Wollongong City Council’s Botanic Garden will not hold its popular Green Plan plant sale this Friday 27 May due to an outbreak of Myrtle Rust in the nursery.

Myrtle Rust is a fungal pathogen first found in Australia about a year ago and currently affects about 100 species from the Myrtaceae family. The disease is widespread along the East Coast of NSW, and is essentially airborne and carried by humans, animals, and vehicles.

Botanic Garden staff have now started using anti-fungal treatment in all areas of the nursery.

Manager Environmental Strategy and Planning Vanni De Luca said it is unfortunate that Council has had to cancel this Friday’s Green Plan plant sale.

“Green Plan is a popular program where Wollongong residents purchase Australian native species for their gardens,” Mr De Luca said. “We have cancelled this plant sale and will quarantine the Botanic Gardens nursery to ensure we eradicate this fungus as soon as we can.

“This fungal disease is common along the east coast of Australia and we are taking all steps to ensure it is not spread to other plants or areas as soon as we noticed the fungus.”
 
Three species in the nursery – Agonis, Acmena, and Austromyrtus – are all showing clear signs of the rust and have all been sprayed, however we need to extend this fungicide treatment to the entire Myrtaceae family stock in the nursery - including Callistemon, Eucalyptus, Leptospermum and Syncarpia.
 
The fungal spores can live for 10 to 14 days and quarantining the nursery for this period following the full completion of fungicide treatments is an essential treatment for the disease.
 
The Nursery Staff have also implemented other measures to prohibit the spread of the fungus.