An Australian shrub that blooms when most of the garden is resting, with dark rosy-red tubular flowers from midwinter into spring. It loves full sun and heat and uses little water. Hummingbirds visit through the cool season.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide. Some summer water keeps it full and helps next winter’s bloom, but the soil should dry between waterings. Poor drainage is the most common cause of failure.
Pruning
It stays naturally dense. If you want to shape it, do it once, right after spring bloom ends. Trimming later in the year removes the wood that carries the winter flowers.
Wildlife
Hummingbirds and bees visit the flowers through winter and spring.
How our designers use it
Winter color
It carries the garden through the months when summer bloomers are quiet.
Hot, sunny beds
It handles reflected heat along walls, driveways and pool decks with good drainage.
Low-water mixes
We combine it with agaves, barrel cactus and desert marigold for year-round interest.
Good to know
Around the pool
Small, thornless and fairly clean. Bees and hummingbirds visit during the winter–spring bloom.
