Xanthorrhoea glauca

Australian grass tree

This amazing plant is widespread in Western Australia. It never fails to astonish visitors to our company; such a beautiful plant with an astonishing even grass-like spread of blue-green leaves and usually black trunk. It can produce flower spikes of up to 1.5m (5 feet) tall in summer! It grows slowly but can live to a ripe old age of 600 years, eventually producing a single trunk of up to 5m (15 feet) tall in the wild. Occasionally branched trunks may be produced. It needs little protection in temperatures down to -12C; below this the trunk and crown should be protected with hay or fleece. Another surprising fact; the Xanthorrhoea glauca can survive wild-fires! Plant out in a sunny position or in a pot and drain well.