Winter Delight Grevillea

Winter Delight Grevillea (Grevillea lanigera x lavandulacea 'Winter Delight') flowers when almost nothing else in the garden will. It is a low spreading native, about 600mm tall and 1.5m across, carrying pink and red spider flowers right through the cold months while honeyeaters work over anything on offer. Woolly grey green foliage keeps it looking deliberate between flushes.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers through winter. The main display lands in the months when a garden is usually bare, and the pink and red flowers hold for weeks rather than days.
• Honeyeaters find it fast. Nectar rich spider flowers at a height small birds can reach, which brings natives into the garden at the leanest time of year.
• Low and wide. At roughly 600mm by 1.5m it fills a bed edge or a rockery pocket without ever needing to be cut back to keep a view.
• Built for hard sites. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, happy in poor soil and tolerant of coastal salt, so it handles positions that kill fussier shrubs.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 1m apart for a low spreading cover. At that spacing the plants meet in about two seasons and stay dense at the base, which is where most grevillea plantings go wrong.

Rockeries and slopes. The spreading habit drapes over rock and low walls, and the plant is at its best in the lean, sharply drained soil a rockery provides.

Borders and pots. It edges a path at a height that does not need constant clipping, and a wide, shallow container of free draining mix suits it on a sunny balcony.

Growing Winter Delight Grevillea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with good air movement around the plant. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and it is frost hardy enough for cold inland districts. Be honest about the limit: it dislikes humid summers, so subtropical coastal gardeners will find it short lived.

Soil. Free draining and lean. Poor, gravelly or sandy soil is ideal, and heavy clay is the main cause of failure. On clay, mound the bed 200mm and plant into the raised soil.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser sparingly in early spring. Standard garden fertilisers and manures carry enough phosphorus to damage grevillea roots.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after the main winter flush to keep the plant compact and encourage the next round of flowers. Do not cut into bare old wood, because grevilleas are slow to reshoot from it.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in three sizes. Tube stock is the value choice for a mass planting and establishes quickly for its size. The 140mm plants come as a pack of ten and the 250mm plants as a pack of three, both already branching and closer to their spreading shape on arrival.

Grevilleas travel well because the foliage is tough and holds its own moisture. Some leaf drop after transit is normal. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Expect a slow few weeks while the roots move out, then steady spread, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full grevillea range
• The best bird attracting natives for Australian gardens
• Compare other plants for rockeries and dry beds
• See more Australian native shrubs

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

One metre apart for a continuous low cover. Each plant spreads to about 1.5m, so that spacing lets them overlap slightly and close the gaps without crowding one another.

What fertiliser can I use?

A low phosphorus native fertiliser, applied sparingly in early spring. Grevilleas are sensitive to phosphorus, so avoid general purpose fertilisers, poultry manure and most rose and citrus foods.

Will it grow in a humid subtropical garden?

It is not the right pick. This hybrid comes from the drier south east of the country and resents a humid summer, which usually shows up as sudden collapse in its second or third year.