Spiny Head Mat Rush

Spiny Head Mat Rush (Lomandra longifolia 'Verday') is the landscape workhorse behind half the mass plantings you walk past without noticing. It makes a tidy arching tuft around 80cm tall and 90cm wide, and it keeps going through frost, drought, poor soil, salt wind and clay that stays wet after rain. 'Verday' is a selected form, which matters at scale: a hundred plants look like a hundred of the same plant.

Why you'll love it

• It tolerates nearly everything. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, happy in poor soil, salt tolerant and able to sit in wet ground.
• It suits almost the whole country. Tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and arid or semi arid gardens are all in range.
• Uniform by design. Because it is a selected cultivar rather than seed grown stock, a repeated planting stays even in height and colour.
• Lightly perfumed flower spikes. Yellow spikes appear in spring with a faint sweet scent.
• Pet friendly. Not toxic to cats or dogs, so it can go into a family front garden.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 70cm apart, centre to centre. At that spacing a pack of ten covers close to five square metres once the clumps meet.

Retaining walls and slopes. The dense fibrous root system holds a batter together and copes with the runoff at the base of a wall, where many ornamental grasses fail.

Borders, coastal gardens and rockeries. A single row 70cm apart gives a strong green line, though the common name is honest: the leaf tips are firm and finely toothed, so set the row back 30cm to 40cm from a narrow path. Salt wind and reflected heat off rock and gravel do not bother it.

Growing Spiny Head Mat Rush in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the tightest, most upright clumps. Part shade is tolerated but growth is looser and flowering lighter. It is frost hardy, so unlike most lomandras it suits cool temperate and cold inland gardens as well as the warm coast.

Soil. Almost anything: clay, sand, gravel and low fertility fill all work. It handles waterlogging and long dry spells equally. Mulch 50mm deep, clear of the crown.

Water and feed. Weekly through the first summer, fortnightly in the second, then rainfall. One feed of slow release native fertiliser in early spring is plenty.

Pruning. No annual cut back needed. Every three or four years, shear the planting to about 20cm in late winter, then feed and water once.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in three sizes: tubestock as single plants, 140mm pots as a pack of ten, and 200mm pots as a pack of six. Tubes suit a large area, and the 200mm plants arrive as established tufts that read as finished on day one.

Be prepared for a slow first year: a new mass planting looks sparse for twelve months before it thickens. Strappy foliage travels well, though expect some creased leaves from the box. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our comprehensive lomandra care guide.
• Compare cultivars in the full lomandra range.
• See what else suits a batter in plants for retaining walls and slopes.
• Browse more plants that are safe around pets.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Seventy centimetres apart, centre to centre. Because each clump reaches about 90cm wide, tighter spacing only crowds the planting later.

Is it actually prickly?

The leaf tips are firm and finely toothed rather than sharp like a spine. It is fine to work around, but allow 30cm to 40cm of clearance from a path.

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

Yes. It is not toxic to cats or dogs, one reason it is used so widely in public landscaping.

Will it survive frost and cold winters?

Yes. This is a frost hardy form, so it holds up in cool temperate and cold inland gardens where softer lomandras brown off.