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 oligomera was previously regarded as subspecies oligomera of G.petrophiloides. It is also closely related to G.magnifica.

Grevillea oligomera is a bushy, rounded shrub to about 2 metres high. Flowers are held erect on floral stems either just beyond or within the outer foliage. The flower racemes are up to 7.5 cm long and the flower colour is usually deep pink with a reddish pink style which has a white tip. Flowering usually occurs in winter and spring. The foliage is dark green, usually undivided and 3-16 cm long.

This is a very ornamental species which is worthy of widespread cultivation. To date it has been grown mainly by enthusiasts but seems to be reasonably reliable in areas with dry summers. It is likely to be difficult to maintain in areas of high summer humidity. Excellent drainage would be required. Some success has been achieved in unsuitable growing areas through grafting.

Propagation may be carried out from seed and germination is improved if the seed is carefully “nicked” with a sharp knife to expose the embryo. Cuttings should also be successful using firm, current season’s growth. The species has been successfully grafted using Grevillea “Poorinda Royal Mantle” and one or two other Grevillea species/cultivars as rootstock. It seems to be incompatible with G.robusta as rootstock even though this has proven to be a good stock for many other grevilleas.