Golden Penda

Golden Penda 'Little Penda' (Xanthostemon chrysanthus 'Little Penda') gives you the brilliant golden flower heads of the tropical penda on a shrub that stays around 3m tall and 2m wide. The full sized tree reaches 8m or more, so this compact selection is the one to plant when you want the flowers at eye level rather than a tree over the roof line.

Why you'll love it

• Golden flowers on a shrub sized plant. Dense clusters of bright yellow stamens cover the plant through the warmer months.
• It screens properly. At 3m tall and 2m wide with dense evergreen foliage, a row makes a real privacy screen rather than a token one.
• Heat and humidity suit it. This is a northern Australian rainforest plant, so hot humid summers are exactly its conditions.
• Birds and bees work it hard. Nectar rich flowers pull in honeyeaters, lorikeets and native bees for weeks at a time.
• Coastal tolerant and low maintenance. It takes salt laden wind and asks for little beyond a prune after flowering and a feed in spring.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1.2m apart for a dense screen. Plants close into a continuous wall in two to three seasons and hold foliage down low.

Feature planting. A single plant beside an entry does the job of a small flowering tree without the root run or the shade.

Pots and courtyards. A pot 500mm or wider holds it around 2m and suits a warm sheltered courtyard or a north facing balcony in frost free areas.

Growing Golden Penda in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering; in part shade it flowers sparsely. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens only. It is frost tender, and that is the hard limit: frosting inland districts, the tablelands and cool southern gardens will damage or kill it.

Soil. Rich, well drained soil with plenty of organic matter. It wants more moisture than a dry country native, so work compost through the backfill and mulch 75mm deep.

Water and feed. Deep water twice a week through the first two summers. It is not drought tolerant, so plan on extra water in long dry spells even when established. Feed a slow release native fertiliser in early spring and late summer.

Pruning. Tip prune from the day it goes in the ground, because that is how you get density low down. Prune properly straight after each flowering, cutting behind the spent flower heads.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in three sizes. Tube stock is a young single stemmed plant and the sensible unit for a hedge run, since a 12m screen at 1.2m spacing needs ten plants. The 140mm pack of 10 gives a larger, better branched plant on arrival, while the 200mm pack of 6 suits a shorter screen or a group of feature plants.

Expect slow progress through the first cool season, then a strong surge once the weather warms, because this plant does most of its growing in the heat. First flowers usually come in year two or three. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• All about the golden penda plant
• Subtropical plants for warm climates
• The Australian native shrub range
• More bird attracting plants

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One point two metres apart in a single row. Each plant reaches about 2m across, so that spacing gives an overlapping solid screen while leaving each root system enough ground.

Will it survive frost?

No. It is frost tender, and even light frost burns the new growth. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens only. In marginal areas a warm sheltered wall is the workaround.

How is it different from a normal golden penda?

Size, mainly. The species grows into a tree of 8m or more, while this selection stays a large shrub of about 3m by 2m with the same flowers, which makes it usable in a suburban backyard.