Christmas bush

Christmas Bush 'Shiraz' (Ceratopetalum gummiferum 'Shiraz') is the selection to plant if you want the deepest red summer display from this native, on a shrub that stays a manageable 3m tall and 2m wide. Small white flowers open in spring, then the bracts behind them swell and colour to a deep wine red through December and January. It is an Australian native, it feeds birds and pollinators, and it asks very little once established.

Why you'll love it

• Colour when the garden needs it. The red display peaks over summer, when most flowering shrubs have finished.
• Deeper red than the common form. 'Shiraz' was selected for bract colour, so the summer show holds its intensity rather than fading to pink.
• A useful size. At 3m by 2m it screens a fence line or anchors a small garden without becoming a tree.
• Native, and busy with wildlife. Birds work the shrub and the spring flowers bring in bees and butterflies.
• Drought and salt tolerant. Once its roots are down it copes with dry spells and with salt wind on a coastal block.

Where it works best

Feature planting. One plant in a front garden or against a light wall carries the summer display, and the size suits a courtyard.

Informal screening. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row for a loose screen. It will not clip into a formal hedge, so treat it as a soft boundary rather than a wall.

Pots and coastal gardens. A pot 500mm or wider holds it at around 2m. On the coast it takes salt wind, provided the drainage is sharp.

Growing Christmas Bush in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the best bract colour, and part shade gives you a looser, greener plant. It suits subtropical and warm temperate gardens, and it takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland and cold southern districts are not the place for it. Nor is the wet tropics, where the humidity works against it.

Soil. Sandy, acidic and free draining is ideal. On heavy clay, mound the bed and open the soil with coarse sand and compost, because wet feet will kill it faster than any dry spell.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first two summers, then only in extended dry weather. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring. Standard garden fertilisers carry too much phosphorus for this one.

Pruning. Cut back by up to a third as soon as the red bracts finish, usually in late summer. The timing matters, because next season's flowers form on the growth that follows the cut. Regular pruning also keeps the base furnished instead of leggy.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold as tube stock. You are buying a young single stemmed plant with a small root system, not an instant shrub. Tube stock establishes quickly and usually catches larger stock within two seasons.

Expect a quiet first few weeks after planting, then new growth through the first warm season. Most plants give a small display in their second or third summer and build from there. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the wider Australian native shrub range.
• Native plants with red flowers.
• Designing a native garden that attracts wildlife.
• Compare plants suited to small gardens.

Common questions

When does it turn red?

The white flowers open in spring, and the bracts behind them enlarge and darken through December and January. In a warm garden the colour usually holds for six to eight weeks.

How far apart for a screen?

One and a half metres apart. The plants meet at that spacing and read as a continuous informal screen, while each one keeps enough room to flower properly.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost only. Young plants are the most vulnerable, so shelter them for their first two winters. In districts with regular hard frosts, choose a frost hardy native instead.