Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet'

Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet' nom. cult.

Many excellent cultivars of Australian plants are now available through the nursery trade. Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet' is one of many cultivars from the genus Grevillea. It is hardy and reliable. This cultivar arose as a chance hybrid seedling between G. lavandulacea and G. buxifolia in a garden at Lane Cove in Sydney in 1972. The cultivar has grown well in quite heavy soils in the Australian National Botanic Gardens since 1976.

Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet' grows vigorously into a dense, erect shrub to 2 m tall by 1.5-2 m wide. The plant remains dense to ground level and responds well to annual pruning; 10-15cm of the tip growth should be removed. This pruning helps to keep the plant more compact as it gets older and induces more buds to shoot, thus providing more flowering wood for the following season.

The inflorescences are very attractive. They are borne at the ends of the branches, and as a result stand out against the shiny green foliage. The individual flowers have a woolly appearance and are pink in colour with upright red-purple styles. While each individual flower is fairly small, many are clustered together forming an inflorescence up to 30 mm across. Flowering occurs in spring and summer. The flowers last well when cut and placed in water, unlike many other grevilleas.

The leaves are sharp pointed and approximately 20 mm long and 3 mm wide, glossy green on the top surface and paler underneath. The under-sides of the leaves are covered with fine hairs.

As with the majority of cultivars, G. 'Evelyn's Coronet' must be grown by vegetative means. Cuttings taken from semi-hardwood material between December and March strike relatively easily in 7-10 weeks.

Grevillea. 'Evelyn's Coronet' would lend itself well for use as a short, informal screen plant but due to its beautiful flowering habit it is best used as a specimen shrub. No diseases or pests have been noted yet in the National Botanic Gardens. It is frost hardy. This cultivar was registered by the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority on 17 May 1977.

Text by Geoff Butler, ANBG (1983)

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