Ixora ‘Gold Malay’

Ixora 'Gold Malay' (Ixora coccinea 'Gold Malay') is the shrub to plant when you want warm season flower for months rather than weeks. It settles at about 1.5m tall and 1.2m wide, carrying rounded heads of golden orange bloom above hard, glossy foliage. In a warm frost free garden it asks very little of you.

Why you'll love it

• A long flowering season. In tropical and subtropical gardens it flowers through most of the warm months, heaviest over summer.
• A warmer colour than the usual ixora. Golden orange heads read softer against green foliage than the standard scarlet.
• Birds and butterflies find it. The flower heads are nectar rich, so it earns a place in a wildlife garden.
• It takes salt air and humidity. Coastal, salt, humidity and heat tolerant, one of the easier shrubs for a warm seaside block.

Where it works best

Low hedging. Plant 60cm apart in a single row for a hedge that closes within two seasons and holds at knee to waist height.

Mass planting and borders. The same 60cm spacing across a bed gives a solid block of colour, and it fills the middle layer under palms and frangipanis.

Pots and containers. A pot 400mm across suits a single plant. Use an acidic mix and keep it in full sun, because shade cuts the flowering hard.

Feature planting. A single specimen suits a pool surround or an entry, because the foliage stays clean.

Growing Ixora Gold Malay in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day drives the flowering. This is a tropical, subtropical and warm temperate plant, and it is frost tender, so a garden with real winter frost is out unless you grow it in a pot and move it under cover. Ocean wind is fine.

Soil. Acidic and free draining. Ixora is the classic candidate for iron chlorosis on limy soil, so on alkaline ground dig compost and aged pine bark through the bed, or use a container.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, then soak in dry spells. Feed with an azalea and camellia fertiliser in early spring and mid summer, and mulch 50mm deep.

Pruning. Flowers form on the tips of new wood, so trim lightly after a flush rather than shearing in bud. Take a few of the oldest stems out each year to keep the base furnished.

What to expect when it arrives

This ixora is grown here as tube stock: young single plants, well under knee height, with a compact root ball that establishes quickly in warm soil.

Plant in the warm half of the year, since ixora sits still in cold soil. Expect the first flowers in the second season and a full 1.5m frame in three to four years. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to growing and caring for ixora.
• Browse the tropical garden range.
• See other bird attracting plants.
• Compare our best hedging plants.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

60cm apart in a single row, which closes into a continuous low hedge within two seasons.

Will it survive a frost?

No. It is frost tender, and even a light frost burns the foliage badly. In cool temperate and frosty inland gardens, grow it in a pot that can move to shelter over winter.

Why have the leaves gone yellow with green veins?

That is iron chlorosis, and it means the soil is too alkaline. Iron chelate greens the leaves up within a fortnight, and a mulch of aged pine bark treats the cause.

Why is it not flowering?

Almost always too little sun, or a shear at the wrong moment. It needs full sun to bud up and sets flowers on the tips of new growth, so a spring trim removes the buds you were waiting on.