{"product_id":"grevillea-honey-gem","title":"Grevillea Honey Gem","description":"\u003cp\u003ePlan Honey Gem as a small tree or a screen: it is a fast, upright shrub that heads well past fence height and spreads nearly as wide as it is tall. The flower heads are long golden orange brushes with yellow highlights, carried mainly through winter and spring over leaves that are silver on the reverse. Parrots love it. Rainbow lorikeets arrive at first light, with honeyeaters and wattlebirds close behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA red form of Grevillea banksii from the south east Queensland coast and Grevillea pteridifolia from the tropical north went into this cross, and it has stayed in Australian gardens for decades because it is hardy, quick and generous with flower. The long, fern like leaves give a well grown plant a soft, layered look even when it is not in bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eA screen for warm districts\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHoney Gem does its work most reliably on the coast from northern New South Wales up through Queensland, around Sydney, and in warm, near frost free gardens elsewhere. A light frost does little harm, but a hard frost or a cold, wet winter sets it back. Give it full sun and soil that drains freely; it is not fussy about type, and sandy coastal soils suit it well. It will survive on rainfall once established, though it flowers far more heavily with a deep soak every week or two through dry spells. As a screen it is informal and open rather than solid: plant in a row with generous spacing, because each plant fills a wide space, and within a few seasons it will break up the view of a fence or a neighbour's windows, though not hide them completely. For a broader comparison of screening options, read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/fast-growing-privacy-screen-plants-australia\"\u003efast growing privacy screening plants\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSize, skin and dawn lorikeets\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlanted under eaves or in a narrow bed beside a path, it outgrows the space quickly, and the result is constant cutting. Skin can react too. Grevillea banksii is the species behind most grevillea dermatitis, and while the Robyn Gordon group is the usual culprit, sensitive people can still come out in a rash from Honey Gem foliage and flowers, so cover hands and forearms before pruning. And a flowering Honey Gem outside a bedroom window means lorikeets at dawn for months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor a cream flowered alternative of similar stature, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/moonlight-grevillea-grevillea-moonlight\"\u003eMoonlight Grevillea\u003c\/a\u003e is a tall selection of Grevillea whiteana with long pale heads, and the two planted together make a mixed screen in gold and cream. Where you want this colour in a smaller plant, the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/grevillea\"\u003eGrevillea\u003c\/a\u003e collection lists the shrubbier hybrids.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePruning hard without losing it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike many grevilleas, Honey Gem generally reshoots after a heavy cut, which means it can be rescued once it gets leggy. An overgrown plant several metres high can be taken back to about a metre and will regrow; do it in late spring after the main flowering, when warm weather drives new growth. Routine care is lighter: shorten the stems that have just flowered, and cut a few heads in bud for the vase, where they last well. It rarely needs feeding; if new growth comes through pale, one spring dose of low phosphorus native fertiliser is enough. A plant from the 100L size is already a substantial shrub, so stake it through its first windy season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 300mm up to 100L, priced from $159.00 to $549.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/grevillea-and-bird-attracting-plants\"\u003eplanting for birds\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67671043015025,"sku":null,"price":159.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100L","offer_id":67671043047793,"sku":null,"price":549.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/grevillea-honey-gem.jpg?v=1791517976","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/grevillea-honey-gem","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}