confined to east coast regions from northern New South Wales to Tasmania. Each of the species has its own distinctive natural distribution with minimal or no overlap. Climatic changes may have restricted the expansion of species distribution or led to its isolation in a particular region. However, waratahs can also grow outside of these natural distribution areas. Cultivation mostly occurs north of Sydney and in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. T. speciosissima has also been grown successfully in areas not on the map. In Australia these areas include south-west Western Australia, the Queensland coast and also Toowoomba. Overseas, New Zealand, the USA, South Africa, and Israel are all also able to grow waratah with varying degrees of success. It was introduced to England in 1789 but cannot survive English winters out of doors except in the south-west coastal regions, and it rarely flowers in glasshouses. Cultivation For some time the waratah has had a reputation as a difficult plant. It has a complex culture and for many years there have been cases of people trying to establish the plant only to have the attempt fail. This can be the effect of unsuitable soil conditions, aspect or climate. The waratah is also a slow plant to mature with a flowering period that is short, unpredictable and unreliable. Early issues with cultivation meant that approximately 90% of all waratahs sold at Sydney’s Flemington markets in the early 90s were bush picked. Some progress has been made in the 20 years since then with several cultivars being commercially grown mostly in areas to the North and South of Sydney and in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. Issues with cultivation are still present however. Propagation The propagation of waratah for commercial production is relatively easy in comparison to other stages of the growth cycle. Plants are usually propagated from cuttings, fresh seed or stored seed. Fresh seed has a good germination rate but deteriorates fairly rapidly unless stored at low temperature and low humidity. Dry seed will last a few years in refrigerated storage but should be treated with a general purpose fungicide prior to storage and at propagation to ensure good germination rates and healthy seedlings. The best time to take cuttings is when the plant is experiencing a flush of growth. The cuttings are taken from firm wood from the last twelve months growth. If plant material is scarce, single nodes can be