Australian Natives

How to choose native plants that fit

The modern cultivars are where most gardens should start, because breeders have spent decades taming the sizes. Lilly Pilly 'Resilience' (Syzygium australe) reaches about 5m untrimmed but holds happily at 2m to 3m as a psyllid resistant hedge, Westringia 'Zena' stops at a tidy 1m ball, and Lomandra 'Lime Tuff' makes a 50cm tuft that survives nearly anything. The wild forms bring the scale: Coast Banksia at 8m or more, Queensland Bottle Tree with its swollen trunk, and grass trees that predate the suburb around them. Browse by habit through our native shrubs and native trees collections.

Match the plant to your climate, not the flag

Native does not mean suited to every Australian garden. Lilly pillies, lemon myrtle and Ivory Curl Tree come from the humid east coast and take only light frost, so in Melbourne, Canberra or the Adelaide Hills lean instead on the genuinely frost hardy natives: westringia, callistemon, banksia, lomandra and creeping boobialla all shrug off cold, and most of them handle coastal salt and poor soil as well. In the tropics and subtropics almost everything here performs. Filter by your climate zone rather than assuming.

Planting and spacing that works

Spacings from our growing data: 'Resilience' at 1m centres for a dense screen, Callistemon 'Kings Park Special' at 1.5m, 'Zena' at 600mm for a low hedge, 'Lime Tuff' at 50cm for massed borders, Native Violet at 300mm for quick groundcover in moist shade and Creeping Boobialla at 1m to carpet a dry bank. For a coastal windbreak, set Coast Banksia 3m apart. Plant into soil loosened twice the pot width, water in well, mulch, and skip the manure: most natives prefer lean soil to a rich one.

Care, and the phosphorus rule

Banksias and their Proteaceae relatives are sensitive to phosphorus, so feed natives with a low phosphorus native fertiliser rather than a general purpose one. Beyond that, the routine is light: deep weekly water through the first summer, then most of this range is drought tolerant on rainfall, and a trim straight after flowering keeps shrubs dense instead of leggy. Bird attracting is where natives repay you; over 400 plants here carry that flag, and the bird attracting collection, our grevilleas and bottlebrushes keep honeyeaters arriving year round.

Common questions

Are Australian natives low maintenance?

Lower, not zero. They still need water to establish, annual feeding and a yearly prune. What they mostly do not need is spraying, soil improvement or summer irrigation once settled.

Which natives attract the most birds?

Nectar feeders come for banksias, grevilleas and callistemons, and dense hedging lilly pillies add berries and nesting cover. A mix of flowering seasons keeps the traffic constant.

Are natives safe for dogs and cats?

Many of the popular ones carry our Pet Friendly flag, including 'Resilience', 'Lime Tuff', Native Violet and 'Kings Park Special'. Not all qualify, so check the flag on each product page rather than assuming natives are safe by default.

Can I grow these anywhere in Australia?

We deliver everything Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, no minimum order and a 30 day healthy plant guarantee. Choose by the climate zones on each product page and your state stops mattering.