Ericaceae FAMILY

Astroloma conostephioides

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub

Growth—

Astroloma conostephioides is a plant of fairly dry areas in southern Australia, where it experiences cool winters with some light frosts. Requires a sunny position, succeeding in most soils that are mildly acidic to very acidic.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. The seed has a hard coat and some form of scarification is necessary or the seed can take up to 5 years to germinate. Two or three periods each of 4 - 6 weeks cold stratification can reduce the time taken to germinate^[1]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. When large enough, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Cuttings of firm young tip growths^[2]. It is very difficult to obtain suitable wood^[3] and the cuttings are slow to root^[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Astroloma+conostephioides>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1991 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.
[2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[3]Australian Native Plants. — Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. · Collins. (Australia) · 1988 · ISBN 0-7322-0021-0 ↩︎A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.
[4]Wild Food Plants of Australia. — Low. T. · Angus and Robertson. · 1989 · ISBN 0-207-14383-8 ↩︎Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast