Gold Flash Parrot's Beak

Gold Flash Parrot's Beak (Lotus 'Gold Flash') is a trailing silver plant that flowers in yellow and orange claws, which is where the name comes from. It stays about 20cm high and cascades to 90cm, so it is built to hang over a pot rim or a retaining wall rather than fill a bed at eye level. It grows quickly, takes heat and salt air, and wants very little water.

Why you'll love it

• Fine silver foliage. The needle like leaves read almost blue grey, so the plant works even before it flowers.
• Unusual claw shaped flowers. Yellow and orange blooms shaped like a beak, held above the foliage in a heavy spring flush.
• Made to cascade. A weeping habit spreading to about 90cm, and fast enough to cover its space within a season.
• Heat, drought and salt. The Canary Island parentage shows: hot, dry, exposed positions are where it does best.

Where it works best

Pots, balconies and courtyards. This is its strongest use. Plant it at the edge of a wide pot or in a hanging basket and let the stems spill over the side.

Retaining walls and slopes. Plant 50cm apart along the top of a wall for a trailing curtain, or across a bank for fast, low cover on ground that is awkward to maintain.

Groundcover and rockeries. The same 50cm spacing gives a continuous silver mat in a gravel bed or a hot rockery.

Growing Gold Flash Parrot's Beak in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun. Shade makes it thin, floppy and shy to flower. It suits warm temperate, Mediterranean and subtropical gardens, so Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and the warm coastal strip all work. It takes light frost only, which rules out hard frosting inland and tableland gardens unless you pot it and move it under cover.

Soil. Free draining above everything else. Sandy and gravelly soils are ideal, and a cactus or succulent style mix works well in pots. Rich, heavy or wet soil kills it faster than neglect ever will.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only when the soil is dry well below the surface. A light slow release feed in early spring is plenty, and heavy feeding gives soft growth at the expense of flowers.

Pruning. Trim back by about a third after the spring flush to keep it dense and push out new trailing stems. Stems that have gone bare and woody rarely refresh, so prune little and often from the start.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes: tube stock, and 140mm plants in packs of ten. Tubes are young, with a few fine silver stems, and they establish quickly given warm soil and sun. The 140mm packs suit a wall or a bank, since ten plants cover about 2.5 square metres at 50cm spacing.

The fine stems tangle in transit and a few may snap, which does not set the plant back. Plant at the same depth as the pot and expect trailing growth within a month in warm weather. Flowering usually starts the spring after planting. 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

• The best trailing plants for a retaining wall.
• Browse plants for retaining walls and slopes.
• Plants for balconies for other containers in full sun.
• Rockery plants that share the same drainage needs.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Fifty centimetres apart for a trailing groundcover. Along the top of a wall you can stretch to 70cm, since the stems hang down rather than needing to meet.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost only. A brief cold snap is survivable, a hard tableland or inland winter is not. In those gardens grow it in a pot and move it under cover for the coldest months.

Why is it not flowering?

Almost always too little sun, or too much water and feed. It flowers heaviest in spring in a hot, bright, dry position, and a rich moist bed gives you foliage instead.