Sunkissed Grevillea

Sunkissed grevillea (Grevillea juniperina x rhyolitica 'Sunkissed') is the fastest way to get colour and birdlife into a dry, difficult bed. It grows to about 1m tall and 1.5m wide, filling out in a single warm season, and the orange and yellow spider flowers keep coming for most of the year. Being a south-eastern Australian hybrid, frost, drought and poor soil are all normal working conditions for it.

Why you'll love it

• It fills space quickly. Fast growing by nature, and at 1m by 1.5m a row of three closes a 4m bed inside two seasons.
• Orange and yellow flowers most of the year. The colour is warm rather than harsh, and it reads clearly from across a garden.
• Honeyeaters find it fast. Nectar rich flowers held at eye height make it one of the better bird plants for a front garden.
• Frost hardy and drought tolerant. It handles cold southern winters and long dry spells once the roots are down.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 1m apart for a dense sweep of foliage and flower. Closer than that and the plants crowd each other, which costs you air movement and flowering rather than buying you time.

Retaining walls and slopes. A dry embankment or the top of a block wall plays to its strengths: sharp drainage, full sun and no expectation of watering. Keep the same 1m spacing across the slope.

Growing Sunkissed grevillea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always. Shade gives you a thin, sprawling plant with very few flowers. It is at home in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and being frost hardy it suits the southern states and inland districts as well as the coast. The wet tropics are the exception, where humidity and summer rainfall work against it.

Soil. Free draining ground is the one real requirement. Sandy, rocky and generally poor soils are ideal. On clay, build a mound 200mm high and plant into that, then mulch 50mm deep and keep the mulch off the stem.

Water and feed. Deep soak once or twice a week through the first summer, then step back to occasional water in long dry periods. Use only a low phosphorus native fertiliser, once in early spring.

Pruning. Trim lightly and often rather than hard and rarely. Take the tips back after each major flush to keep it dense. It does not reliably shoot from bare old wood, so stay within the leafy growth.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes: single tubes, and 140mm plants in packs of ten. Tube stock is young, usually one stem around 15 to 20cm tall, and because this hybrid grows fast the tubes catch up to bigger stock quickly. The 140mm packs are the practical choice for a bed or a bank, covering roughly 10 square metres at 1m spacing.

The fine foliage travels well and holds little water, so plants arrive in good order. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect little visible change for the first month, then rapid growth through the first warm season. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Grevillea care: planting, feeding and pruning
• Compare the rest of the grevillea range
• Native plants with yellow flowers
• Plants that suit large mass plantings

Common questions

How fast does it actually grow?

In full sun with reasonable drainage it reaches close to its mature 1m by 1.5m within two warm seasons. Growth slows in cool temperate gardens, where three seasons is more realistic.

How far apart for a mass planting?

One metre apart, staggered rather than in a straight line. That gives each plant room to reach its full width and keeps air moving through the planting.

Why can I not use normal fertiliser?

Grevilleas evolved on low phosphorus Australian soils and their roots take up phosphorus far too efficiently. A standard complete fertiliser can yellow the foliage and kill the plant, so stick to a native blend.