Grevillea lanigera ‘Mt Tamboritha’

Mt Tamboritha grevillea (Grevillea lanigera 'Mt Tamboritha') is the prostrate form of the woolly grevillea, and one of the most useful native groundcovers in the country. It stays under 400mm tall while spreading to about 1.5m, laying down a soft grey green mat of fine woolly foliage that flowers pink and cream through the cooler months.

Why you'll love it

• Low and wide. Under 400mm tall and 1.5m across, so it covers ground and holds soil without needing to be cut back off a path.
• Flowers through the quiet season. Pink and cream spider flowers from autumn through winter into spring, when most gardens have little happening.
• Small birds move in. The dense low growth gives honeyeaters and wrens both nectar and cover, a rare combination in a groundcover.
• It thrives on neglect. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, happy in poor soil and salt tolerant enough for a coastal garden.
• Grey foliage that earns its place. The woolly silver green leaves look good all year, with or without flowers.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 1m apart for dense cover. At that spacing the plants knit within two seasons and shade out most weed seedlings, which is the whole point of a groundcover.

Slopes, walls and rockeries. The spreading habit binds a bank and looks best tumbling over a wall top where the flowers sit at eye level. Sharp drainage among rocks suits it, and a single plant softens a path edge.

Growing Mt Tamboritha grevillea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always. Shade produces open, sparse growth and few flowers. This is a warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean plant, and genuinely frost hardy, so southern gardens and the tablelands suit it. It is not for the humid tropics or wet subtropics, where summer humidity brings collar rot.

Soil. Drainage matters far more than fertility, and poor gravelly or sandy soils are ideal. On clay, plant on a raised mound or in a rockery pocket, and keep mulch light and gravelly rather than damp against the stems.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. Grevilleas are sensitive to phosphorus, so use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, or skip feeding in a reasonable soil.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly once the main flowering finishes to keep the mat dense. Do not cut back into bare old wood, because it reshoots poorly from there. Light trimming from the start avoids the problem.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in three sizes: tube, 140mm in packs of ten, and 200mm in packs of six. For any real area the packs are the way to buy it, since covering 10 square metres at 1m spacing takes ten plants. Tube stock is the standard choice for large mass plantings, while the 140mm and 200mm plants give a visible result in the first season.

Small native groundcovers travel well and establish quickly. Expect roots to move within two to three weeks and full cover in the second season. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Native plants that bring birds into the garden
• Compare the full grevillea range
• Low maintenance groundcovers
• Plants suited to rockeries and dry gardens

Common questions

How many plants do I need per square metre?

One per square metre, which is the 1m spacing that gives dense cover in about two seasons. Planting closer brings the cover forward by only a few months and costs considerably more.

Will it grow in Brisbane or further north?

This one suits warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens. In humid subtropical and tropical districts the summer wet tends to rot the crown, so a locally adapted grevillea is safer.

What fertiliser should I use?

A low phosphorus native fertiliser, or none at all. Standard garden fertilisers and manures carry enough phosphorus to damage grevillea roots, and the symptoms show as yellowing then sudden collapse.