Lemon Falls Russelia

Lemon Falls Russelia (Russelia equisetiformis 'Lemon Falls') is the soft yellow flowered form of coral fountain, and it is built to spill. It mounds to about 90cm tall and 1.2m wide in a mass of fine, rush like stems that arch over and cascade, hung with slim tubular flowers right through the warm months. Plant it along the top of a retaining wall or in a raised pot and let it pour over the edge.

Why you'll love it

• A weeping habit that does the work for you. The stems arch out and hang down, so a hard wall edge or a pot rim softens with no training or tying.
• Yellow flowers over a long season. Slim tubular blooms carry through the warm months, and in tropical gardens it barely stops.
• Birds and pollinators find it. Tubular flowers suit honeyeaters, and bees and butterflies work the same stems.
• Heat, drought and salt do not bother it. Once established it takes reflected heat off paving and salt wind off the water.

Where it works best

Retaining walls and slopes. Plant 80cm apart along the top of a wall for a cascading mass planting. On an embankment the same spacing gives even cover, and the fine root mass helps hold loose soil.

Pots and raised beds. One plant fills a 400mm pot and drapes well past it, which is also how to grow it outside its climate range.

Poolside and coastal borders. It takes reflected heat and salt around a pool, and the fine foliage keeps the planting light against hard paving.

Growing Lemon Falls Russelia in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering, though it will take a few hours of afternoon shade. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so in cool inland districts and cold southern gardens grow it in a pot that can shift under cover for winter.

Soil. Free draining soil is the only real requirement, and poor sandy ground suits it well. Avoid heavy clay that stays wet, or mound the bed if that is what you have.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. A light feed of slow release fertiliser in early spring is plenty, since too much nitrogen gives you stems and few flowers.

Pruning. Shear the plant back by about a third after the main flush. It reshoots readily from the base, so an old, woody, thinning plant can be cut hard in early spring and comes back dense.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in two sizes: tube stock, and 140mm pots sold in packs of ten. Tube stock is small and wiry on arrival, often only a few stems, and it is the value choice for a long wall run. The 140mm plants are further along and begin trailing within a season.

The fine stems can look flattened after transit, which is normal and rights itself once the plant is watered in. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse plants for retaining walls and slopes.
• Choosing trailing plants for a wall.
• Compare poolside planting options.
• Low maintenance tropical plants around a pool.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it along a wall?

Eighty centimetres apart in a single row. At that spacing the crowns meet within two seasons and the curtain of stems reads as continuous, not as separate clumps.

Will it survive frost?

No, it is frost tender. A light frost burns the stems back and a hard one kills it outright. Where frosts are regular, grow it in a pot and shelter it through winter.

How do I stop it looking straggly?

Cut it back by a third once the main flowering flush finishes. Russelia goes woody and thin at the base if it is never pruned, and it takes a hard cut in early spring well.