Grevillea Mini Marvel

Mini Marvel Grevillea (Grevillea 'Mini Marvel') is the dwarf native for gardeners who want honeyeaters in the yard without giving up half the garden bed to get them. It settles at about 80cm tall and 1m wide, slightly broader than it stands, and the red and pink flowers keep appearing across most of the year rather than in one short season.

Why you'll love it

• Bird traffic in a small space. Nectar rich flowers bring honeyeaters up to a courtyard or a front path, on a shrub that only reaches 80cm.
• Flowers nearly all year. This hybrid is rarely without colour, so it holds a bed together between the seasonal performers.
• Hard to knock over. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and comfortable in poor soil, which covers most sites where other shrubs sulk.
• The right size for pots. At 80cm by 1m it suits a large container or a narrow bed without constant cutting back.
• Australian native, low maintenance. A light tip prune after each flush is the whole job.

Where it works best

Mass planting and groundcover. Plant 80cm apart to cover a bank or a wide verge. At that spacing the plants close over the soil within two seasons and shade out most weed germination.

Borders and edging. Its low spreading habit softens the front of a native bed or the edge of a driveway, and it will not grow up into sight lines.

Small gardens, pots and containers. A pot 400mm or wider suits it, which makes it a real option for a courtyard, a townhouse strip or a sunny balcony.

Growing Mini Marvel Grevillea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, as much as the site allows. This is a plant for subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi-arid gardens. It takes light frost only, so cold tableland and inland southern gardens are the wrong home unless you can offer a warm sheltered wall.

Soil. Drainage is the whole game with grevilleas. Poor and gravelly soils are fine, heavy wet clay is not, so plant on a raised mound. Mulch 75mm deep, kept off the stem.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week over the first summer, then only through long dry spells. Feed a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring. Standard garden fertilisers carry too much phosphorus for grevilleas and will yellow the foliage.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after each main flush to keep the plant dense and build more flowering wood. Avoid cutting into bare old wood, since grevilleas are slow to reshoot from it.

What to expect when it arrives

Mini Marvel is grown and sold as tube stock. A tube is a young plant over a strong root plug, and for a fast establishing native that is the right size to buy: it settles quickly, avoids the transplant check larger grevilleas often suffer, and keeps the cost of a mass planting sensible.

Tubes travel well because they are light and the root plug stays intact. Plant within a few days of arrival and water it in. Expect new growth in four to six weeks of warm weather and full spread by the second season. 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

• Native plants that bring birds into the garden
• Browse the full grevillea range
• Compare other Australian native shrubs
• Plants sized for small gardens

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a mass planting?

Eighty centimetres apart. Each plant spreads to about a metre, so the canopies overlap slightly and the bed reads as one continuous cover rather than a row of separate shrubs.

What fertiliser should I use?

A low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, and nothing heavier. Grevilleas are adapted to phosphorus poor Australian soils, and standard complete fertilisers cause yellowing and can kill the plant outright.

Will it handle frost?

Light frost only. It is at home in subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, but repeated hard frosts damage the growth tips.