Grevillea
Grevillea species and cultivars
Grevilleas are one of the most popular groups of Australian natives, but you don't have to have a "native" garden to appreciate their beauty and usefullness in the garden.
Many of the modern cultivars can hold their own with exotic garden plants for beauty, and can beat most in terms of drought-resistance, too. They are even being developed for cut flowers. Considering their popularity, we might expect Grevillea breeding to continue to improve characteristics even more in the future.
Grevilleas can be used for: (depending on which varieties are chosen and how they are pruned)
Flowers
Screening, windbreak or informal hedge
Shade
Groundcover
Wildlife
Low-water regimes and generally harsh conditions
There's such huge range to chose from, from trees to prostrate groundcovers, and with new varieties coming onto the market all the time, it can get a little confusing. If you're a breeder who has a new (or old) grevillea cultivar to promote commercially, please get in touch about appearing on this page.
Remember, grevilleas are members of the Proteaceae, so exercise caution with fertilisers containing phosphorous. Best to play safe with a formulation recommended for Australian natives. Nevertheless, don't over-feed.
Do prune them. Like most garden shrubs, appropriate pruning encourages attractive compact growth and flowers down where you can see them.
Grevilleas have the added advantage of attracting wildlife, particularly birds. The nectar in the flowers is a big drawcard, but the bushes can be habitat, too.
Grevillea robusta or Silky Oak, is a tall rainforest tree which is too big for suburban gardens but it has been employed as a rootstock for many other Grevillea species. It's vigour and adaptation to tropical conditions have expanded the range of Grevilleas than can be grown in gardens, particularly in humid coastal conditions.
Links
General
The Grevillea Page Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (ASGAP). A good starting point for anyone wanting to learn about Grevilleas
Grevillea Descriptions Descriptions and pictures of a variety of commercially-available Grevilleas from Australis Plants, Qld
Species and Cultivars
This is an attempt to collect (mostly non-commercial) information on grevilleas from all over the internet. More links will be added over time. Note that some species below may be unsuitable for Queensland or might only be suitable if grafted.
Grevillea dryandri in: Tropical Topics Newsletter, No. 71 Dec 2001. Environmental Protection Agency, Qld Govt (PDF)
Grevillea glauca in: Tropical Topics Newsletter, No. 71 Dec 2001. Environmental Protection Agency, Qld Govt (PDF)
What's in a name? Society for Growing Australian Plants Queensland Region, Inc. The orign of 'Golden Yul-lo' and some others
Cultivation
Propagation, grafting
Other biology and ecology
Possible misspellings: Grevellias, Grevellia, Grevilia, Grevilias, Greveelias, Greveelia, Grevelia, Grevelias
