Grevillea ‘Lemon Baby’

Grevillea 'Lemon Baby' (Grevillea 'Lemon Baby') is a compact native that flowers across most of the year and brings honeyeaters with it. It settles at about 1.5m tall and wide, dense enough for a low hedge at 1m spacing, and it asks for very little once established: poor soil, dry summers and salt laden coastal wind are all within its range.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers across most of the year. Lemon yellow spider flowers arrive in repeated flushes, heaviest through the cooler months.
• Honeyeaters find it fast. Nectar rich flowers at a height small birds use, so one plant changes what visits the garden.
• It thrives on neglect. Drought, poor soil and salt tolerant, which makes it the answer to the difficult corner of the block.
• A fast, compact hedge that flowers. About 1.5m each way, reached quickly, and planted 1m apart it makes a low informal hedge instead of a plain green wall.

Where it works best

Low hedging and mass planting. Plant 1m apart in a single row for an informal hedge around 1.2m to 1.5m, or in a staggered grid at the same spacing for a massed bank of colour.

Coastal and dry gardens. Salt and drought tolerance together make it useful on an exposed coastal block or an unirrigated verge, where reliable flowering is normally out of the question.

Pots and borders. A pot 400mm or wider with a free draining native mix suits a single plant on a hot balcony.

Growing Grevillea Lemon Baby in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, without compromise. Anything less and the plant opens up and flowers poorly. Subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens all suit it. It takes light frost only, so cold tableland and inland districts want a sheltered warm position.

Soil. Free draining, and the poorer the better. Grevilleas are lost to wet feet far more often than to drought, so on clay plant on a raised mound with coarse gravel through the backfill.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in prolonged dry spells. Feed a native or low phosphorus fertiliser in early spring. Standard garden fertilisers carry too much phosphorus and will burn the roots.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after each flowering flush, starting in the first year. Grevilleas do not reliably reshoot from bare old wood, so never cut back into leafless stems.

What to expect when it arrives

Two sizes are grown: tube stock, and 140mm pots sold in packs of ten. Tubes are young single stemmed plants and the best value for a long hedge run, and native tube stock often overtakes larger potted plants within two years because the roots never spent time circling a pot. A pack of ten 140mm plants covers ten metres of hedge.

Tube stock travels very well and should go into the ground promptly. Water it in with a seaweed tonic and expect visible new growth within four to six 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

• The complete grevillea care guide
• Browse the full grevillea range
• More bird attracting plants for Australian gardens
• Native plants with yellow flowers

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. That matches its natural 1.5m width closely enough for the plants to meet without crowding, and it keeps air moving through the hedge.

What fertiliser should I use?

A native blend, or anything labelled low phosphorus, applied in early spring. Ordinary garden and lawn fertilisers contain enough phosphorus to damage grevillea roots, and the damage usually shows as sudden yellowing weeks later.

Can I cut it back hard?

No. Grevilleas rarely reshoot from bare wood, so cutting into leafless stems can leave a permanent hole. Tip prune little and often instead, taking no more than the soft growth from the last flush.