There are over 350 species of grevillea and the number is always increasing. We will look at only a few species that do well in Hobart and some that are not very well known as yet. Grevillea australis is the
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only grevillea that occurs naturally in Tasmania. Robert Brown first described this grevillea in 1810. The specific name means southern and although this is a Tasmanian species, var. tenuifolia is also recorded on the mainland in Victoria and NSW. The Grevillea Book lists four varieties. The flowers of all varieties are very similar, but the leaves and form of the plants define the varieties. Var. australis is an erect shrub up to 2m in height, its leaves linear to lanceolate, whereas var. tenuifolia has subterete leaves and is similar to the former in shape and size. Var. planifolia is a lower dense shrub with flat rounded leaves and is found in northern Tasmania. |
| One variety is found only in alpine and subalpine areas. It is var. brevifolia and is usually a low dense shrub, sometimes prostrate with small stiff needle-like leaves with a sharp point. Some forms have a sweet perfume. |
| Grevillea rhyolitica was once
lumped in with G. victorae. It was first introduced into
cultivation in the early 1990’s at Mt. Annan Botanical Gardens. It is a
dense rounded shrub 1m x 1m but can grow to 2m in the wild. It will tolerate
shade and flowers almost continually. The leaves are soft, oval, dark green
above and pale green beneath and the large, hanging flowers are a soft
red.
A new grafted plant purchased at a Grampians nursery is
G. ‘Billy Bonkers’. It reportedly grows to about 1m; and appears to be
growing sidewards. It has lovely large toothbrush flowers of deep pink
with fairly large pinnate leaves with narrow pinnae.
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| Most people will be familiar with the versatile grevillea
ground covers, G. ‘Royal Mantle and G. gaudi-chaudi. Another similar hybrid
that arose in a garden at Austins Ferry is also an excellent and robust
ground cover. It is thought that the parents are G. rivularis and G. gaudi-chaudi
and has deeply lobed dark green leaves with pungent points. The flowers
are mauve-pink and very similar to G. rivularis. It is fast growing and
makes a good dense carpet spreading to 2 or 3 metres.
Grevillea fililoba is sometimes sold as G. ‘Ellendale’ or G. ‘Ellendale Pool’. (See picture Part One) It is a dense bushy, cascading shrub with very fine pinnate leaves; grows to about 1.5m high and will spread up to 3m, if given the chance. The flowers are a soft reddish colour and form on the ends of the cascading branches. Flowering is from late summer, then autumn and into winter, when other grevilleas are ‘hibernating’. It grows naturally only in an isolated area near Geraldton WA. |
Grevillea levis was sold originally as a
pink form of G. paniculata. It comes from WA in a fairly
hot dry area but it does very well in heavy soils in Hobart. It is a dense
prickly shrub with leaves resembling TV antennas. This species usually
has white flowers, but the form grown in Hobart has masses of pink and
white flowers. They make a very pretty display and in the rain or
mist and
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 G. wilkinsonii has proved to be a reliable dense spreading shrub with long slender toothed leaves. The bush has a slightly greyish appearance and the conflorescence is up to 4cm long and a purplish-pink colour. This is found naturally in a small area near Tumut in NSW. |
| Grevillea umbellulata ssp. acerosa was known as Grevillea acerosa. It is a dense small ground cover. The flowers are small and pinkish-grey and it has fine needle-like leaves. It is widespread in the Ravensthorpe and Hyden areas of southwest WA. |  |
| Only a few grevilleas flower throughout the year. One
of the best is G. ‘Boongalla Spinebill’. It has bright red, sweetly scented,
toothbrush flowers. It has deeply lobed leaves up to 15cm and appears to
be hardy. Its parentage is possibly G. bipinnatifida
and/or G. caleyi.
G. ‘Sid Cadwell’ also flowers most of the year. It is a spreading shrub up to 2m high and the toothbrush flowers are pale red and held at the ends of the branches. It is thought that G. tetragonoloba may be one of its parents. G. endlicheriana is a most unusual shrub, with long, linear, silvery leaves that forms a dense greyish shrub to about 1.5m. The small pale pink flowers are born on very long, slender and almost leafless branches that arch out from the foliage. It occurs naturally in the Darling Scarp area not far from Perth and does very well in Hobart. There are just so many grevilleas that do well in Tasmania,
and it is recommended that all gardens should include some grevillea species
as they are a great attraction for so many birds especially honey eaters.
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