Westringia fruticosa Mundi ['NFL25'] PP, 24042 (Mundi Coast Rosemary) - This low spreading evergreen shrub grows to 2 feet tall by at least 5 feet wide with dark gray-green 1 inch long narrow leaves. White flowers bloom along the branches year-round in coastal areas with peak in spring and is predominately only spring-blooming in inland plantings. It has among the largest flowers of the Westringia cultivars we grow and they stand out well against this plants foliage.
Plant in full to part sun or in bright filtered light. Drought tolerant but keeps better color and remains more dense when given occasional spring and summer irrigation. Hardy to about 20° F. This is one of the showiest of the white flowered Westringia that we grow.
Westringia fruticosa, is native to the coast of New South Wales where it can be seen hugging the cliffs and growing near the sand on the beach. The name for the genus was given to it by Sir James Edward Smith, an English botanist and founder of the Linnaean Society in 1788. The name honors Dr. Johan Peter Westring (1753-1833), a botanist and physician to King Charles XIII of Sweden, who was a student of Linnaeus. The specific epithet comes from the Latin word 'frutico' meaning "to put forth shoots" or "become bushy", likely in reference to the dense bushiness of this species.
This plant is a selection made by Graham Brown of NuFlora, a cooperative venture with the University of Sydney. It was chosen for its low growth habit and larger than typical white flowers. We have been growing the standard form of Westringia fruticosa since 1984 and it has long proven itself to be a useful drought tolerant and long lived plant in the landscape and excels near the beach, where it can bloom year-round and tolerate wind and salt laden air. The one drawback has been that it often gets too tall, so this lower growing selection has proven to be a great plant with all of the attributes of the species but without the height. It has has US Plant Patent number PP24,042 issued in 2013 and is marketed worldwide by Ozbreed and in the US by Dig Plants. We have been licensed to propagate and grow it and began offering this great plant in 2012. We also grow several cultivars of this species including the compact gray Westringia fruticosa Gray Box, the variegated forms Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light' and Westringia fruticosa 'Smokey' as well as the hybrids Westringia 'Wynyabbie Gem', Westringia 'Wynyabbie Highlight' and Westringia Blue Gem.
The information about Westringia fruticosa Mundi ['NFL25'] PP 24,042 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. |