Xanthorrhoea johnsonii – Grass Tree

Written By:

Mark Woodman

The iconic Grass Tree is an Australian native that can be found in all states and territories. The trunks are formed by old leaf bases stacking on top of each other and bonding with a natural resin.  This particular species is native to a wide area in Queensland, Including Townsville surrounds. Xanthorrhoea johnsonii is extremely slow growing.

Grass trees are interesting due to their resistance to fire. In the wild, you can see how long it has been since the last bushfire by the size of the brown grass skirt at the top of the tree’s trunk.

Xanthorrhoea species are important to Aboriginal culture. The plants’ resin is traditionally used as a glue for making spears and mending items. The flower spike can be used as a fishing spear staff and the sharp seed pods work as cutting tools.  Bee’s love the flowers.

The Grass Tree is classified as endangered and does have regulations around their harvest.  All of our stock is legally harvested and comes with a Government tag to prove this.

Transplanting and Care

Care must be taken around the chosen spot for your new Grass Tree.

Well drained soil is a must.  So, for people with clay soil, it is recommended to amend the soil with Gypsum and organic matter to loosen the clay over time.  It is important that the plant is raised in heavy clay and is not planted where water pools in the wet season.

The other alternative is to keep the plant in a large pot, again, in well drained, quality potting mix.

When transplanting, it is important not to disturb the roots so the advice is to have your pot/hole dug to the right height and then cutting the pot off with the plant in place to minimise any disturbance to the root ball.

Find out what Grass Trees we have in stock here.

High Quality potting mix suitable for potting is found here.