Grevillea ‘Coral Shore’

Grevillea 'Coral Shore' (Grevillea 'Coral Shore') is a low spreading native shrub of about 1m tall and 1.5m wide, covering ground while staying well below window height. Coral pink and red flowers appear over a long season and bring honeyeaters straight in. It is built for hard positions: coastal exposure, poor soil and long dry spells.

Why you'll love it

• Wider than it is tall. At 1m by 1.5m it fills a bed or a bank without blocking a view, which suits a front garden or a pool surround.
• Honeyeaters find it fast. The nectar rich pink and red flowers are one of the quickest ways to bring small birds into a new garden.
• Coastal proof. Salt tolerant and comfortable in sand, so it holds up on exposed blocks where most flowering shrubs burn off.
• It thrives on neglect. Drought tolerant and content in poor soil, it wants far less water and feeding than a typical flowering shrub.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 1m apart for a dense mass. At that spacing the plants meet within two seasons and shade out weeds along a bank or a nature strip.

Coastal gardens. Salt laden wind does not mark it, and the spreading habit helps hold loose sandy soil together.

Borders and edging. A run at 1m centres along a driveway or path gives a low informal edge that flowers for much of the year.

Feature planting. A single plant works over a rock or spilling down a retaining wall, where the low arching growth shows.

Growing Grevillea 'Coral Shore' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always. Shade gives you leggy growth and very few flowers. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens, and takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland and cold southern gardens are not for it.

Soil. Free draining above all else. Sand, gravel and poor stony ground all suit it. On clay, plant on a raised mound and use a coarse mulch that lets water through rather than a fine one holding moisture at the stem.

Water and feed. Water through the first summer to establish, then only in prolonged dry weather. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, because standard fertilisers can damage grevillea roots.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after each flush to keep the plant dense and to bring on the next round of flowers. Avoid cutting into bare wood, which grevilleas are slow to reshoot from.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied in tube stock. Tubes are young plants with a small root system, and for a mass planting they are the sensible choice: cheaper per square metre, and quicker to establish than larger stock because the roots have not circled a pot.

Tube stock travels well, and light leaf drop after transit is normal. Expect a quiet six to eight weeks while the roots move out, then fast spreading growth through the first warm season and the first real flowering in year two. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete grevillea care guide
• Browse the full grevillea range
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens
• More bird attracting plants

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

1m apart for a dense mass planting. Each plant spreads to about 1.5m, so that spacing lets them overlap slightly and close the ground within two seasons.

What fertiliser can I use?

A low phosphorus native fertiliser only, applied in early spring. Standard garden fertilisers and manures carry enough phosphorus to damage the root system.

How much frost will it take?

Light frost only. The occasional light frost is fine once the plant is established, but regular hard frosts damage the growth and will eventually kill it.

Why has it stopped flowering?

Usually not enough sun, or a plant gone open and woody. Give it full sun and tip prune after each flush to keep new growth coming, because that is where the flowers form.