Mundi Coastal Rosemary

Mundi Coastal Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa 'Mundi') solves ground level the way its taller cousins solve hedges. It hugs the earth at just 40cm high while spreading a dense 1.2m wide, knitting into a weed suppressing carpet of grey green foliage sprinkled with white flowers for most of the year. Bred from Australia's toughest coastal shrub, it takes frost, drought, salt spray, wind and poor soil, making it the groundcover for the places that break softer plants.

Why you'll love it

• A real groundcover, not a flat shrub. Mundi was bred to stay under half a metre while spreading wide, so it never needs beating down to height.
• Weeds lose. The dense mat shades out germinating weeds, cutting maintenance to almost nothing once closed.
• Flowers most of the year. Small white blooms keep arriving in flushes, with native bees and butterflies in constant attendance.
• Slopes, banks and walls. It binds soil on embankments and spills softly over retaining walls, the two jobs bare ground does worst.
• National service record. Councils and landscapers mass plant Mundi from coastal medians to inland car parks because it simply does not fail.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 60cm apart for full coverage; a 3m by 2m bed takes about 16 plants and closes over in two seasons.

Retaining walls and slopes. Along the top of a wall it cascades in a grey green curtain; on banks it holds the soil.

Coastal front lines. Front row beach beds, where salt burns everything ornamental, are its natural habitat.

Borders and verges. A low, tidy ribbon along drives and paths that never blocks sight lines.

Growing Mundi in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun keeps the mat dense; light part shade is workable. It performs in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean climates and shrugs off frost.

Soil. Anything that drains, sand to clay loam, rich to hungry. Mulch lightly between young plants until they meet.

Water and feed. Weekly drinks for the first summer, then rainfall does the rest. A light native safe feed in spring keeps growth even; overfeeding makes it mound higher than you want.

Pruning. Optional. A light trim after a main flush freshens the mat, and edges can be sliced with a spade wherever the spread should stop.

What to expect when it arrives

Mundi ships in every coverage format, all currently in stock: tubes for broadacre projects, 140mm packs of 10 and 200mm packs of 6 for beds and banks, 250mm packs of 3, and single 300mm plants that arrive already spreading. Delivery is Australia wide, from $29.95, with a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee. Expect fast establishment, with plants at 60cm spacing linking up within two seasons.

Plant care guides and related reading

• More low maintenance groundcovers
• Plants for retaining walls and slopes
• Coastal and salt tolerant plants

Common questions

How is Mundi different from Zena and Jervis Gem?

Direction of growth. Mundi spreads wide at 40cm tall (groundcover), Jervis Gem domes at 90cm (low hedge), Zena rounds off at about a metre (small shrub). Same toughness, three different jobs.

How many plants do I need?

At 60cm spacings, roughly three plants per square metre for fast closure, or stretch to 80cm and add a season. The packs of 10 cover about three square metres each.

Will it smother my other plants?

No. It spreads to about 1.2m and stops, without runners or self seeding, so it stays where the design put it. Any wandering edge trims with one pass of the shears.

Does it work under established trees?

In broken light with root competition it grows a little looser but still covers, one of the few natives that manages dry shade at the drip line. Deep dark shade is the only no.