Brown Butterfly Bush Pea

Brown Butterfly Bush Pea (Gastrolobium praemorsum 'Brown Butterfly') is a Western Australian groundcover that stays about 40cm high and spreads to roughly 1.5m across. The flowers are the reason to grow it: chocolate brown pea blooms marked with yellow, a colour almost nothing else offers. It is built for hard, dry, poor ground where most groundcovers give up. One caution first: this plant is highly toxic to dogs and livestock.

Why you'll love it

• A flower colour you cannot get elsewhere. Brown and yellow pea flowers against fine green foliage.
• Made for tough ground. Drought and heat tolerant, content in poor soil, so it holds the strip nothing else will.
• Low and wide. At 40cm high and 1.5m across it covers ground without creeping over a path.
• Birds work it. The flowers bring small native birds into a corner of the garden that usually attracts nothing.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 1m apart for dense cover. Ten plants hold about ten square metres once knitted together, which takes two seasons.

Rockeries and gravel gardens. A raised gravel bed is close to its native conditions, and the low habit suits pockets between stone.

Retaining walls and slopes. Along the top of a wall it trails over the face, and on a batter it holds soil that would wash.

Growing Brown Butterfly Bush Pea in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, in Mediterranean, warm temperate and arid or semi-arid gardens: Perth, Adelaide and the drier inland are its natural home. Light frost only, so heavy frost districts should choose a hardier groundcover.

Soil. Sandy or gravelly, low fertility and free draining. On clay, plant high on a mound with coarse sand worked through: wet feet in winter is the usual cause of failure.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry weather. Steady summer watering in heavy soil is more likely to kill it than drought. Feed sparingly if at all, and only with a low phosphorus native fertiliser.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after flowering to keep the mat dense. Do not cut back hard into bare old wood, since it does not reliably reshoot.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied in two sizes, a tube and a 140mm pot sold as a pack of ten. Tubes are the economical way to cover a large area and the standard choice for mass planting. The 140mm pack covers about ten square metres at 1m spacing and closes over a season sooner.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect roots to move first, visible spread from the second spring, and flowering once the plant has settled. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse Australian native shrubs
• See the full groundcover range
• Plants suited to rockeries and gravel beds
• Planning a low maintenance native garden

Common questions

Is it safe around dogs?

No. Gastrolobium species contain sodium fluoroacetate, the same compound used in 1080 baits, and are highly toxic to dogs and livestock. Do not plant it where a dog, horse or stock can reach it.

How far apart should I plant it?

One metre apart. That lets each plant reach its full 1.5m spread and knit with its neighbours.

Are the flowers really brown?

Yes. Deep chocolate brown with yellow markings through the centre, which is where the name comes from. The colour reads best against pale gravel or stone.