Alyogyne Huegelii
Alyogyne Huegelii, aka the Native Hibiscus, is a shrub that you see from time to time in nurseries but rarely see in home gardens. I’ve often found this quite surprising though as it’s has so many great things going for it.
Alyogyne Huegelii in Flower
It grows naturally in sandy and gravelly soils in arid areas of Western Australia. This is obviously is why Alyogyne Huegelii is so drought tolerant. The one that I’ve got growing in my front yard amazed me last summer when we had five consecutive days where the temperature was 45°C. I never water the plants in my front garden as I’ve decided that they have to survive on just rainfall so my Alyogyne Huegelii hadn’t received any water for about a month before we got that hot weather. During those five days every afternoon as it baked in the hot afternoon sun the ends of the branches drooped toward the ground as if the it was about to die. Late in the afternoon though as the sun went behind the house it would then recover and look as good as if it wasn’t ever affected. This went on for five days and each afternoon I wondered if it would survive.
Now about 7 months later it is in full flower and looking a million dollars. The flowers are purple but you can also get one’s that have white flowers as well. The flowers themselves though don’t last very long but it just keeps setting new flowers which are profuse so the flowering season does last for a few months from late winter right throughout spring.
Alyogyne Huegelii Flower
Other things you need to know about Alyogyne Huegelii are that it does require reasonable drainage, it doesn’t like fertilizer with phosphorus and it grows really, really fast. After it flowers it’s best to prune it back fairly hard as it will then set vigorous new branches from old wood that will grow over summer (without much water). This will ensure that your shrub will be more compact and will also reward you with lots and lots of flowers the following season. Pruning will also make it less susceptible to wind damage that can sometimes be a problem as the branches are fairly brittle. So it’s also best to plant it in a sheltered area.
Another interesting thing about my Alyogyne Huegelii was that the trunk actually split about a year ago. As you can see I’ve tied it up and it doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse. It will be interesting to see how it goes long term. The other option for me would be to just cut it back to a stump and then let it regrow.
Alyogyne Huegelii with split trunk. "I doesn't appear to have gotten any worse. So I'll leave it for now."
Alyogyne Huegelii is also fairly easy to strike from cuttings. The plant in my garden was actually propagated by my mother using the propagating method described elsewhere in my blog.
So here you have it Alyogyne Huegelii is very drought tolerant, doesn’t need or like fertiliser as it will grow fast anyway, puts on a spectacular flowering display over spring and is really easy to grow. Just make sure you give it reasonable drainage, prune it after flowering, plant in full sun it possible and keep away from strong winds.
So next time you’re at the garden centre keep an eye out for Alyogyne Huegelii.
Read an Update on how to Prune Alyogyne Huegelii.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Pruning your Alyogyne Huegelii
- Growing Agave Attenuata in a Pot
- Eremophila “Big Poly”
- Eremophila Images
- Isopogon Formosus
Posted: September 2nd, 2009 under Alyogyne, Garden Plants.
Tags: Alyogyne Huegelii, drought tolerant plant, garden plant
Comments
Comment from Nicolette
Time November 15, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Thanks for your article. Mine is in a pot with regular potting mix. In shade 2-3 hours during day, sunny the rest of the time. Fertilised with native fertiliser (before reading your article). Problem is a tendency to get yellow leaves, especially new leaves go yellow.
Any ideas? Thanks.
Comment from Rebel Gardener
Time November 16, 2009 at 6:33 am
I’m not a big fan of fertilizing natives that are in the ground but those that are in a pot will benefit from some native fertilizer. The first thing I’d do is check how well the potting mix is draining. Alyogynes don’t like wet feet so make sure you have a potting mix that isn’t soggy. Also when planting plants in pots make sure the size of the pot is the next size larger that one you took it out of. Quite often plants are potted up into pots that are way too large. You’ll find that you may be able to pot many plants up into pots several sizes larger but you’ll also find that you probably won’t get away with it with plants that require good drainage. Generally speakin the worst thing you can do with alot of Aus Natives is water them too much. Quite often when they do look unwell the first reaction of the gardener is to water them some more which just makes it worse.
Comment from Jenny
Time February 21, 2010 at 1:55 pm
I live in Adelaide, where the temperature throughout summer is often in the high 30’s-low 40’s. I have a fairly young plant in a pot with regular potting mix and an initial dose of native fertiliser about 6mths ago when I transplanted it from a smaller pot. It has grown quickly and flowered through spring but now, although growing well, has a lot of yellow leaves that look a little like they might if suffering from red spider but there is no evidence of this. Spraying with pyrethrum had no effect. Despite the yellow leaves, it continues to grow well and appears otherwise ok. I have probably been watering it a bit too much given the weather but after reading this article will discontinue this practice. Any suggestions as to how to eliminate the yellowing?
Comment from Rebel Gardener
Time February 22, 2010 at 7:13 am
Hi Jenny Mine has a few yellow leaves as well but probably only 1 or 2 % the rest of the leaves are a vibrant green. The first thing I would check is the potting mix. How well does it drain, does it sit in a saucer where the water collects, how much of the pot do the roots occupy, does you think it may be over potted?
Honestly most problems start for Aust Natives with too much water, bad drainage and too much fertilizer.
Pot plants will need some Native fertilizer and maybe some Seasol but my bet is your problem might be drainage.
Also when most people place a plant in a pot they use a large decorative pot of some description to turn it into a feature. Whenever I do this I keep the plant in a smaller plastic pot that is the right size for the rootball and then place this pot inside the larger feature pot. This will ensure better drainage. Please let me know how you go.
Comment from Noelle
Time September 24, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hello. We grow this as well in Arizona. The flowers are so striking. Thank you for the great information.