Beaked Hakea

Beaked Hakea (Hakea rostrata) is an Australian native shrub for the hard jobs: a boundary that needs to stop people as well as screen them, a windbreak on an exposed paddock edge, a dry coastal block where the soil is thin. It grows to about 3m tall and 2.5m wide, with rigid needle foliage and small cream and white flowers in late winter and spring.

Why you'll love it

• A screen that is also a barrier. The stiff needle leaves make an impenetrable thicket, used where a soft hedge will not do.
• It handles conditions that kill other shrubs. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, salt tolerant, wind tolerant and content in poor soil.
• Birds live in it. Honeyeaters take the nectar, and small birds use the prickly interior as nesting cover away from cats.
• A true South Australian native. From South Australia and western Victoria, so it is built for Mediterranean and dry inland conditions.
• Low maintenance to the point of neglect. No feeding routine, no watering once established, no pruning schedule.

Where it works best

Screening, privacy and hedging. Plant 1.5m apart for a dense prickly screen. A single row closes within three to four seasons into a barrier that is both visual and physical.

Windbreaks. A double staggered row at 1.5m spacing filters wind rather than blocking it, which is what an exposed rural or coastal block needs.

Coastal gardens and feature planting. Salt laden wind does not trouble it, so it holds up on a beachside boundary, and its stiff architectural form suits a gravel garden.

Growing beaked hakea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, and plenty of it. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi-arid gardens, and it is frost hardy, so cold inland districts are fine. Humid tropical and subtropical gardens are the wrong home for a plant adapted to dry summers.

Soil. Sharp drainage is the one thing it insists on. Sandy, gravelly and poor soils are ideal. On clay, plant high on a raised mound, and do not enrich the hole with heavy compost or manure.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer only, then leave it to the weather. This is a member of the protea family and is sensitive to phosphorus, so use a low phosphorus native fertiliser sparingly, or skip feeding altogether.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly from the first year to build density low down, and trim after flowering. Wear thick leather gloves and long sleeves. Avoid cutting into bare old wood, since hakeas are unreliable at reshooting from it.

What to expect when it arrives

This species is grown as tube stock. Tubes are young plants, generally 15 to 30cm tall, and for a native shrub they are the right size to buy: small hakeas establish faster and outgrow larger transplanted stock within a few years.

Tube stock travels well because the plant is light and the foliage is tough. Plant within a week into well drained ground, water in, and mulch with gravel kept clear of the stem. Expect slow progress in the first year, then faster growth. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse more options in Australian native shrubs
• Compare alternatives in plants for windbreaks
• Top bird attracting native plants
• See what else copes with salt spray in coastal and salt tolerant plants

Common questions

How prickly is it really?

Very. The leaves are rigid and sharply pointed, which is exactly why it is chosen as a security screen and bird refuge. Do not plant it beside a path or anywhere children play.

What fertiliser should I use?

A low phosphorus native fertiliser applied lightly in early spring, or nothing at all. Standard garden fertilisers are high in phosphorus, which damages the roots of this family.

Will it grow in Queensland?

Only in the drier, cooler parts. It is adapted to Mediterranean and dry inland climates, so humid subtropical coastal gardens are a poor match and root rot is the likely outcome.