Grevillea

Very hardy winter blooming shrub from Tasmania which Seattle's gardening guru Ciscoe Morris proclaims as his favorite plant of all time or at least until he talks about the next plant. We agree though - this plant totally rules. No problems whatsoever but little or no fertilizer as it dislikes phosphorous. Buff orange flowers in late winter into spring. This is a shorter and broader selection with larger flowers than typical. There is gorgeous 5' tall by 8' wide plant on F Street here in town which grows outside the fence above a rock wall and gets no water or attention plus get the full brunt of winter winds and looks fabulous all the time.

Our friend Ian Barclay's introduction from Desert Northwest Nursery (awesome plants!) of this seedling of 'Leanne' and an improvement of that selection. Darker green foliage and lighter yellow flowers in mid to late winter and a small rebloom in fall. Grows fast and leave it some room like all Grevillea but very amenable to pruning. Prefers mineral soil, no fertilizer.

Endemic to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, this dons prickly, Acanthus type leaves (hence the species name) and pinkish purple toothbrush type flowers. Evergreen and tough, this can tolerate more shade than other Grevilleas. The flowers are known for their sweet nectar and the birds will thank you for this one!

We saw this at the O'Byrne's in Eugene and Plant Lust caused our pollen to shed and our stigma's got a bit sticky. It is so embarassing but Ernie and Marietta are used to it. Completely hardy here and clothed in small white crinkled fragrant flowers in Apr-May. Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes!
(photo thanks peganum Wikipedia Commons)

Hybrid seedling that came up in OSU Grevillea researcher Neil Bell's garden at the base of his Grevillea victoriae so carries a preponderance of the all the good traits of the parent. What are those good traits, you say? Hardiness, showy reddish flowers in summer, evergreen, tough, hummingbirds love it, deer hate it. Grow dryish and lean.

Carrington Falls Grevillea. Of limited distribution in New South Wales Australia where it is found along streambanks, this was not formally described until 1960. To 6' tall and spreading, this has great foliage coupled with light pink flowers with long stamens. Mr. Grevillea, Ian Barclay, rates this as good to 10F but grow it lean and low to no phosphorous for best results when it gets to the mid to low teens.

Narrow evergreen leaves and clusters of rusty yellow flowers suitable for hummingbirds on this zone 8 hardy Aussie shrub. In the family Proteaceae which for garden purposes could be Latin for "hates phosphorous" so no need to fertilize. perfect for the gravel garden in full sun. Young plants, fast growing. Hardiness is increased by withholding water in later summer and fall to harden off and by growing it lean in soils low in organic matter. Can easily prune to size.

This is one of the hardier of the larger Grevilleas handling temps down to 10F and being quite drought tolerant. A good drying off in late summer and fall and grown in lean soil will add to its hardiness. Flowers for months in the yellow to salmon range. This was grown at Heronswood as miqueliana but Ian Barclay sleuthed the subspecies. As with all Protea family members, don't fertilize with any fertilizer except low phosphorous but you don't need to really fertilize this anyway unless it is looking hungry which is unlikely.

Quite the distinctive Grevillea being a true groundcover growing very flat to the ground. The oak-like leaves are bronze when young and mature to a dark green both colors providing a fine backdrop for the large feathery combs of red flowers. This is likely not hardy below the low 20's but is grown successfully at the Barca garden on Whidbey Island in a raised bed against a south facing wall and also is luxuriant at the Miller Botanic Garden in Seattle where it flows down a slope and where curator Richie Steffen gave us our cuttings. Sun and good drainage and low phosphorous if you do fertilize. At least this is easy to cover being flat in the event of a severe cold snap!