General Description:

Grevillea is a genus of around 380 species, most of which are endemic to Australia but a few species occur in Papua New Guinea and islands to Australia’s north. Further information on the botany, propagation and cultivation of grevilleas can be found in our dedicated Grevillea page.

Most grevilleas are small to medium shrubs but some are prostrate and a few can become large trees. Various species hybridise readily and numerous named cultivars are available resulting from either deliberate breeding or chance hybridization.

Grevillea dryandroides is a very spectacular, small shrub with grey, fern-like leaves and racemes of red flowers on stems spreading beyond the foliage. Two subspecies are recognised: subsp. dryandroides and subsp.hirsuta, the latter having longer leaf lobes (> 12 mm long) and several other differences.

Flowering occurs in spring but spasmodic flowering may occur through summer. The flowers, although conspicuous, are probably of less importance horticulturally than the foliage which would be a feature in most gardens. The plant reaches about 0.3 metres in height and spreads to around 1.5 metres in diameter.

The species is in limited cultivation but, like many species native to the dry summer climate of south-west Australia, it is difficult to grow in humid areas of Australia’s east coast. Grafting may improve its reliability.

G.dryandroides prefers a sunny position and is tolerant of moderate frosts.

Propagation is best from cuttings as seed is rarely available.

* EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
ROTAP = Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (Briggs and Leigh, 1988)
For further information refer the Australian Plants at Risk page