Westringia Silver Lining

Westringia 'Silver Lining' (Westringia brevifolia 'Silver Lining') is the low silver hedge that holds its shape without much work. It settles at about 80cm tall and 1.2m wide, with tiny grey green leaves packed tight enough to clip into a crisp edge or a ball. Small white flowers appear through most of the year, and it shrugs off salt, wind, drought and poor soil.

Why you'll love it

• Silver foliage that works all year. The fine grey green leaves lift dark green planting and hold their colour through winter.
• It clips like box, without the fuss. Dense growth with short internodes takes a hard trim cleanly, so low hedges, balls and formal edges are easy to keep.
• Coastal proof. Salt, wind and sandy soil are all fine, which makes it a first choice for exposed seaside gardens.
• Australian native and bee friendly. The small white flowers keep bees and other native pollinators fed.

Where it works best

Low hedging. Plant 60cm apart for a low hedge. At that spacing the plants knit within two seasons and hold cleanly at 40cm to 70cm with two trims a year.

Mass planting and borders. Set 60cm to 80cm apart for a silver drift in front of taller shrubs, or run a single line along a driveway edge.

Topiary and coastal gardens. Single plants shape into balls and low cones, and the toughness that suits an exposed foreshore also makes them reliable in a hot courtyard.

Growing Westringia 'Silver Lining' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun keeps it tight and silver, while part shade opens the growth and dulls the colour. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens and is frost hardy once established. Wet tropical gardens are the one place to avoid, where humidity encourages rot at the base.

Soil. Drainage is the only real requirement. Sand, gravel and poor soil all suit it, and it needs no soil improvement. On clay, mound the row about 200mm and work in coarse compost.

Water and feed. Deep water weekly through the first summer, then only in prolonged dry weather. Feed once in early spring with a low phosphorus native fertiliser. Overfeeding makes soft growth that flops out of a clipped shape.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build density. Two trims a year, after the spring flush and again in late summer, will hold a hedge. Avoid cutting back into bare old wood, which is slow to reshoot.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tube stock and in 140mm pots sold in packs of ten. Tubes are the value option for a long hedge or a mass planting, arriving as small single plants that catch up within a season. The 140mm plants are bushier and start a hedge about a season ahead.

Fine leaved plants travel well packed upright, and a little leaf drop on arrival is normal. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect the hedge to close in two growing seasons at 60cm spacing, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete westringia care guide
• Browse Australian native shrubs
• Plants that clip and shape well
• Coastal and salt tolerant plants

Common questions

How far apart for a low hedge?

Sixty centimetres apart in a single row. Tighter planting wastes plants and increases competition, while anything over 80cm leaves gaps that take an extra season to close.

How low can I keep it?

About 40cm is the practical minimum with two trims a year. Below that you are cutting into old wood constantly, and westringias are slow to reshoot from bare stems.

How is it different from a common westringia?

This one is smaller and finer than the standard coastal rosemary, at about 80cm rather than 1.5m or more, and the foliage is noticeably more silver. That makes it a low hedge and border plant rather than a screening shrub.