Grevillea hybrid 'Flora Mason'

Flora Mason Grevillea

Botanical Name: Grevillea hybrid 'Flora Mason'
Family: Proteaceae
Origin: Australia (hybrid cultivar)
Plant Type: Evergreen shrub

Overview

'Flora Mason' is a vigorous hybrid grevillea producing an exceptionally long display of orange-red toothbrush-style flowers that attract honeyeaters and other nectar-feeding birds for much of the year. Its mid-green, divided foliage provides a fine texture year-round, and its adaptability to a wide range of soils makes it one of the most reliable grevilleas for SA gardens. An excellent choice for habitat gardens, informal screens, and low-maintenance border planting.

Key Features

• Mature Size: 1.5–2.5 m H x 2–3 m W
• Growth Rate: Fast; 40–70 cm per year; spreading and bushy with a naturally dense habit
• Foliage: Mid-green, divided (pinnate) leaves with fine texture; silvery undersides
• Flowers: Orange-red toothbrush clusters; flowers heavily winter–spring with repeat flushes through summer and autumn; non-fragrant
• Seasonal Interest: Near year-round flowering; most prolific in winter and spring
• Wildlife Value: Outstanding — a magnet for honeyeaters, lorikeets and silvereyes; provides shelter for small birds
• Tolerance: Drought-tolerant once established; frost hardy to moderate; heat-tolerant; wind-tolerant; clay-tolerant (well-drained); coastal-tolerant (second-line)
• Planting Density: Informal screen: 1.5–2 m apart; mass planting: 1–1.5 m apart; specimen: 2.5–3 m from other large shrubs
• Pet Friendly: Grevilleas contain compounds that can cause contact dermatitis in sensitive individuals and mild tummy upset if ingested — discourage pets from chewing foliage or flowers

Where It Works Best

• Sunlight: Full sun to part shade; flowers best in full sun
• Soil: Well-drained loam, sandy loam or clay loam; slightly acidic to neutral; avoid phosphorus-rich fertilisers
• Water Needs: Establishment: 2 deep soaks/week for 8–12 weeks. Established: deep soak every 2–3 weeks in summer (weekly during heatwaves); seldom in winter — only if prolonged dry.
• Maintenance: Light prune after main flowering flush to encourage density; avoid cutting into old bare wood; mulch in spring; use low-phosphorus native fertiliser only
• Lifespan: 15–25 years
• Climate Zones: Suited to temperate and Mediterranean SA; excellent across Adelaide metro, Hills and second-line coastal
• Soil pH: Slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.5–7.0)

Landscape & Design Ideas

• Wildlife corridor planting and bird-attracting gardens
• Informal boundary screens and windbreaks
• Mixed native border with kangaroo paw, lomandra and banksias
• Low-water xeriscape gardens as a structural mid-storey shrub

Why You Will Love It

Reliable, fast and alive with birds — 'Flora Mason' is one of the hardest-working grevilleas in the SA palette, delivering near year-round colour and constant wildlife activity with minimal intervention.