White Coral Pea Snow White

White Coral Pea 'Snow White' (Hardenbergia violacea 'Edna Walling Snow White') is the white flowered form of the native happy wanderer, a twining climber that will just as readily sprawl as a groundcover. It runs to about 2m in either direction and covers itself in sprays of small white pea flowers through late winter and spring, when very little else is going.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers when the garden is empty. Late winter into spring, weeks before most things start, and heavy enough to hide the foliage underneath.
• Climber or groundcover, your choice. Give it wire and it twines to 2m; give it open ground and it sprawls to about 2m across.
• It asks for very little. Drought tolerant, frost hardy, salt tolerant and happy in poor soil, so a hard bank or a coastal fence line suits it.
• Native bees and butterflies work it. The pea flowers are a genuine early season food source.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 1m apart across an open bed for a continuous mat within a season or two. Left without support it layers over itself and suppresses weeds.

Fences and screens. Plant 1.5m apart along a fence or wire and it twines up to about 2m. It is a light climber, so it will not pull down a structure the way a woody vine can.

Retaining walls and slopes. Set it on top of a wall to trail over the face, or run it through a batter at 1m spacing to hold soil while the roots knit in.

Growing white coral pea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering, though it takes part shade with a lighter display. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and it is both frost hardy and salt tolerant, so coastal and cold inland sites both work.

Soil. Free draining above all, and poor soil is genuinely fine. Do not enrich the bed heavily, because rich, wet ground is the quickest way to lose a hardenbergia to root rot.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to establish it, then only during long dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, or skip feeding altogether on reasonable soil.

Pruning. Cut it back by about a third as soon as flowering finishes. That keeps it dense and prevents the woody, bare centred tangle an unpruned plant becomes after a few years.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tube stock, in 140mm pots sold in packs of ten, and in 200mm pots in packs of six. Tube stock is the value choice for a bank or a long fence line, while the 140mm and 200mm plants are easier to train onto wire straight away.

Young plants look sparse, a few trailing stems rather than a bush. That is normal, and growth comes fast once the roots move, usually within the first warm season. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the climbing plant range
• Softening fences and retaining walls with plants
• The full Australian native collection
• More groundcovers for open beds

Common questions

Does it need a trellis?

Only if you want height. With wire or a trellis it twines to about 2m, and without support it sprawls and works as a groundcover.

How far apart should I plant it?

1m apart for groundcover or mass planting, and 1.5m apart along a fence where each plant has room to run sideways as well as up.

When does it flower?

Late winter into spring, with the peak usually running four to six weeks. Full sun and a light prune afterwards give the heaviest display the following year.

Will it take over the garden?

No. It is an Australian native from the south east and it spreads by growth rather than by running roots, so a yearly prune keeps it where you planted it.