Lil Bluey Lomandra

Lil Bluey Lomandra (Lomandra filiformis 'Lil Bluey') is a very compact blue grey mat rush that settles into a neat dome about 30cm tall and 35cm wide. It is tidy enough to use as edging without ever being trimmed, and it is just as comfortable in full sun as it is in dry shade under established trees. For low maintenance mass planting across most of Australia, few native plants are easier.

Why you'll love it

• Neat without any work. The fine foliage holds its own dome shape, so there is no annual shearing to keep it looking sharp.
• Blue grey, not green. The cool foliage colour sits well against rendered walls, stone and dark mulch where a green grass would disappear.
• Sun or dry shade. It performs in full sun and in the difficult dry ground beneath mature trees, which very few plants manage.
• Genuinely hardy. Frost, drought, heat, coastal salt and poor soil are all within its range.
• Small scale. At 30cm it fits under a window, along a narrow path or in a bed too shallow for anything larger.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart along the edge of a bed, which is roughly two and a half plants for every metre of run. The clumps meet without crowding and hold a clean line.

Mass planting and groundcover. On a 40cm grid you need about six plants to the square metre. Massed at that density it reads as a continuous textured surface and keeps weeds down.

Rockeries and pots. The small scale and drought tolerance suit a gravel rockery, a hot verge or a shallow container that dries out between waterings.

Growing Lil Bluey Lomandra in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun through to full shade, with the strongest blue grey colour in an open sunny position. It is frost hardy and suits cool temperate, warm temperate, subtropical, Mediterranean and arid gardens, which covers most of the country.

Soil. Almost anything that drains. Sand, gravel, clay and genuinely poor soils are all acceptable, and it does not need improvement or added compost to establish.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to settle the roots, after which most gardens can leave it to natural rain. A slow release native fertiliser in early spring is optional and simply speeds it up.

Pruning. None required. Every three or four years you can cut a tired clump back to about 10cm in early spring to refresh it, or simply comb out the dead leaves by hand.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold as tube stock, the standard way to buy a mass planting plant: small, inexpensive and quick to root out, so a whole bed goes in on the same day. Each plant arrives as a small clump of fine leaves and looks thin until the first warm season.

Tube stock travels well and settles quickly. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect visible new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather, and a bed that reads as continuous by the end of the second season. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Lomandra care and planting guide
• Browse the full lomandra range
• Compare grasses and strappy leaf plants
• More plants suited to mass planting

Common questions

How many plants do I need per square metre?

About six at 40cm spacing. For a single row of edging, allow two and a half plants for each metre of bed edge.

Does it need trimming?

No. It holds a neat dome on its own, which is the main reason to choose it over larger mat rushes that need an annual cut back.

Will it grow under trees?

Yes. It handles dry shade better than most strappy leaf plants, though colour is stronger and growth is faster in sun.

Is it frost hardy?

Yes. It is genuinely frost hardy and suits cool temperate gardens as well as warm coastal and arid ones.