Native Gardenia

Atractocarpus fitzalanii is a tropical plant native to northern coastal Queensland and is known as the native gardenia, brown gardenia or yellow mangosteen.

Native gardenias are shrubs or small trees that can grow 4 – 8 m tall and have an openly branched, narrowly spreading habit up to 4 m wide. They have dark green glossy leaves and clusters of highly perfumed small white flowers in spring.

These bee attracting flowers are followed by large yellow fruit, up to 10 cm in diameter, which have a similar appearance to apples and are edible when soft. The fruit ripens in winter and has whitish small seeds embedded in their dryish pulp. 

Aboriginal people eat native gardenia fruit raw and they can also be used in salads, tarts, jams, cakes and other desserts. Birds will also enjoy the fruit!

Native gardenias prefer a tropical, rainforest environment however are tolerant of warm temperate locations in a sheltered, moist position. Applying mulch around the root zone can help retain soil moisture. Native gardenias suit either full sun or part shade and can also be grown in containers. 

To keep native gardenias healthy and producing lots of fragrant flowers and fruit, feed each spring and autumn with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. It's a rich, organic plant food that's ideal for feeding native gardenias and will also help to improve the quality of the soil by providing a concentrated, composted source of earthworm attracting organic matter.

Native plant feeding tip: the beginning of autumn is a fantastic time to feed all Australian native plants, including grevillea, bottlebrush, banksia, kangaroo paw and lilly pilly, with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. This autumn application will help promote a fresh flush of new foliage and encourage cool season flowering natives to put on a great show of lots of bee and bird attracting flowers.

Grevilleas are a fantastic and diverse group of Australian native plants that range from low growing ground covers to tall trees. In addition to looking spectacular, their flowers are a valuable source of food for bees and other beneficial insects as well as birds.

If you're keen to include some grevilleas in your garden, Ozbreed has introduced two gorgeous shrub grevilleas into their range – Grevillea 'Gold Cluster' and Grevillea 'Cherry Cluster'.

• Grevillea Gold Cluster™ (Grevillea juniperina 'H22'), is covered in bright yellow gold spider-like flowers, on a plant that grows 30 cm high and up to 1 m wide. It creates a dense low growing mat that's great for supressing weeds. Grevillea Gold Cluster will grow in either full sun or part shade, tolerates drought and cold and thrives in southern regions of Australia.
• Grevillea Cherry Cluster™ (Grevillea rhyolitica x juniperina 'TWD01'), is a semi-prostrate shrub that reaches 50cm high and spreads to 80 cm wide. It has striking cherry coloured flowers from autumn to early spring and is perfect for mass plantings and rock gardens in southern regions of Australia.

To keep these grevilleas looking tidy and help prolong the flowering season, regularly cut off spent flowers. The plants can also be pruned back by around a third at the end of the flowering season, to promote fresh new growth.

Most grevilleas prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil. In areas with poor drainage, grevilleas can be planted in raised mounds of well-drained soil. To promote healthy plant growth, feed native plants like grevilleas with Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser each spring and autumn.

Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser is a unique blend of natural ingredients to enrich and improve the soil and also provide Australian native plants like grevilleas with gentle, slow release organic nutrients.

Yates Zero Weedkiller is an effective weedkiller that comes in handy ready to use packs for small gardens and in concentrated formulations for large gardens (or large numbers of weeds!) such as Yates Zero 490 Super Concentrate. 1L of Yates Zero 490 Super Concentrate makes up a huge 250 L of spray.