Fan Flowers (Scaevola)

How to choose a fan flower

Choose by colour and spread. Mauve Clusters (Scaevola 'Mauve Clusters') is the lowest and widest, a 20cm mat to 1.2m across in soft mauve, the one for covering a bank or a large bed. Purple Fanfare and Purple Fusion are deeper violet-purple on plants about 30cm high and a metre wide, and they are the strongest flowering of the group. For pink, Pink Perfection spreads to 1.2m with rose-pink fans, and Pink Fusion is a slightly more compact pink to about 80cm. All five flower for most of the year in warm climates and from spring to the first frosts in cooler ones.

Where fan flowers work

Full sun and well-drained soil. Fan flowers are at home on banks and retaining walls, in rockeries and gravel gardens, along the front of native beds, between pavers, in hanging baskets and spilling from pots and planter boxes. They tolerate coastal salt wind and reflected heat off paving, and they grow in every capital city; in Melbourne, Canberra and the tablelands they may be cut back by frost and reshoot in spring, and in Brisbane and the subtropics they want the best drainage you can give them through a wet summer. Plant them with kangaroo paws, grevilleas and the other plants in our Australian natives range, or among the groundcover plants.

Planting and spacing

Plant in spring or autumn into soil that drains freely; on heavy clay, plant into a mound or a raised bed with gypsum and compost worked in. Space plants 60cm to 80cm apart for a solid cover within a season, or 1m apart if you are patient. In pots use a native or premium mix and a container at least 250mm wide. Water twice a week for the first two months, then weekly through the first summer.

Care basics

Fan flowers are short on demands. Feed once in spring with a native, low-phosphorus fertiliser. Trim the mat back by about a third in late winter or after the main flush of flowers to keep it dense and flowering; an unpruned plant goes woody in the centre after a few years. Water in long dry spells and the flowering keeps going. Few pests trouble them; root rot in wet, heavy soil is the one thing that kills them, which is why drainage matters more than anything else. Plants are not long lived, three to five years is typical, and are easily replaced or renewed from tip cuttings in spring. Our guide to plants for ground cover sets fan flowers among the alternatives.

Common questions

How long do fan flowers flower?

From spring to autumn in most of Australia, and almost year round in the subtropics. A light trim after each flush brings the next one on.

Are fan flowers frost hardy?

Light frosts, yes. A hard frost burns the mat back, and the plant usually reshoots from the centre in spring. Plant against a warm wall in cold districts.

Will fan flowers grow in a hanging basket?

Very well. The trailing stems hang 50cm or more over the edge and flower along their length. Water baskets daily in hot weather.

Do fan flowers need pruning?

One trim a year, by about a third, in late winter. It keeps the plant compact and stops the woody centre that older plants develop.