It’s the third largest genus in Australia with over 365 species – one for every day of the week! And with their bright blooms in a myriad of different colours, shapes and sizes, grevilleas really are the jewels of any native garden. 

Grevillea flowers produce large amounts of nectar making them great plants to attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden. Many are also great habitat plants and with extended flowering periods they provide colour almost all year long to your garden. 

There’s a grevillea for almost every garden, so long as you can provide well drained soil. Even if you can’t, many grevilleas do well in pots as long as you choose one suited to the size and placement of your container. 

Getting started

Most grevilleas need a well-drained, sunny position though some such as Grevillea oleodies, Grevillea sericea and Grevillea sherissii do well in light shade. When you first plant them out they need a bit more water to establish – try to water them 2 times a week for the first couple of weeks then taper off as they settle in. If you are using a container you will need to water more frequently – larger pots require less but if you are planting in full sun in an exposed position expect to be watering every other day, increasing to every day during hot or windy weather. 

All grevilleas love a good prune. After their main flush of flowers you can get in there and cut them back to the size and shape you require and they’ll reward you with lush, healthy growth and increased flowering the following season. 

Top picks

Feature tree – Grafted grevilleas make wonderful feature trees for small gardens or large pots. Or if you have the space, Kay Williams, Bush Lemon, Sylvia or Honey Gem all have stunning large flowers in colours ranging from pink to yellow.