General Description:
Hibbertia is a genus of around 150 species, most of which occur naturally in Australia. They are generally small to medium shrubs with yellow, buttercup-like flowers.
Hibbertia diffusa is a small shrub less than an metre in height but often prostrate and suckering in habit. It has obovate to elliptical leaves 4-30 mm long and 3-9 mm wide with toothed margins. The yellow flowers occur over a relatively long period in spring and summer.
This species is hardy in a range of climates usually forming a compact ground cover up to a metre in diameter. It requires sunny or partly shaded locations and reasonable drainage. It will tolerate at least moderate frost and makes an excellent container plant where it may be grown as a ground cover in the same pot as a larger, and more permanent, plant. It respond well to pruning but this should rarely be necessary.
Hibbertias, generally, are easy to grow from cuttings and H.diffusa is no exception. It can also be propagated by cutting off and potting up layering stems.
Hibbertia diffusa
Photo: Brian Walters