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Australian Native Plants

shrub suggestions?

trancegemini_wa

19 years ago

hi, Im looking for a shrub for a very hot spot, facing west, gets a lot of afternoon sun, about 1.5m high (or not much bigger), about 1 metre wide, and it must be able to tolerate very fast draining, alkaline sandy soil. something that only needs moderate watering, and preferably something that would supply some nectar flowers for the birds in summer (or even at other times but summer would be great as theres already a lot of natives which flower in the winter/spring around). I was thinking of a grevillea or banksia, no idea what type though, or any other suggestions for what anything that might suit would be great!

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Comments (6)

pos02
19 years ago
Have you considered a Geraldton Wax? They are very hardy, and come in a range of flower colours. Any of the WA banksias and melaleucas will also be good. Might be best to ask your local native nursary for advice in selecting the best type. You should also look at the website below, as it has great photos and descriptions of many of the plants you would be after.

Here is a link that might be useful: Society for Growing Australian Plants
trancegemini_wa
Original Author
19 years ago
hi pos, thanks for the suggestion, the geraldton wax do very well here but I need something thats going to shade a window from the sun so it's a bit too sparse. I'll have a poke around the website and see what I can find but any suggestions are really welcome :)
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danili
19 years ago
Calothamnus quadrifidus is a WA plant that copes with sand and alkaline conditions. Other suggestions are Banksia integrifolia, various correa's (glabra, alba etc) but perhaps you couldn't go past an eremophila. They love dry positions and there are many to choose from.
trancegemini_wa
Original Author
19 years ago
Danili, Ive just been looking up the plants you mentioned and they are fantastic! I think one of the eremophilas or the calothamnus would be perfect in this spot. thanks so much for your help!
agnes_wa
19 years ago
Calothamnus are great - but I haven't had too much success so far. They are available in Perth - go to one of the specialist native garden nurseries. If it is a particularly hot spot, and it sounds that you may be coastal (limestone?) then you would also be well advised to go to APACE nursery, which is like a coastal landcare nursery. Wonderful plants. They also have a plant list which is specific to WA metro areas.

Grevillea winpara gold seems to put up with coastal soils - and doesn't need any watering when established. Father-in-law has some, and they are putting up with the cap limestone. We have some and they are fantastic - look great when pruned - does get a bit big, ours is over 2m. Another good lowish grevillea is gin gin gem and thelamanniana (sp?) - we keep ours pruned to about 1 m, but it can get bigger. It may also be wider than what you would prefer.

Another option is a small gum tree - I know you said 1.5 m, but there are some lovely small gums (3 to 4 m) which you could put there. Long flowering marlock is very pretty.

The baekea virgata is lovely - fine leaves, pretty white flowers in summer - but not that great for nectar feeding birds. Tolerates hot spots.

Alternatively, go for a hakea. Hakeas are beautiful - you will need to check the alkalinity tolerance though.

Good luck and happy shrub hunting.

Aggie
trancegemini_wa
Original Author
19 years ago
thanks aggie! Im still tempted to go with the grevillea and some of the ones you mentioned should fit. I'll try to narrow down the suggestions before I make a trip out to the native nursery and see what they have.

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