Echidna Grass Lomandra

Echidna Grass Lomandra (Lomandra confertifolia 'Echidna Grass') earns its name honestly. The foliage is needle fine and held in a stiff radiating clump about 50cm tall and 60cm wide, giving it the bristling silhouette of an echidna at rest. It is an eastern Australian native that shrugs off drought, frost, poor soil and coastal salt, and it brings the fine texture most native gardens are short of.

Why you'll love it

• Texture nothing else quite matches. Very fine, almost thread like foliage held stiffly upright, reading as a deliberate contrast beside broad leaved shrubs or rock.
• Predictable size. Around 50cm tall and 60cm wide at maturity, which keeps it in proportion in a mid border.
• Built for hard sites. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, comfortable in poor soil and salt tolerant, so exposed embankments and beachside gardens are fair game.
• Australian native and pet safe. A genuine local plant rather than a native lookalike, and not toxic to cats or dogs.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 50cm apart for a dense sweep, roughly four plants per square metre. Run it in drifts of at least seven rather than singly, because fine texture only registers when there is enough of it.

Borders and edging. At 50cm it suits the middle of a border or the back of a low planting, giving a soft, slightly wild edge that reads very differently to a clipped hedge.

Slopes, walls and rockeries. Fibrous roots hold loose soil together, so it works on batters and above retaining walls where the foliage can spill over the stonework.

Growing Echidna Grass Lomandra in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun produces the stiffest, most upright clumps; part shade works but the outline softens. It grows across tropical, subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate zones, and being frost hardy it holds colour through southern winters.

Soil. Free draining soil of any quality; sand, gravel and thin topsoil are all fine. On heavy clay, mound the position by 150mm so water moves away from the crown. Mulch 50mm deep, clear of the base.

Water and feed. Weekly water through the first summer, then natural rain alone in most gardens, with a deep soak during long dry spells. It does not need fertiliser, though a native blend in early spring gives a deeper green.

Pruning. Very little. Comb old foliage out with a gloved hand each spring rather than shearing, because a hard flat cut spoils the radiating shape for a season.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tube stock and as 140mm plants sold in packs of ten. Tubes are young, often just a small fan of leaves, and they are the value option when you can wait an extra season. The 140mm plants come with a formed clump and give a mass planting visible presence in the first year.

Fine foliage flattens in transit and springs back within a week or two of planting, which is normal rather than damage. Expect roots to establish over the first month with limited top growth, then a mature clump in about two seasons. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to grow and maintain lomandra
• Compare every lomandra we grow
• Designing with ornamental grasses
• Browse grasses for landscaping

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for mass planting?

Fifty centimetres apart, about four plants per square metre. At that spacing the clumps meet without competing, and the planting looks intentional rather than sparse from the first season.

Is the foliage sharp?

It is fine and stiff rather than genuinely spiky, so it will not cut you, but it does feel bristly. Keep it back from a narrow path where people brush past with bare legs.

How does it compare with Little Con?

Echidna Grass is the larger of the two at 50cm by 60cm, against roughly 35cm by 40cm, and the foliage is finer and more upright. Choose Little Con for a true edge and this one for a mid border drift.