Grevilleas

There are thousands of different grevilleas available to home gardeners because they hybridise so easily. There are an enormous range of flower colours and forms, as well as a wide variation in foliage and height and growth habit. By choosing wisely there is a grevillea to suit the soil and climatic conditions of any garden regardless of where you live, and they will flower for most of the year. As they hybridise so readily it is best that they are not plante in gardens that adjoin bushland where there are native grevilleas.

Grevillea ‘Firesprite’ is a popular hardy cultivar that has been in the marketplace for many years. Merv Hodge has a seedling of G. ‘Firesprite’ in his garden that has new characteristics worthy of a new cultivar, which will make it an excellent horticultural plant when it comes onto the market. Like all grevilleas it likes good drainage and it would flourish.

The delicate pink flowers of Grevillea sericea are at their peak in spring, but is an excellent plant to have in the garden because it will have spot flowering throughout the year. This species grows naturally on sandstone and does best in sandy soils.

Grevillea hybrid Grevillea ‘Simply Sarah’ needs very good drainage, and to grow this cultivar successfully garden beds will need to be raised at least 30cm to allow any excess water to drain away if the soil is not naturally well drained. It grows to over 1.5m but should, like all grevilleas, be pruned back to prevent it from becoming straggly. Pruning encourages new growth to thicken up the bush.

Insect pests are not usually a major problem with grevilleas. Because they attract lots of birds that feed on the nectar, they also feed on tiny insects and other pests as well.

Grevillea ‘Pink Midget’ is as tough as any plant that you will find, and will withstand drought conditions. If this ground hugging grevillea is given extra water is will flower even more prolifically.