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Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' - A mounding, compact shrub to 4 to 5 feet tall by a bit wider with closely set soft-textured green needle-like leaves. The rose-pink and cream-colored flowers are showy during the winter and spring but this plant can often have some flowers present year-round.
Plant in full sun in most any soil so long as it is decently well-drained. Irrigate occasionally to very little. Reliably hardy down to 15°F and on occasions even a bit hardier. In the Oregon State Nursery trials at North Willamette Research and Extension Center, this plant withstood several nights at around 10 degrees F in December 2013. This is a very attractive garden plant with dense nice clean foliage, attractive flowers that have nectar to attract birds. It makes a nice small specimen plant or can be trimmed to form a short informal or formal hedge.
The genus name Grevillea honors Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809), a patron of botany, a very close friend of Sir Joseph Banks, and president of the Royal Society of London.
'Scarlet Sprite' was long thought to be a selection of Grevillea rosmarinifolia and this was how it was listed in Rodger Elliot and David Jones Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants where it was noted that it has also been called 'Pryor’s Hybrid' and had originally been named 'Wyalong Wonder'. We long listed it as Grevillea rosmarinifolia 'Scarlet Sprite' but it is now considered more likely to a hybrid of this species with the other parent unknown, so list it now without this specific epithet. It is similar to the old U.S. cultivar Grevillea 'Noeli' that was once the most common Grevillea in cultivation in California, but 'Scarlet Sprite' is denser growing and not as prickly. We first received this plant from Monterey Bay Nursery and have grown it in our nursery since 1998.
The information about Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
