Pimeleas are wonderful species, they grow quickly and flower often, for long periods of time. However this particular Pimelea is my favourite of all time, forever. This is Pimelea nivea and hails from my home state of Tasmania, I have seen it growing on rocky headlands and gravely Eucalyptus under storey and it is a very common and widespread species in dry woodlands and forests.
The images in this post were taken on a visit to the Botanic Gardens Tasmania in Hobart and from a specimen I have been growing in a pot in my garden.
Pimelea nivea is a shrub of contrasts the circular leaves are dark green and glossy on the top with a white woolly underside. The stems are pale and furry and the flower buds are themselves a highlight.
As this species is found down south in a state with little to no humidity, Pimelea nivea is hard to come by in my area. Therefore when I picked up a tube stock recently I thought it might make a great container species, how right I was!
My Pimelea is a little leggy, it is in part sun and an open windy position, the pot is only a 300mm size but the plant has flourished to wave its stems a good 1.5 – 2 metres.
In the ground you can expect this plant to be a medium shrub between 1 and 2 metres high by the same wide.
I plan to prune mine after flowering to try to help it become more dense. I’m pretty sure thats what they would do in the Botanic Gardens too, as theirs were lovely thick low bushes.
This species will grow very well on Victoria and South Australia and in some areas of WA. It is frost tolerant and drought hardy once established.
Oh and one last thing, if you know of anyone grafting this species, please let me know, I would love to be able to grow it in ground.
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