15 dramatic Australian native plants for real impact in a garden
Many Australian native plants are not known for being subtle. Our flora includes some of the most visually arresting and botanically unusual plants found anywhere in the world. This is because they evolved in highly competitive environments where standing out to pollinators was critical to survival.
But pollinators are not the only ones that benefit from these dramatic displays. If you want real impact in your native garden, these plants will stop you in your tracks.
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1. Black kangaroo paw (Macropidia fuliginosa)
Black kangaroo paw is thought to be one of the only plants that produces genuinely black flowers. The tubular blooms are covered in dense, velvety hairs and tipped with bright yellow. It is also the only species in its entire genus. There is nothing else like it. It has been one of the most sought-after cut flowers in international floral design for exactly this reason.
It is endemic to southwestern WA and has a well-earned reputation for being difficult outside its native range as it dislikes humidity, heavy soil, overwatering and root disturbance. In Mediterranean-climate gardens with sandy, freely draining, low-nutrient soil and full sun it is long-lived and spectacular. Plant into the sandiest position available and resist the urge to water or fertilise. Divide clumps every two to three years after flowering using a sharp hand fork to maintain vigour.
2. Waratah 'Shady Lady White' (Telopea speciosissima)
The waratah flower head is one of the most extraordinary things produced: a dense, domed cluster of tubular flowers surrounded by bracts, reaching 10–15cm across. 'Shady Lady White' does this in pure white, rather than red. The name is literal: it was bred to tolerate more shade than the red species, which is why it works so well against a dark fence or wall.
It performs best in well-drained, slightly acidic, low-phosphorus soil in full sun to light shade. It is a suckering shrub so do not remove these, as they form the plant's natural renewal system. Cut spent flower stems back to the nearest healthy lateral with heavy duty bypass secateurs after flowering to encourage branching. For more waratah varieties and cultivation detail, our waratah growing guide covers all climate zones.
3. Red flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia)
When a red flowering gum is in full flower it is one of the most spectacular trees in cultivation anywhere. The flower clusters are vast, produced across the entire canopy simultaneously and in colours that range from deep crimson, scarlet, coral, orange, cream and white. A mature tree in flower is visible from a long distance.
Endemic to a small area of southwestern WA, it has been cultivated so widely that it is now one of the most common street and garden trees in Melbourne and Adelaide. Grafted cultivars are more reliable for flower colour consistency than seedlings. Remove spent flower clusters and woody seed pods with loppers, though they can be left as structural interest.
4. Ear-pod wattle (Acacia auriculiformis)
The species name says everything: auriculiformis means "ear-shaped" in Latin, referring to the seed pods that spiral and coil. In flower, the tree is a bold and fragrant spectacle: bright golden-yellow spikes up to 8cm long cover the canopy. It grows fast, gaining two to four metres in height per year, which makes it one of the quickest ways to achieve a mature, dramatic tree in a tropical or subtropical garden.
Native to the Northern Territory and Queensland, it tolerates poor soils, drought periods and a wide range of soil types including clay. Like all wattles it fixes atmospheric nitrogen through its root system, actively improving surrounding soil. When planting, use a hand pick mattock to break and loosen the soil across a wide planting area, as this tree develops a spreading root system. Water regularly in the first season, then largely leave it alone.
5. Red parrot pea (Dillwynia hispida)
What makes parrot pea earn its place on this list is what happens when five or seven plants are massed together in late winter to spring: the clustered orange, red and crimson flowers cover the branchlets so densely that the whole grouping becomes a solid block of vivid colour. The flower colour is genuinely unusual with a partly crimson keel.
Endemic to heath, woodland, forest and mallee scrubland across western Victoria, southern NSW and southeastern SA, it handles frost, dry conditions and poor soils. Plant in groups of at least five using a slim trowel in full sun to part shade. Prune by up to one-third after flowering with precision shears to keep the plants dense and floriferous. The fine stems respond well to a clean, sharp cut.
Planting for bold impact
A red flowering gum positioned where it can be seen from inside the house, a bottle tree as the centrepiece of a dry garden or a massed planting of red parrot pea at the base of a path is how you create impact. Good planting technique matters for these species so the investment in getting them right from the start pays off for decades.
6. Scarlet banksia (Banksia coccinea)
Scarlet banksia produces one of the most visually striking flower spikes in the entire banksia genus. It is deep crimson and silver-grey in a dense, complex cylinder that is simultaneously bold and intricate. It is an important food plant for Carnaby's black cockatoo, a federally endangered species.
