Plant of the Month – Kangaroo Paw 2
Have any of you raced out and purchased a Kangaroo Paw yet? Last week I reviewed the Red & Green variety of Kangaroo Paw. This week we look at a variety commonly called Orange Gem
Genus: Anigozanthos
Species: flavidus
Common Name: Orange
Flower Colour: Orange/Red
Foliage Colour: Green
Growth Habit: Strap Leaf/Grass
Flowering: Summer & Spring
The Anigozanthos flavidus actually comes in a few different sub-species but the best sub-species boats beautiful orangey red flowers, so that is the variety that I am recommending. This variety is generally smaller than manglesii, normally growing no higher than 50cm so if you are planting it together with that variety it is best to be placed on the outside. This variety makes for an absolutely fantastic border plant as well, especially along the side of a path from your front gate to your front door. Attracts birds, in particular the honey eater. I have grown this variety and have always been very happy with the results. The fact that is also has a slightly different flowering season to the manglesii means if planted together (perhaps with some other varieties as well) you are increasing the chances of having at least a few of your Kangaroo Paws flowering at any given time of the year!
Thanks to Lullfitz Nursery for much of this information. If you want to buy this plant they regularly have it in stock so check them out!
4 Responses to “Plant of the Month – Kangaroo Paw 2”
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Wow…These Kangaroo Paw flowers look awesome. I have never seen such a beautiful flower. Keep on posting some more blog like this.
I’ve found these Kangaroo Paws really easy to grow. You can also propagate them from seed fairly easily. Just let the flower heads set seed, then collect and propagate just as you would any other seed. And the great thing about growing from seed is you can get plants that have different flower colour variations. I did this once and the resultant plants had flowers that varied from green, to red to orange.
Thanks for that Mike. I’ve never actually tried propagating Kangaroo Paws from seed. I’ve heard of other varieties that it is quite easy to propagate from (such as the manglesii) but it is good to know the flavidus is another!