Grevillea hybrid 'City Lights'

City Lights Grevillea

Botanical Name: Grevillea hybrid 'City Lights' PBR (syn. 'GR144')
Family: Proteaceae
Origin: Australian hybrid (Kings Park and Botanic Gardens breeding program, WA; G. nivea x G. pteridifolia)
Plant Type: Evergreen large shrub to small tree

Overview

A standout success from the prestigious Kings Park and Botanic Gardens plant breeding program, Grevillea 'City Lights' is an exceptionally versatile and tough Australian native that can be grown virtually anywhere in Australia — including across Adelaide and South Australia. Its vibrant bright orange toothbrush flowers are produced prolifically among deeply lobed, dense green foliage throughout the year, delivering non-stop colour and a constant supply of nectar that keeps honeyeaters and other birds visiting the garden all year round.
With a strong upright habit and dense, attractive foliage, 'City Lights' suits a broad range of landscape applications — from mixed native garden beds and water-wise plantings to informal screening and feature specimen use. It can also be trained as a small tree for more formal settings, further extending its versatility. Drought and heat tolerant, frost hardy and extremely low maintenance, this is a Grevillea that performs reliably in Adelaide's Mediterranean climate with minimal intervention.

Key Features

• Mature Size: 2.5–3.0 m H x 2.0–2.5 m W (upright, dense shrub; can be trained as a small tree to 3–4 m)
• Growth Rate: Moderate to fast; 30–50 cm per year in good conditions
• Foliage: Deeply lobed, finely divided dense green leaves; attractive year-round; evergreen
• Flowers: Bright orange toothbrush-style flower clusters produced prolifically among the foliage year-round; outstanding nectar source for honeyeaters, lorikeets and beneficial insects
• Fragrance: Not fragrant
• Seasonal Interest: Dense evergreen foliage year-round; continuous bright orange flowers every month of the year providing unbroken colour and wildlife activity; can be pruned after flowering flushes to maintain shape and promote new flowering growth
• Wildlife Value: Outstanding — year-round bright orange flowers produce abundant nectar attracting honeyeaters, lorikeets and a wide range of beneficial insects and birds; one of the best bird-attracting natives available
• Tolerance: Drought-tolerant once established; heat-tolerant; frost hardy; wind-tolerant; coastal-tolerant in sheltered positions; excellent across a wide range of soil types with good drainage; dislikes phosphorus-rich fertilisers and waterlogging; dislikes prolonged high humidity
• Planting Density: Tight hedge: 2–3 plants per metre (40–50 cm spacing); Standard hedge/screen: 1–2 plants per metre (60–80 cm spacing); Informal/naturalistic: 1 plant per 2 m; small tree standard: single specimen with 2.5 m clearance
• Pet Friendly: Generally regarded as non-toxic to cats and dogs; contact with flowers/sap may cause skin sensitivity in some people

Where It Works Best

• Sunlight: Full sun; best flowering, most compact habit and strongest colour in full sun; tolerates very light part shade but flowering and density will reduce
• Soil: Well-drained soils essential; adaptable to sandy, loamy and gravelly soils; tolerates Adelaide's coastal limestone soils; avoid waterlogged and heavy clay soils; avoid phosphorus-rich fertilisers or soils
• Water Needs: Establishment: 2 deep soaks/week for 8–12 weeks. Established: very low; deep soak every 2–3 weeks in summer; little to no watering in cooler months; excellent once established in Adelaide's dry summers
• Maintenance: Light prune after peak flowering flushes to maintain shape and encourage new growth; avoid hard pruning into old wood; feed with a low-phosphorus native slow-release fertiliser every 6–12 months; mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds; do not use standard fertilisers high in phosphorus
• Lifespan: 15–25 years; long-lived with good drainage and correct fertilising
• Climate Zones: Suited to all Adelaide zones; Adelaide Plains, coastal suburbs, foothills and inland SA; excellent across Mediterranean and temperate South Australia
• Soil pH: Slightly acidic to neutral preferred; adaptable across most Adelaide soil types with good drainage

Landscape & Design Ideas

• Water-wise and native garden feature shrub providing year-round orange flowers, dense evergreen structure and extraordinary wildlife value with minimal maintenance
• Informal screen or windbreak along boundaries where the dense upright habit provides privacy with the bonus of non-stop colour and bird activity
• Trained small tree specimen for formal garden beds, driveways and commercial landscapes where a tidy, upright native feature with year-round flowers is required
• Mass planting in public landscapes, streetscapes and council plantings where heat tolerance, drought hardiness and low maintenance are essential requirements
• Combine with other Kings Park Grevillea hybrids, Kangaroo Paw, Westringia and Lomandra for a bold, low-water Australian native garden palette

Why You Will Love It

'City Lights' is one of those rare plants that genuinely delivers all year — every month, in every season, there are bright orange flowers bringing honeyeaters and colour to the garden. Bred for tough Australian conditions by the Kings Park program, it is extraordinarily low maintenance, handles Adelaide's dry summers without fuss, and looks superb as a feature shrub or trained small tree. A truly outstanding native for South Australian gardens.