Grevillea ‘Canterbury Gold’

Grevillea 'Canterbury Gold' (Grevillea 'Canterbury Gold') is a low spreading native groundcover, around 0.8m tall and 2.5m across, so one plant covers a lot of bare earth. Golden spider flowers sit above fine needle foliage for months, and honeyeaters find them within days. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and content in poor soil, it is one of the more forgiving ways to cover a slope or a hot front verge.

Why you'll love it

• Wide, not tall. It smothers weeds without blocking a view or a window.
• Birds arrive quickly. Nectar rich golden flowers pull in honeyeaters, bees and butterflies.
• Poor soil is fine. It tolerates thin, gravelly and sandy ground, so unimproved batters and verges suit it.
• Wide climate range. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant and salt tolerant, performing from the subtropics through to cool temperate and arid districts.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 1.5m apart for full cover and they knit together over two growing seasons. Closer spacing wastes plants rather than speeding the result.

Retaining walls, slopes and edging. The spreading habit spills over a wall edge and the roots hold loose soil on a batter. Along a driveway or between rocks it fills horizontally and holds its shape without constant clipping.

Growing Grevillea 'Canterbury Gold' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering. It handles frost once established, so cool temperate, tableland, Mediterranean and arid districts all suit it. In humid subtropical gardens give it the most open, airy spot you have, because still damp air is what shortens a grevillea's life.

Soil. Free draining soil of almost any fertility, including poor and rocky ground. It will not accept waterlogging, so mound the planting hole on heavy clay.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring; standard garden fertilisers carry too much phosphorus and will yellow the foliage.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after each main flowering to keep growth dense. It does not reliably reshoot from bare old wood, so trim little and often rather than cutting into the leafless framework.

What to expect when it arrives

Grown as tube stock only, so each plant is young, roughly 100mm to 200mm tall, with a small but active root system. Those young roots move into surrounding soil far faster than a pot bound advanced plant, and a tube commonly overtakes a larger plant within two seasons.

Order enough to plant the whole area at once, because a patchy groundcover never quite catches up. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Expect useful spread by the end of the first year and full cover in the second. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete grevillea care guide
• Browse the full grevillea range
• Compare groundcover plants for slopes and verges

Common questions

How many plants do I need for a bank?

At 1.5m centres you need roughly one plant for every two square metres, so a 20 square metre slope takes about nine or ten.

Why did my last grevillea go yellow and die?

The two usual causes are phosphorus and wet feet. Use a native specific low phosphorus fertiliser, and never plant into ground that stays soggy after rain.

How hard can I cut it back?

Only into growth that still carries leaves. Grevilleas are unreliable at reshooting from bare wood, so a light annual shear after flowering beats one heavy rescue prune.