Grevillea tetragonoloba 'Ray's Red' - An evergreen groundcover 1 to 2 feet tall by 3 to 4 feet wide with narrow lobed green pinnate leaves and orange-red toothbrush-like flowers from early winter to late spring.
Plant in full sun to very light shade in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently - this is a summer dry growing plant in coastal Southern California gardens. Hardy to mid 20s°F. Avoid excess fertilizing, especially phosphorous. This is a tough an attractive grevillea for use as a ground or bank cover and it attractive to hummingbirds.
Grevillea tetragonoloba is a species from southern Western Australia from between Albany and Esperance, where it grows on sandy or loam soils. The genus name Grevillea honors after 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. The specific epithet is from the Greek words 'tetra' meaning "four" and 'gonia' meaning "an angle" combined with the Latin word 'lobus' meaning "a lobe" in reference to the cross-sectional shape of the leaf lobes.
Grevillea tetragonoloba 'Ray's Red' is a 2016 University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum Koala Blooms Australian Plant Introduction. It was originally received by the arboretum in 1977 as Grevillea tetragonoloba 77.73 and its name honors the late natural history professor Ray Collett (1933-2012), who was the founding director of UCSC Arboretum. This form is possibly the same as what was once sold in Australia incorrectly as fine leafed form of G.hookeriana, a species thought to be one of the parents of Grevillea 'Red Hooks'.
The information about Grevillea tetragonoloba 'Ray's Red' 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. |