Grevillea ‘Lana Maree’

Grevillea 'Lana Maree' (Grevillea 'Lana Maree') is a compact Australian native that flowers pink and red and brings honeyeaters into a small garden. It settles at roughly 2m tall and 2m wide, holds its foliage down to the ground and asks very little once established.

Why you'll love it

• Birds arrive within weeks. Nectar rich pink and red flowers pull in honeyeaters, wattlebirds, lorikeets, native bees and butterflies.
• A long flowering season. Grevilleas of this type flower heavily through the cooler months, with scattered blooms across much of the year in a warm garden.
• Right sized for a small garden. At about 2m by 2m it fills a corner or anchors a border without constant cutting back.
• Dry and coastal tough. Drought tolerant, salt tolerant, wind resilient and content in poor soil, so exposed coastal blocks and inland gardens both suit it.

Where it works best

Feature planting. One plant in a gravel or native bed reads as a soft mound of colour against strappy foliage and rock.

Mass planting, borders and small gardens. Plant 1.5m apart for a continuous flowering band, or an informal low screen along a fence or driveway. They merge in about two seasons.

Growing Grevillea 'Lana Maree' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with as much air movement as you can give it. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi-arid gardens. It takes light frost once established but not a hard one.

Soil. Free draining above all else, with sandy, gravelly and poor soils ideal. On clay, mound the bed 300mm and work coarse sand through it, because wet feet over summer is the main way grevilleas are lost.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring and again after the main flowering. Standard garden fertilisers and most manures carry enough phosphorus to damage grevillea roots.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after each flush of flowers from the first year. That keeps it dense and prevents the woody, open middle neglected grevilleas develop.

What to expect when it arrives

Sold as tube stock. Grevilleas establish better from a tube than from a large pot because their roots resent disturbance, and a tube usually overtakes a much larger plant within two seasons. Expect a plant around 15cm to 25cm tall with a few branches, not a flowering shrub.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Plant into free draining soil, mulch with gravel or coarse bark kept clear of the stem, and expect the first real flowering in the second year. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete grevillea care guide.
• Compare varieties in the grevillea collection.
• More Australian native shrubs.
• Native plants that attract birds.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

1.5m apart for mass planting or an informal low screen. Each plant reaches about 2m across, so they meet and merge without crowding the bases.

Can I prune it hard to keep it small?

Light and regular is the rule; tip prune after each flowering flush from the first year. Cutting into bare old wood often kills the branch, so holding the shape is far easier than recovering it.

Will it handle frost?

Light frost only, and only once established. In cool temperate and tableland gardens, plant against a warm wall or choose a grevillea bred for cold districts.