Emu bush

With their subtle but striking flowers and their seemingly endless biodiversity benefits, Australia’s emu bushes are becoming increasingly popular with gardeners. The extensive range of colours, patterns, shapes and textures in the flowers, foliage and growth habits of the more than 200 different species provides numerous design options for the garden.

Endemic to Australia, emu bushes belong to the genus Eremophila, a word derived from ancient Greek that means ‘desert-loving’. The plants have tubular flowers in a wide range of colours. Those with red, orange and yellow flowers are generally pollinated by nectar-eating birds such as honeyeaters and spinebills, while those with white, purple or pink flowers are usually insect-pollinated.

Emu bush varieties

Most emu bushes are medium-sized shrubs when fully grown, although there are also groundcovers and some species that develop into small trees. Many species of emu bush are also medicinal and have traditionally been used by First Nations people in different parts of Australia. Though a lot of eremophilas grow in drier inland regions, some species are adaptable in cultivation and thrive with minimal care. Several are tolerant of dry periods and moderate frosts, but some are sensitive to humidity, which can lead to fungal disease in the foliage and roots. It’s important to research whether the varieties you wish to grow will successfully adapt to your soil and climate.

Some of the most ornamental species of eremophila have attractive silver-green foliage, including Eremophila glabra ‘Kalbarri Carpet’ (above), which grows to about 2m wide as a groundcover and looks great in grouped plantings or spilling over a wall or container. A similar cultivar, E. glabra ‘Silver Ball’ (below) is more compact, and naturally grows in a small dome shape, reaching about 1m in width and height. Both of these cultivars have proven adaptable to coastal and inland areas of southern Australia, with their greenish-yellow flowers appearing through the warmer months to attract birds to the garden.

For a striking feature plant, silky eremophila (E. nivea) has soft silver foliage that is beautifully complemented by lilac flowers through spring and summer. It grows to about 1–2m high and wide, creating large drifts of silver-white in the garden. The cultivars ‘Beryl’s Blue’ and ‘Pink Pantha’ are similar to E. nivea but have more compact forms, with blue and pink flowers respectively. This stunning group dislikes high humidity, but the plants perform well in a range of climatic conditions if they’re provided with good airflow and full sun. Spotted emu bush (E. maculata) is arguably the most adaptable of the eremophilas and it grows well in more humid areas. It’s highly variable in terms of flower colour, with red, pink, mauve, apricot and spotted forms available, and its peak flowering time is spring. It’s a larger plant, growing to about 1–2m high and 2–3m wide, making it useful as a screen or hedge. This species attracts birds and insects to the garden and it makes a good habitat plant, but note that it is toxic to stock animals.

Emu bushes work well with other bird-attracting native plants such as grevilleas, banksias and kangaroo paws, with the groundcover types particularly effective as living mulches. Why not give them a try to help preserve the precious biodiversity of our flora and fauna?

Main photo credit: Rosella Rise Native Garden