Dianella ‘Summer Rev’

Dianella 'Summer Rev' (Dianella revoluta 'Summer Rev') is a blue green native flax lily that holds its colour when everything around it has given up. It forms an upright strappy clump about 60cm tall and 60cm wide, topped in spring with small blue flowers and then purple berries the birds work through. Once established it wants almost nothing: no watering in an average season, no feeding, no trimming for years.

Why you'll love it

• Blue foliage year round. The steel blue green leaf colour is the reason to plant it, and it holds through summer heat and winter cold alike.
• Tough almost anywhere. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, salt tolerant, heat tolerant and content in poor soil, which covers most difficult spots in a garden.
• Native and bird friendly. Blue flowers give way to purple berries that small birds feed on through the warmer months.
• Almost no maintenance. No deadheading, no staking, no annual shearing. A hard cut back every few years is the whole routine.

Where it works best

Mass planting and groundcover. Plant 50cm apart. The clumps knit into continuous cover in about two seasons and hold that density without gaps, which is why dianella is the standard choice for large landscape beds.

Retaining walls and slopes. The fibrous root system binds soil well, so it earns its place on a batter or above a wall where mowing is impractical.

Borders and rockeries. The same 50cm spacing suits a defined edge, and single clumps look right between rocks where the leaf colour reads against stone.

Growing Dianella 'Summer Rev' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun brings out the strongest blue; part shade gives a greener, looser clump. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, subtropical, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and is frost hardy once established, so it covers most of the country.

Soil. Any reasonable soil, including sand, gravel and clay, provided water does not sit around the crown. It handles poor ground well, so heavy soil improvement is unnecessary.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to get roots down, then only in extended dry spells. Feeding is optional; a light native fertiliser in early spring gives a fuller clump if you want one.

Pruning. Leave it alone for two or three years, then cut the whole clump back to about 15cm in late winter. It reshoots quickly with fresh colour, and that single cut is far better than picking at brown leaves each season.

What to expect when it arrives

This dianella comes as tube stock and as 140mm plants in packs of ten. Tubes are the value option for a large bed, since a hundred clumps cost a fraction of the potted equivalent and close the gap within two seasons. The 140mm plants give a fuller look in the first year.

Strappy foliage travels well and any bent leaves straighten within a fortnight. 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

• The full dianella care guide
• Compare other strappy leaf plants
• Plants that suit mass planting
• Planting above retaining walls and slopes

Common questions

How many do I need per square metre?

At 50cm spacing you need four plants per square metre. That gives closed cover in about two seasons without the clumps crowding and thinning each other out.

Does it need cutting back every year?

No. Most plantings look best cut hard every two to three years in late winter. Annual shearing is unnecessary and tends to leave the clump looking blunt.

Will it handle frost and a coastal front garden?

Both. It is frost hardy once established, which covers cool temperate and inland districts, and salt tolerant enough for an exposed coastal block. Wind and poor sandy soil do not trouble it.