Endemic to the south coast of WA, in cultivation it needs the conditions of its origin: low-nutrient, freely draining sandy soil, full sun and low summer humidity. It does not perform in clay or in high-fertiliser gardens. See the banksia growing guide for detailed variety selection and cultivation advice.
7. Red pokers (Hakea bucculenta)
Red pokers flower spikes are long, cylindrical and a deep orange-red produced in dense clusters along the branches. The spikes appear in late winter to spring and the flowering period is long, making it one of the more impactful choices for late-season colour in a WA-style garden.
Like most plants from WA's mid-west, it requires sharp drainage and low-nutrient conditions. Plant into sandy or gravelly well-drained soil in full sun. After flowering, use a Kiyohide pruner to make precise cuts back to healthy laterals. The Japanese blade handles the woody stems of this large shrub without tearing. For more on growing hakeas, the hakea growing guide covers variety selection across all climate zones.
8. Woolly featherflower (Verticordia monadelpha)
Woolly featherflower covers itself so completely in pink to magenta blooms from spring into summer that the foliage disappears entirely. The individual flowers have petals fringed with long, hair-like cilia that give the whole flower a fur-like texture. The genus name Verticordia means "turner of hearts" in Latin.
Endemic to southwestern WA, it occurs naturally on the Swan Coastal Plain north to around Geraldton. It needs freely draining, low-nutrient sandy soil and full sun. In Mediterranean-climate gardens it is long-lived and very rewarding. Varieties have been grown successfully in eastern states when grafted onto rootstock. Prune lightly after flowering with precision shears as the fine, delicate growth responds best to a very sharp, light cut.
9. Swamp bottlebrush (Beaufortia sparsa)
Swamp bottlebrush covers itself in vivid orange-red bottlebrush flower spikes in a display that is far more intense in colour than most of its callistemon relatives. The flowers sit at the ends of branches that continue to grow through and after flowering, giving the shrub a slightly wild habit. Despite the common name, it grows in both swampy ground and free-draining sandy soils in its native range.
It performs well in Mediterranean-climate gardens, cool temperate gardens and any position with sandy, well-drained soil and full sun. Flowers are produced on one-year-old wood, so timing is important. Prune immediately after flowering with heavy duty bypass secateurs. Pruning at other times will remove the following season's buds.
10. Grevillea plurijuga 'Purple Haze'
'Purple Haze' produces long, trailing flower stems that carry clusters of deep purple-mauve flowers for most of the year. The colour is entirely different from the typical red, orange or cream of common garden grevilleas. It fills a colour gap in the native garden that almost nothing else addresses.
Melburnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The cultivated 'Purple Haze' form is almost universally sold grafted onto a hardy rootstock, giving it significantly better adaptability across Australian conditions. Avoid high-phosphorus fertilisers. After planting, use an Asano ninja claw cultivator to work mulch gently around the root zone. Its low mounding habit makes access tight, and the claw tines work precisely between stems without disturbing shallow roots. The grevillea growing guide covers cultivation across all climate zones.
11. Bookleaf mallee (Eucalyptus kruseana)
Bookleaf mallee is a small eucalyptus with a visual quality unlike any other species in the genus. The leaves are perfectly round, silver-blue and stem-clasping, arranged alternately along the stem. Against this extraordinary foliage, bright yellow flowers appear in winter. The combination makes it one of the most distinctive small native trees in Australian horticulture.
It needs freely draining, low-nutrient sandy or gravelly soil and full sun. It is extremely drought tolerant once established. If drainage is questionable, prepare a raised or mounded bed using a small pick hoe to shape and aerate the mound before planting. The foliage is outstanding as a cut and dried branch. Stems hold their colour and shape for months.
12. Native hibiscus (Hibiscus heterophyllus)
The native hibiscus produces flowers up to 12cm across, typically white or pale pink with a deep crimson centre. It flowers repeatedly through spring and summer, and while individual flowers last only a day the succession of blooms across a long season makes the display sustained.
Native to eastern Australia from QLD to northern NSW in dry sclerophyll forest and woodland margins, it suits subtropical, warm temperate and coastal gardens. Cut back by up to one-third immediately after the main flowering flush with loppers to maintain a dense, bushy habit. It tolerates a wider soil range and handles periods of dryness once established. The flowers support several butterfly species.
On soil and fertiliser
Most of the WA plants on this list evolved in nutrient-poor sandy soils and are highly sensitive to phosphorus. Standard garden fertilisers will damage or kill them. Use no fertiliser at all, or apply a specifically formulated low-phosphorus native fertiliser very sparingly. Good soil preparation before planting is far more useful than any fertiliser regime for these species.
13. Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris)
The Queensland bottle tree does something that almost no other tree does: it stores water in its trunk. In drought conditions, the trunk swells to sometimes several metres in circumference as the tree draws on internal reserves. Even young specimens develop the characteristic swollen base within a few years, giving the plant immediate structural presence in a garden.
Built for hot, dry inland conditions, it suits arid and semi-arid gardens and warm temperate gardens with dry summers and well-drained soils. It is deciduous under drought stress, losing its leaves to conserve moisture, and recovers fully once conditions improve. In rocky or compacted ground, use a Yamagatana hori hori to cut through compacted soil layers and work the planting hole to depth before backfilling. Once established it requires almost no intervention.
14. Ribbon fan palm (Livistona australis)
Australia's most widely distributed native palm has fronds up to three metres across that droop at the tips into long, ribbon-like segments. The effect of a mature specimen in a garden is immediately tropical and commanding. It is also the southernmost naturally occurring palm in Australia, found as far south as the Illawarra. Remarkable for a plant that looks this tropical.
It grows naturally in rainforest margins, creek lines and sheltered gullies from far north QLD to Victoria, giving it a wider climate tolerance than most palms. It handles mild frost once established, suits subtropical, warm temperate and sheltered cool temperate gardens and performs equally well in full sun or bright shade. Remove dead fronds close to the trunk using a garden pruning saw. Do not pull on them, as this damages the trunk tissue.
15. Firewood banksia (Banksia menziesii)
Each spike of the firewood banksia is a dense cylinder of deep burgundy-red and silver-grey. The individual flowers are tightly packed making the whole spike a bold, architectural statement in the garden. It flowers in autumn and winter, attracting honeyeaters, native bees and rove beetles. The beetles consume the pollen without pollinating, which is its own small ecological drama.
It grows as a large shrub or small tree in deep sands along the Swan Coastal Plain and inland. In cultivation it needs freely draining, low-nutrient, slightly acidic soil and full sun. In Mediterranean-climate gardens it is long-lived. Remove spent flower spikes using loppers. See the banksia growing guide for full cultivation detail across climate zones.
At a glance
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01Black kangaroo paw (Macropidia fuliginosa)
Mediterranean WA · Clumping perennial · Black and yellow flowers -
02Waratah 'Shady Lady White' (Telopea speciosissima)
NSW · Shrub · Bold white flower heads to 15cm -
03Red flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia)
Mediterranean and warm temperate · Small to medium tree · Mass canopy flower display -
04Ear-pod wattle (Acacia auriculiformis)
Northern and northeastern Australia · Medium to large tree · Golden-yellow flower spikes, coiled ear-shaped pods -
05Red parrot pea (Dillwynia hispida)
Southeastern Australia · Erect shrub · Orange, red and crimson massed flowers -
06Scarlet banksia (Banksia coccinea)
Mediterranean WA · Shrub to small tree · Crimson and silver flower spikes -
07Red pokers (Hakea bucculenta)
Mediterranean WA · Large shrub · Dense orange-red flower spikes -
08Woolly featherflower (Verticordia monadelpha)
Mediterranean WA · Dense shrub · Pink to magenta cloud-like flower display -
09Swamp bottlebrush (Beaufortia sparsa)
Mediterranean WA · Shrub · Vivid orange-red bottlebrush spikes -
10Grevillea plurijuga 'Purple Haze'
Widely adaptable when grafted · Mounding shrub · Purple-mauve trailing flowers -
11Bookleaf mallee (Eucalyptus kruseana)
Arid WA · Small mallee · Silver-blue round leaves, yellow flowers -
12Native hibiscus (Hibiscus heterophyllus)
Subtropical and warm temperate · Large shrub · White flowers with crimson centre to 12cm -
13Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris)
Arid and warm temperate · Large tree · Water-storing swollen trunk -
14Ribbon fan palm (Livistona australis)
Subtropical to cool temperate · Large palm · Fronds to 3m -
15Firewood banksia (Banksia menziesii)
Mediterranean WA · Large shrub to small tree · Burgundy and silver flower spikes
The Australian flora does not always do subtle particularly well and that makes for some remarkable garden plants. For more on the extraordinary range of forms and structures found in Australian native plants, the A-Z of extraordinary Australian plants and the texture and tactility guide cover different dimensions of the same exceptional flora.
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A Guide to Australian Native Gardening
How to plan, plant and care for a thriving native garden, whatever your experience level.
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