White Correa

White Correa (Correa alba) is the coastal shrub to plant where salt wind has already killed something else. It forms a rounded bush about 1.5m tall and wide, clothed in thick grey green leaves with a felted underside, and carries small white bells through autumn and winter. Very little else flowers that reliably on sand, in wind, with no watering and no feeding.

Why you'll love it

• A front line coastal plant. Salt spray and constant wind are its natural conditions, not something it merely survives, so it holds up along an exposed beachside fence.
• Flowers when the garden is quiet. White bells through the cooler months feed honeyeaters at the leanest time of year.
• A useful 1.5m by 1.5m. Tall enough to screen a fence line or a bin bay, low enough that it never blocks a view.
• Poor soil preferred. Sand, gravel and unimproved ground suit it, and it resents rich feeding, so the cheapest option is the right one.
• Grey foliage all year. The soft grey green holds through summer heat and looks deliberate against rendered walls.

Where it works best

Low hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart for a low coastal hedge. The plants meet within two to three seasons and give a soft, informal wall at waist to chest height.

Coastal gardens. Use it as the windward layer, with taller natives behind and grasses in front. It also holds sandy soil on a gentle slope.

Mass planting and borders. Grouped in odd numbers through a native bed it gives structure and grey contrast between flushes.

Growing White Correa in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the densest bush and heaviest flowering; light shade is tolerated with a looser habit. It is frost hardy and suits warm temperate, cool temperate, subtropical and Mediterranean gardens. Humid tropical gardens and the arid inland sit outside its range.

Soil. Sandy, gravelly and poor soils are ideal, and drainage matters far more than fertility. On heavy clay build a raised mound and open the bed with coarse compost. Keep 75mm of mulch clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Deep water weekly through the first summer, then only in prolonged dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser once in early spring, or leave it unfed.

Pruning. Trim lightly every year after flowering, taking soft outer growth only. Correas rarely reshoot from bare wood, so a hard cut often leaves a permanent hole.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: tube stock, 140mm in packs of ten, 200mm in packs of six and 250mm in packs of three, with tube stock on backorder at times. Tubes are the value choice for a long hedge run, while the 200mm and 250mm plants arrive already branched and give a visible low hedge a season sooner.

Correas travel well upright, though a few dropped leaves are normal. Expect roots to move within a month in mild weather and useful size by the end of the second season. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to plan a coastal garden that handles salt wind
• Compare other salt tolerant plants
• Browse the Australian native shrub range
• The dwarf form, at about 600mm tall

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. The plants meet in two to three seasons and stay furnished at the base, which makes it read as a hedge rather than a row of shrubs.

How is it different from the dwarf form?

The species reaches about 1.5m tall and wide, while the dwarf selection holds at roughly 600mm and spreads to a metre. Choose the species for a low hedge or screen, and the dwarf where you want groundcover.

Why has my plant thinned out at the base?

Usually years without trimming. Correas hold density only if the soft outer growth is cut back each year, so light annual pruning is the fix rather than a hard cut.