a low, broad mound to plant into and mulch with leaf litter or bark rather than gravel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is happiest along the east coast from south east Queensland to Sydney and grows well in Melbourne where it is sheltered from hot northerly winds. Once established it handles frost and cold well enough for cool tableland gardens, but a heavy frost can burn a young plant, so cover it for its first winter or two in cold inland districts. The more sun it gets, the more it flowers and the denser the crown. Part shade is fine, and in hot inland gardens an afternoon break from the sun stops the leaves scorching.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFlower drop, and what to weigh it against\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLitter is the catch. Over several months the spent flowers fall steadily, turn brown within a day or two and need sweeping off paving and out of a pool skimmer. On a lawn or mulched bed they rot down unseen, so site it where the drop lands on soft ground and the flowers are seen from a window rather than walked on. It suits a courtyard corner, the end of a side bed or a pair flanking an entrance, and its fine, fibrous roots are not the kind that lift paving or chase pipes. Planted 2 to 3m apart, a row slowly closes into a soft screen that flowers in winter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAgainst Sasanqua Camellia it flowers for longer, carrying on through winter after the sasanquas finish, and on a taller, more tree like frame. Against Magnolia Little Gem it is a little shorter and usually broader, and it flowers in winter where the magnolia flowers in late spring and summer. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/lagerstroemia-indica-crepe-myrtle\"\u003eCrepe Myrtle\u003c\/a\u003e is the deciduous, summer flowering choice for the same spot. For a tight yard, read \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/best-trees-for-small-backyards-australia\"\u003eTrees for small backyards\u003c\/a\u003e first. Other small flowering trees for a courtyard or entrance are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/feature-trees\"\u003eFeature Trees\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePrune in spring, keep it acid and moist\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrune lightly, straight after flowering in spring, which gives the new growth all summer to set next winter's buds; a cut in autumn takes the flowers off with it. To make a small tree, remove the lowest branches over two or three years to lift the crown and show the smooth trunk. In spring, give it the acid fertiliser sold for camellias and azaleas, which feeds it and holds the soil on the acid side. Through summer and autumn keep the ground under it mulched and evenly moist, because a plant that goes dry while its buds are forming can shed them before they open. It is largely free of pests and disease; the occasional scale, with its sticky honeydew and black sooty mould, clears with horticultural oil sprayed in mild weather.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 4 sizes, from 300mm up to 75L, priced from $119.00 to $509.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/best-trees-for-small-backyards-australia\"\u003echoosing a tree for a small backyard\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67672092442993,"sku":null,"price":119.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":67672092508529,"sku":null,"price":269.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500mm","offer_id":67672092541297,"sku":null,"price":509.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75L","offer_id":67672092574065,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/fried-egg-plant-gordonia-axillaris.jpg?v=1791524142","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/fried-egg-plant-gordonia-axillaris","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}