Gorgeous grevilleas

It’s the third largest genus in Australia with over 365 species – one for every day of the week! And with their bright blooms in a myriad of different colours, shapes and sizes, grevilleas really are the jewels of any native garden. 

Grevillea flowers produce large amounts of nectar making them great plants to attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden. Many are also great habitat plants and with extended flowering periods they provide colour almost all year long to your garden. 

There’s a grevillea for almost every garden, so long as you can provide well drained soil. Even if you can’t, many grevilleas do well in pots as long as you choose one suited to the size and placement of your container. 

Getting started

Most grevilleas need a well-drained, sunny position though some such as Grevillea oleodies, Grevillea sericea and Grevillea sherissii do well in light shade. When you first plant them out they need a bit more water to establish – try to water them 2 times a week for the first couple of weeks then taper off as they settle in. If you are using a container you will need to water more frequently – larger pots require less but if you are planting in full sun in an exposed position expect to be watering every other day, increasing to every day during hot or windy weather. 

All grevilleas love a good prune. After their main flush of flowers you can get in there and cut them back to the size and shape you require and they’ll reward you with lush, healthy growth and increased flowering the following season. 

Top picks

Feature tree – Grafted grevilleas make wonderful feature trees for small gardens or large pots. Or if you have the space, Kay Williams, Bush Lemon, Sylvia or Honey Gem all have stunning large flowers in colours ranging from pink to yellow.

Screening – with dense foliage all the way to the ground, Grevillea arenaria, Superb, Dorothy Gordon, Red hooks and Lady O make for excellent screening trees with the added benefit of being able to be pruned to size.

Shrubs – Grevillea sericea, Robyn Gordon, and Peaches and cream, make excellent specimens for smaller gardens and provide a wonderful habitat for small birds. 

Ground cover – Great for weed suppression and bank stabilisation, Grevillea Mt Tamboritha, New Blood, Mellow Yellow, Bronze rambler and Royal mantle are all fantastic low growing grevilleas to have in your garden. Let them cascade over a low wall or down a slope for best effect. 

SYDNEY WILDFLOWER NURSERY

Since 1983, the Sydney Wildflower Nursery at Heathcote has been providing residents and visitors from around Australia with quality native Australian plants.

Supplying plants for jobs big and small we pride ourselves on our knowledge, passion and extensive range of beautiful and unusual Australian native trees, shrubs and wildflowers.

CONTACT US

9 Veno Street, Heathcote, NSW, 2233

Ph: 02 9548 2818

Email: info@sydneywildflowernursery.com.au

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