Apricot Honey Myrtle

Apricot Honey Myrtle (Melaleuca fulgens) is a Western Australian native shrub that flowers in warm apricot orange bottlebrushes through spring. It settles at about 2m tall and 1.5m wide, so it fills a garden bed without taking it over. Honeyeaters work the flowers hard, and once established it asks for almost nothing.

Why you'll love it

• Apricot flowers, not the usual red. This is the softer coloured form of the scarlet honey myrtle, and the warm orange sits more easily beside other plants.
• It feeds the birds. Nectar rich flowers bring honeyeaters in, and the bees and butterflies follow.
• Built for dry, poor ground. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and happy in soil too poor for most flowering shrubs.
• A sensible size. At 2m by 1.5m it screens a fence panel or anchors a bed without becoming a pruning job.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 1.2m apart for an informal drift. At that spacing the shrubs touch and read as one planting while each keeps its open, airy shape.

Feature planting and small gardens. A single plant carries a courtyard bed in flower, and the fine grey green foliage stays presentable the rest of the year.

Borders and edging. Along a driveway or path it makes a low informal edge, though it is too open to clip into a formal hedge.

Growing Apricot Honey Myrtle in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with no compromise: shade means few flowers and a sparse habit. It suits warm temperate, Mediterranean, arid and semi-arid and subtropical gardens. It takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland and cold southern districts are a genuine risk, particularly for young plants.

Soil. Sharp drainage matters more than fertility. Sandy and gravelly soils are ideal. On clay, plant high on a raised mound, because wet feet through a humid summer is what kills this plant.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring; standard garden fertilisers can damage the roots of Western Australian natives.

Pruning. Trim lightly straight after flowering, taking no more than a third of the new growth. That keeps it bushy and sets up next season's flowers. Avoid cutting back into bare old wood, which reshoots poorly.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown as tube stock, which is currently on backorder, so allow time for the next crop before ordering. Tubes are young single stemmed plants, usually 15 to 25cm tall, and they are the standard way honey myrtles are sold: small plants establish faster and outgrow larger transplanted stock within a couple of seasons.

Expect a quiet first few months while roots go down, then real growth from the second spring and first flowers usually in the second or third year. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the wider melaleuca range.
• Compare other Australian native shrubs.
• Read about natives that bring birds into the garden.
• See what else copes with poor soil.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

About 1.2m apart for a mass planting or informal drift. As a single feature give it 1.5m of clear space so the open branching shows.

Will it grow on the east coast?

Yes, in warm temperate and subtropical gardens, provided the drainage is genuinely sharp. Humid wet summers on heavy soil are the main cause of failure, so a raised bed is worth the effort.

Can I prune it into a hedge?

Not really. The habit is open and it does not reshoot well from bare wood, so it makes an informal screen rather than a clipped one.

Does it handle frost?

Light frost only. Established plants shrug off the odd cold morning, but young ones need protection through their first two winters, and hard frosting districts are better served by a hardier native.