Hop Goodenia

Hop Goodenia (Goodenia ovata) is the native shrub to reach for when a bank or a bare bed needs covering quickly. It forms a soft mound around 1.5m tall and 1.5m wide, carries bright yellow fan flowers through the warmer months, and holds loose soil together while it does it. Few natives handle drought and periods of wet feet as calmly.

Why you'll love it

• Fast cover on difficult ground. It knits together quickly from small stock, so a raw batter or an empty bed reads as planted within a season.
• Wet or dry, it copes. Drought tolerant once established and tolerant of soil that stays damp after rain, which is an unusual pairing in one plant.
• Long yellow flowering. Small yellow flowers over a long warm season, worked steadily by bees and butterflies.
• Cut it back and it returns. Hard pruning suits it. A plant that has gone leggy reshoots from low wood rather than sulking.

Where it works best

Banks, batters and retaining walls. Plant 1m apart across the slope, staggered rather than in straight rows, so the roots bind the whole face.

Mass planting and groundcover. At 1m spacing plants meet and form continuous cover, which shades out weeds and cuts the mulching bill.

Coastal gardens and borders. Salt tolerant enough for a beach block, though it wants some shelter from direct salt wind rather than the front dune, and low enough at 1.5m to edge a path or fill the front of a native bed.

Growing Hop Goodenia in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the densest, most compact plant; part shade works but the habit opens up. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens and is frost hardy, so cold southern and tableland districts are fine. It is not a plant for the wet tropics or hot arid inland.

Soil. Undemanding. It accepts clay that holds moisture after rain as well as sandy coastal soil, provided the site is not permanently boggy. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring. Rich feeding makes soft growth that flops.

Pruning. Shear lightly after the main flowering to keep it tight. Every second or third year cut the whole plant back by half in early spring to reset an open, woody centre.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold as tube stock and in 140mm pots in packs of ten. Tubes are young, a few stems on a strong root system, and they are the sensible choice for a bank needing 50 or more. The 140mm plants close a bed roughly a season sooner.

Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Expect a slow first month, then rapid spread once the roots find moisture, with full cover in the second growing season. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the wider Australian native shrub range.
• Compare options in plants for retaining walls and slopes.
• Read about other native plants with yellow flowers.
• See what else suits exposed sites in coastal gardens.

Common questions

How many plants do I need for a slope?

At 1m spacing, allow one plant per square metre of bank. A 5m by 4m batter therefore takes about 20 plants, which the pack of ten sizing suits well.

Will it survive a wet winter in clay?

Usually yes. It tolerates wet feet better than most natives, so seasonal waterlogging is not fatal. Ground that stays saturated for months on end is still too much.

How do I stop it going leggy?

Trim it after the main flush each year rather than waiting. If it has already opened up, cut it back by half in early spring and it will reshoot from the base.