Kangaroo Paw Bush Pearl

Kangaroo Paw 'Bush Pearl' (Anigozanthos 'Bush Pearl') is the compact pink kangaroo paw bred for pots and front garden borders. It holds a tidy clump around 50cm tall and wide, and it flowers for months rather than weeks, sending up soft pink paws from spring through to autumn. For a plant this showy it asks for very little beyond sun and drainage.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers for most of the year. Repeat flushes across the warm months, unlike the old tall kangaroo paws that gave one burst and finished.
• Small enough for a pot. At 50cm by 50cm it fits a courtyard or the front of a border without swamping its neighbours.
• Built for heat and dry spells. Drought, heat and salt tolerant once established, which suits western sun and coastal blocks.
• Honeyeaters work it daily. The paws are full of nectar, so a small group brings native birds into a small garden.

Where it works best

Pots, balconies and courtyards. One plant fills a 300mm to 400mm pot. Use a free draining native or cactus mix, and never let the pot sit in a saucer of water.

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart along a path or driveway edge for a low ribbon of pink that stays under knee height.

Mass planting and feature beds. The same 40cm spacing in drifts of five or more reads as a bold block of colour that keeps working all season.

Growing Kangaroo Paw 'Bush Pearl' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day, with open air movement around the clump. It is at home in warm temperate, subtropical, Mediterranean and arid gardens. It takes light frost only, so in cool inland and tableland districts grow it in a pot that can shift to a sheltered wall over winter.

Soil. Sandy and gravelly soils are ideal. On heavier ground, plant on a raised mound with coarse sand or grit worked through, because wet feet in summer is the usual cause of failure.

Water and feed. Water twice weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring. Water at the base rather than over the foliage to limit ink spot marking.

Pruning. Cut spent flower stems to the base as they finish to trigger the next flush. Once a year, usually late autumn, shear the whole clump to about 10cm to strip out old leaves.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in two sizes: tube stock, and a 140mm pack of ten. Tubes are young fans of foliage rather than flowering plants, and they are the value option for filling a border. The pack of ten is the practical buy for a mass planting, giving roughly four metres of edging at 40cm spacing.

Plants are packed upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect new leaf growth within four to six weeks in warm weather, and first flowers the season after planting for tube stock. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Our full kangaroo paw care guide
• Shop Australian native plants
• Plants that perform in containers
• Bird attracting plants for Australian gardens

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Forty centimetres apart for a continuous low band of colour. In a mixed border you can stretch that to 50cm and let each clump read as an individual.

Why are black marks appearing on the leaves?

That is ink spot, a fungal blemish encouraged by overhead watering and still, humid air. Water at the base, thin crowding neighbours, and shear the clump once a year to remove affected leaves.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost only. In a district that frosts hard it is best grown in a pot and moved under eaves for winter.