Tibouchina ‘Noelene’

Tibouchina 'Noelene' (Tibouchina 'Noelene') is the bicolour glory bush, opening white and ageing to deep pink so a mature shrub carries both colours at once. It settles at about 3m tall and 2m wide, small enough for a courtyard bed, tall enough to soften a fence. The main flush runs from late summer into autumn, when most gardens have gone quiet.

Why you'll love it

• Two colours at once. Buds open white and deepen to pink with age, so the canopy reads as shaded rather than flat.
• It flowers late. The display lands between the summer perennials and the winter camellias, filling a real gap in the year.
• Fast to fill its space. A tube planted in spring is a useful shrub inside two seasons.
• Built for heat and humidity. Muggy coastal summers do not bother it, which rules out many other flowering shrubs.
• Bees and butterflies work it. The flowers are open and shallow, so insects reach the pollen easily.

Where it works best

Feature planting. One plant carries a small garden through autumn. Give it a position you see from inside.

Informal screening. Plant 1.5m apart for a loose screen. It is not a clipped hedge plant, since hard shearing removes the wood that carries next season's flowers.

Pots and small gardens. A container 400mm or wider suits it, and pot growing naturally holds it nearer 2m.

Growing Tibouchina 'Noelene' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so cold tableland, inland and southern gardens need a sheltered warm wall, a pot that can move under cover, or a hardier shrub.

Soil. Slightly acidic and free draining. Work compost through the bed, avoid lime, and keep 75mm of mulch clear of the stem. Wet feet in heavy clay is the fastest way to lose one.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then water in dry spells and while buds form. Feed a fertiliser for acid loving plants in early spring and again after flowering.

Pruning. Prune straight after the flowers drop, taking up to a third off. It flowers on new wood, so an early trim builds the next display. Late pruning costs you flowers.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown as tube stock: young single stemmed plants, usually below knee height, with roots still filling the tube. That is the trade off, a season of patience in exchange for a plant that establishes quickly at a fraction of the cost of advanced stock. Plant out in spring or early autumn and pinch the tip once to encourage low branching.

Plants travel upright and 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 a quiet fortnight, then new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather, and a first real flowering in the second autumn. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to grow and prune tibouchinas
• Browse the full flowering plant range
• Shrubs sized for small gardens
• Shop tubestock for larger plantings

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

Set plants 1.5m apart. The canopies meet without crowding, and each shrub keeps the open habit that makes the flowering worth having.

Will it survive frost?

Only light, occasional frost once established, and young plants will be damaged. In tableland, inland and cold southern gardens, grow it in a pot you can move under eaves for winter.

When should I prune it?

Immediately after flowering finishes, taking up to a third off. Pruning in late winter or spring removes the wood that would have carried the next flush.