 Growing Gardens
with Julia Hancock
Paws For Thought
So many natives produce extraordinarily beautiful flowers but none are as quirky as the kangaroo paw. Anigozanthos spp. as they are botanically called, have suffered in the past by being prone to fungal rust and 'inkspot' disease but breeders have virtually eradicated these problems out of modern hybrids, and created a huge range of interesting and adaptable plants.
In the home garden paws look great when mixed with other ornamental shrubs and perennials. They don't have to be teamed with other native plants because they look just as good arranged with exotics of similar or contrasting colour schemes.
Colour is what paws offer in extreme diversity, from black and lime green, through to yellow, gold, orange, cream, scarlet, magenta, maroon and pink. The colours actually come from the furry coating encasing the flowers which, combined with their shape, gave rise to their common nomenclature.
Their range of heights also makes kangaroo paws a useful addition to the garden - from the dwarf varieties of between 50-100cm, to the giants of 2m and over. The former make excellent border or edging plants while the latter look best displayed in large clumps of similar or varied colours.
One of the best features of this plant comes not in its outdoor show, but as a cut flower. Paws look dramatic in large arrangements with other natives or exotics such as grevilleas, strelizias and crucifix orchids and foliage plants with complimentary colours like acalypha, flax, gingers and heliconias.
Grow Anigozanthos in well drained soil, protect them from the worst of the summer heat and feed them with slow release pellets designed for native plants, and they will reward you with months of exciting flowers.
Large clumps can be divided and sometimes new plantlets form up the stems of non-hybrid varieties. Simply snip them off, pot them up and plant out when roots have established.
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