Coast rosemary

Plant growth form and habit: A dense evergreen shrub, variable from low-growing to more upright forms.

Natural distribution: Coast vegetation in New South Wales and eastern Victoria.

Indigenous to greater Melbourne: No

Height category: 1-2m

Dimensions (height and width): 2 m x 4 m

Landscape features: Winter flowering, Good for screening, Shrub mass

Flowering: White flowers for much of the year.

Typical growth rate: Fast

Light: Full sun, Partial sun

Drought: Very good

Waterlogging: Average

Maintenance and cultivation notes: A tough, robust and fast growing plant. Widely used as a hedge but will need frequent clipping. Prune regularly to maintain density. It can be rejuvenated by hard pruning, although old plants may not respond. Lots of different forms and named cultivars exist, including smaller compact forms and different flower and foliage colours.

Bees and butterflies nectar and pollen source: Attractive to native bees, blue-banded bees (Amegilla sp.), butterflies, hoverflies, and other nectar and pollen foraging insects.

Butterfly larval host plants: Larval food plant for rayed blue (Candalides heathi).

Birds: Dense foliage provides good shelter and nesting sites for small birds. Provides food for insect and larvae eating birds.

Benefits: Nectar and pollen, Butterfly (caterpillar) host, Birds (food source), Birds (habitat structure)

Availability: Bushland Flora (availability as of June 2017)

Typical horticultural uses: Edging or screening, and as shrub mass for groundcover, as a wind-break and for edging.