Grevillea ‘Flora Mason’

Grevillea 'Flora Mason' (Grevillea 'Flora Mason') earns its place by flowering when little else does and bringing honeyeaters with it. It makes a rounded shrub around 1.5m tall and 1.5m wide, with pink and red flower heads above fine textured foliage. Give it full sun and drainage and it asks for almost nothing after the first summer.

Why you'll love it

• Honeyeaters find it fast. Nectar rich flower heads pull wattlebirds and smaller honeyeaters in, usually within the first flowering season.
• Drought tolerant once established. After two summers it lives on rainfall in most temperate and Mediterranean gardens.
• Poor soil is not a problem. Sandy and gravelly ground suits it better than an improved bed, which only pushes soft growth.
• Ready for the coast. Salt tolerant and comfortable in exposed positions, so it can go in a front garden near the beach.
• Very little work. A light prune after each flush is the whole maintenance job.

Where it works best

Feature planting in a small garden. At 1.5m by 1.5m it fills a bed without dominating it, and it flowers harder than most natives of the same size.

Informal screen. Plant 1m apart for a soft screen around 1.5m high. It will not take formal shearing, so think of it as a living boundary rather than a clipped hedge.

Mass planting and coastal gardens. Set plants 1m apart across a bank or a wide front bed, where they hide each other's bare lower stems and give birds cover.

Growing Grevillea 'Flora Mason' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, all day, is the biggest factor in flowering. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens. It takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland and tableland gardens are a risk, and tropical humidity encourages root problems.

Soil. Drainage matters more than fertility. On clay, plant on a raised mound at least 300mm high, use a coarse mulch and keep it clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first two summers, then taper right off. Feed only with a low phosphorus native fertiliser. Standard garden fertilisers and manures are high in phosphorus and will yellow the foliage and can kill the plant.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build a dense shape, then trim lightly after each flush. Never take more than about a third at once, and never cut into bare leafless wood, because grevilleas are reluctant to reshoot from it.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes: tubestock as single plants, and 140mm pots sold as a pack of ten. Tubes are young, single stemmed and the value option. A pack of ten 140mm plants is the practical buy for a screen, since at 1m spacing it plants a ten metre run in one order.

Grevilleas travel well, and some leaf drop in transit is normal rather than a fault. Plant into dry ground rather than a waterlogged bed, and expect four to six weeks of root work before new tips appear. 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

• Read our complete grevillea care guide before you plant.
• Compare varieties across the full grevillea range.
• See more bird attracting plants for Australian gardens.
• Browse coastal and salt tolerant plants for exposed blocks.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row gives a soft screen at about 1.5m. The same spacing suits a mass planting, and the plants knit together within two seasons.

Why can't I use normal fertiliser?

Grevilleas are very sensitive to phosphorus. A standard complete fertiliser or poultry manure will yellow the leaves and can kill the plant. Use a native blend labelled low phosphorus, once in early spring.

Will it handle frost?

Light frost only. It is fine in most coastal and warm temperate gardens, but repeated heavy frosts on the tablelands or in cold inland districts will damage it.