Description:

A narrow tall shrub with stem clasping round leaves that are bracketed vertically making the overall appearance spectacular; prefers sun and low humidity for the leaves to display beautiful tones of yellow, orange, and red; a great accent plant

Ornamental Features

Royal Hakea is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive yellow-variegated bluish-green foliage with hints of orange. The large serrated round leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Royal Hakea is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. Its strikingly bold and coarse texture can be very effective in a balanced landscape composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Royal Hakea is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Royal Hakea will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 8 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.

Royal Hakea makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.