Grevillea ‘Coconut Ice’

Grevillea 'Coconut Ice' (Grevillea 'Coconut Ice') is a compact native shrub to about 1.5m tall and 1.5m wide that carries pink and cream spider flowers for most of the year. It is small enough for a courtyard or a large pot, tough enough for heat, drought and coastal salt, and reliable enough that honeyeaters treat it as a permanent food source. For a small garden that needs colour and birds without any real work, this is the pick.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers nearly all year. Pink and cream blooms come in waves with a heavy flush through the cooler months, so the plant is rarely bare.
• Honeyeaters find it fast. Nectar rich spider flowers at head height bring small birds close to the house.
• Genuinely compact. At 1.5m by 1.5m it suits a small garden or a large pot, with none of the sprawl of the bigger grevilleas.
• Heat and drought hardy. Comfortable in Mediterranean and arid gardens, salt tolerant enough for a coastal block, and asking for no more than one prune a year.

Where it works best

Low informal hedging. Plant 1m apart for a soft flowering hedge that closes in two seasons and holds at 1.2m to 1.5m with light trimming. It will not take a hard formal clip.

Mass planting. The same 1m spacing across a bed gives a continuous run of colour.

Pots and small gardens. A pot 400mm or wider with free draining native mix suits it, and container growing naturally holds it near 1m.

Growing Grevillea 'Coconut Ice' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, all day, for the best flowering and the tightest habit. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens. Be honest about the limit: it takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland, tableland and cold southern gardens will damage it unless it has a warm sheltered wall.

Soil. Sharp drainage is the most important thing, and sandy or gravelly soils are ideal. On clay, plant on a raised mound and resist the urge to enrich the backfill.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then water only in extended dry weather. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, because ordinary fertilisers and manures yellow the foliage and can kill the plant.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting and give a light all over trim after the main winter flush, taking no more than a third. It reshoots from leafy wood but not reliably from bare stems, so keep on top of it.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in tube, 140mm in packs of 10 and 200mm in packs of 6. Tube and 140mm plants are young and single stemmed, the sensible choice for a hedge run because grevilleas catch up within a season. The 200mm plants arrive branched and often already in flower.

Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect a quiet first month, then strong growth once the roots move out, and reliable flowering from the first full season. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our complete grevillea care guide.
• Compare varieties in the grevillea collection.
• Browse more bird attracting plants.
• See the range of drought tolerant plants.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. That is close enough for the canopies to meet within two seasons while each plant keeps foliage down near the ground.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost only. An occasional early morning frost is fine once established, but repeated heavy frosts burn the growth. In cold districts, grow it in a pot you can move or against a north facing wall.

Why has the foliage gone yellow?

Usually phosphorus or wet feet. Grevilleas cannot handle standard fertilisers, poultry manure or mushroom compost, and will not sit in soggy soil. Switch to a native feed and improve drainage.