Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing

6 ft 7 in

In-row spacing

6 ft 7 in

Between rows

8 ft 2 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type

Shrub · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Sunlight

Full sun; it will take partial shade but flowers less for it.

Watering

Water weekly while it establishes, then leave it be — drought-tolerant once settled.

Feeding

A low-phosphorus native plant fertilizer, in spring only.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Flowering

March

Pruning

Tip-prune lightly after each flush of flower.

Through the year

• Mar–Mar Bud Break
• Mar–Dec Flowering
• Dec–Dec Dormancy
• Jan–Mar Dormancy

Companions

Lavender, Rosemary, Agapanthus, Westringia, Kangaroo Paw

Pests & problems

• Cabbage looper Grevillea looper caterpillar
• Scale insects Immobile brown or white bumps fixed to stems and leaf undersides, sucking sap and weakening growth. Wipe off with a damp cloth or dab with horticultural soap; watch for the sooty mold that follows.
• Phytophthora root and foot rot Phytophthora root rot, brought on by overwatering or waterlogged soil
• Phosphorus deficiency Phosphorus toxicity from standard fertilizers

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. ★ companion plant

• Hoverfly Syrphidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

  Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum
• Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

  Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow
• Parasitic wasps Braconidae & Trichogramma
  Hunts Cabbage looper

  Tiny, stingless wasps that lay eggs in or on caterpillars, aphids, and moth eggs — the white cocoons riding a hornworm are their calling card, so leave that caterpillar be. Umbel flowers with shallow nectar keep the adults fuelled.

  Plant nearby CilantroDillFennelLovageParsleySweet alyssumYarrow
• Spined soldier bug Podisus maculiventris
  Hunts Cabbage looper

  A predatory stink bug — same shield outline as the pest, but with a sharp spine at each shoulder and a beak it uses to spear caterpillars and beetle grubs. Learn the spines before you squash a shield bug, because this one is on your side.

  Plant nearby DillFennelSweet alyssumYarrow