Golden Shrimp Plant

Golden Shrimp Plant (Pachystachys lutea) carries golden yellow bracts almost continuously through the warm months, with small white flowers slipping out between the scales. It grows fast to about 1m tall and 80cm wide, one of the quickest ways to put lasting colour into a shaded tropical or subtropical bed. Honeyeaters, bees and butterflies work the flowers from the day they open.

Why you'll love it

• Colour that does not stop. The yellow bracts hold for weeks after each white flower finishes, so the display runs through spring, summer and autumn.
• Fast to fill a bed. A 180mm plant becomes a flowering mound in a single warm season.
• It wants the shade you cannot use. Dappled light and partial shade suit it, where most flowering shrubs give up.
• Humidity is an advantage. Coastal and tropical summers that mark other plants with fungal spotting are its native conditions.

Where it works best

Mass planting and borders. Plant 60cm apart, about three plants per square metre. They close into a continuous band within a season and hide each other's bare lower stems.

Feature planting. A group of three under a canopy tree or beside a shaded entry lifts a corner that otherwise stays green.

Pots and containers. A 300mm to 400mm pot suits one plant, which is how to grow it anywhere frost reaches.

Growing golden shrimp plant in Australia

Position and climate. Partial shade, or morning sun with afternoon shelter. Harsh sun bleaches the bracts and scorches the leaves. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, and it is frost tender, so cooler southern and inland districts need a pot that winters under cover.

Soil. Rich, moisture retentive and free draining. Work compost through the bed at planting and mulch 50mm deep. Dry sandy ground will not do unless you improve it.

Water and feed. Keep the soil evenly moist through the growing season, since the leaves wilt and drop quickly once it dries out. Feed a complete slow release fertiliser in early spring and liquid feed monthly through summer.

Pruning. Prune hard in early spring, back by about a third, or it goes leggy and bare at the base within two years. Pinch the tips of young plants for a bushy shape.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes: 125mm pots in packs of ten, and 180mm pots in packs of six. The 125mm plants are younger and better value for a full bed, and they catch up fast. The 180mm plants often arrive already in bract.

Soft foliage can look limp after transit and recovers within days once watered in and shaded. Keep the bed damp for the first month, and expect flowering within eight to twelve weeks in warm weather. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to designing a tropical garden that stays lush.
• Browse the wider tropical plants range for companions.
• Compare other plants for partial shade.
• See more flowering plants for a long season.

Common questions

Why has mine gone bare at the bottom?

That is its habit if it is never cut. Prune back by about a third every early spring.

How much sun does it need?

Partial shade or morning sun is ideal. Deep shade cuts the flowering right back, and harsh afternoon sun bleaches the bracts.

Can I grow it in a cooler southern garden?

Only in a pot that comes under cover for winter, or indoors in a bright position. Even a light frost damages the soft growth.