Jervis Gem Coastal Rosemary

Jervis Gem Coastal Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa 'Jervis Gem') is the dwarf of the westringia family: a naturally dense 90cm dome of fine grey green foliage dotted with small white flowers through most of the year. It was selected for the jobs box hedging used to own, low borders, knee high hedges, clipped balls in pots, and it does them on native toughness: frost, drought, salt gales, wind and poor soil all bounce off it.

Why you'll love it

• Box hedge looks, native constitution. Clips into crisp low hedges and spheres like buxus, on a fraction of the water and with flowers included.
• Compact by breeding, not by pruning. The 90cm dome is its natural resting shape, so one or two light trims a year is grooming, not correction.
• Flowers most of the year. Flushes of small white blooms keep coming, quietly feeding native bees and butterflies.
• Every tolerance that matters. Frost hardy, drought proof once established, front line salt tolerant and content in sand or clay loam.
• Uniform in numbers. Massed plants stay even for years, which is why designers specify it for borders by the dozen.

Where it works best

Low hedges and borders. Plant 50cm apart for a continuous knee high hedge; a 5m path edge takes 10 or 11 plants.

Coastal gardens. Bred from cliff line stock, it holds its polish in salt wind that burns exotics.

Mass planting. Drifts and grids across banks and verges give clean structure with no irrigation once away.

Pots and formal accents. A pair of clipped Jervis Gem balls in pots does the formal entry trick, native style.

Growing Jervis Gem in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the tightest dome; light part shade is fine. It performs in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean climates, and takes frost in its stride.

Soil. Anything that drains, including poor sand and gravel. Slightly mound heavy clay. Mulch 50mm, clear of stems.

Water and feed. Weekly deep drinks through the first summer, then rainfall carries it. A light native safe feed in spring is plenty; rich treatment softens the shape.

Pruning. Light all over trims after flower flushes, one to three times a year depending on how formal you want it. Never cut into old bare wood; little and often is the westringia rule.

What to expect when it arrives

Jervis Gem ships in every border building format, all currently in stock: tubes for big projects, 140mm packs of 10, 180mm and 200mm packs of 6, 250mm packs of 3, and single 300mm plants for instant edges. Delivery is Australia wide, from $29.95, with a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee. Expect quick establishment and a first light trim about three months in.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse Australian native shrubs
• Coastal and salt tolerant plants
• More plants for topiary and shaping

Common questions

How does Jervis Gem differ from Zena and Mundi?

Height class. Mundi is the groundcover at 40cm, Jervis Gem the border hedge at 90cm, Zena the metre round shrub. Same toughness across the family; pick by the finished height you want.

Can it really replace box hedging?

For low hedges to about 80cm, yes, and it gets there faster than box, flowers while doing it, and never suffers box blight. The trade is a slightly softer leaf texture up close.

How far apart for a border?

50cm in a single row. Plants touch within two seasons and read as one clipped line from then on.

How fast does it fill in?

Quickly for a compact native: from 140mm stock at 50cm spacing, expect a connected low hedge by the end of the second season, with tubes about a season behind.