I have been wanting to tell you all about the River Lomatia for some time but have been waiting to find some fully grown shrubs to photograph and I finally found them on my recent Summer trip to  Mount Kosciuszko.

And here it is! Lomatia myricoides is a large shrub which grows naturally on a free draining moist soil, along creek banks and as an understory shrub in dry sclerophyll forest. You will find it in southern NSW and over the border into Victoria.

The large white/cream panicles are fantastic for feeding pollinators and birds, and it flowers through the warmer Summer months. It is extremely frost and snow tolerant and as it belongs to the Proteaceae Family it springs back after bushfire.

Lomatia myricoides has a gentle weeping habit and if pruned can become a useful screen in a shady difficult spot. Although it is called the River Lomatia it can only withstand wet feet for a short period of time as it grows naturally on a poor, gravelly soil.

If left unpruned this Lomatia will reach upto 5 metres high and 3 metres across and if in sun can be used as a small tree.

I like to combine it with other shade loving weeping shrubs like Persoonia pinifolia and Acacia cognata. It really is very versatile!