Orange Wow Grevillea

Orange Wow Grevillea (Grevillea 'Orange Wow') reaches about 2m tall and 2m wide and carries warm orange flowers across most of the year rather than in one short burst. It is the quickest way to bring honeyeaters into a small garden, and poor soil, salt air and long dry spells barely register. Planted 1.2m apart it closes into an informal screen within two seasons.

Why you'll love it

• Birds find it fast. Nectar rich orange brushes bring in honeyeaters and lorikeets, and flowering runs through most of the year rather than one spring flush.
• Quick to fill a gap. A fast grower, so a bare fence line stops looking new within two seasons.
• Real drought tolerance. Once established it lives on rainfall through most warm temperate and Mediterranean seasons.
• Poor soil is an advantage. Sandy, gravelly, low fertility ground suits it better than a rich bed, and it takes salt laden coastal wind.
• Scaled for small gardens. Two metres each way suits a path or driveway edge.

Where it works best

Informal screening and hedging. Plant 1.2m apart in a single row for a soft screen rather than a clipped wall. Closer spacing crowds the bases and traps moisture around a plant that wants moving air.

Coastal gardens. Salt tolerance and a taste for poor soil make it an easy answer for a beachside front garden where lawn and roses struggle.

Feature planting. A single shrub against a pale wall shows the flower colour at its best.

Growing Orange Wow Grevillea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day keeps it dense and flowering. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid to semi-arid gardens. It takes light frost only, so cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens want a warm north facing wall or a pot that can shift under cover.

Soil. Drainage matters far more than fertility. On clay, plant high on a raised mound with coarse sand or gravel worked through the bed. Mulch 75mm deep, kept clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then water only in long dry spells. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring. Ordinary complete fertilisers and most manures carry far too much phosphorus for grevilleas.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after each flush of flowers to keep it bushy. Always cut back into leafy growth, because bare old wood reshoots slowly if at all.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold as tube stock and as 200mm plants in packs of six. Tubes are young single stemmed plants and the value choice for a long boundary, and they catch up quickly once the roots move. The 200mm plants arrive already branched, roughly a season ahead.

Fine foliage means grevilleas travel well, though a little leaf drop after transit is normal. 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. Expect three to four quiet weeks while roots establish, then steady growth and a first real flush of flowers inside the year. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full grevillea range
• Native plants that bring birds into the garden
• How to plant a privacy screen
• Compare drought tolerant plants

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

Space plants 1.2m apart in a single row. That gives each shrub room to reach its full 2m width and keeps air moving between the bases, which matters more for a grevillea than for most hedging shrubs.

What fertiliser is safe to use?

Only a low phosphorus fertiliser made for native plants, applied in early spring. Grevilleas evolved on phosphorus poor soils, and standard complete fertilisers, poultry manure and mushroom compost can kill them.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost, yes. Repeated heavy frost, no. In cold inland and southern gardens use a north facing wall, or a pot you can move under eaves for the coldest months.