Grevillea sericea

	Family:	Proteaceae
	Distribution:	Forests and woodlands along the central coast of New South Wales, extending west as far as Mudgee.
	Common Name:	Silky grevillea
	Derivation of Name:	Grevillea...after Charles Francis Greville, co-founder of the Royal Horticultural Society sericea...from Latin sericeus, silky, referring to the hairs on the underside of the leaves.
	Conservation Status:	Not considered to be at risk in the wild at the species level.

General Description:

Grevillea sericea is a well known species and is widely cultivated. There are two sub-species recognised:

• subsp. sericea - leaves usually less than 30 mm long; pink or white flowers
• subsp. riparia - leaves up to 120mm long; deep pink to purple flowers. This variety occurs generally along rivers and streams in the lower Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

Grevillea sericea subsp. riparia Photo: Brian Walters

Grevillea sericea is usually a small to medium shrub from 1 to 2 metres high (subsp. riparia rarely exceeds 1 metre). The flowers occur in "spider" clusters on short branchlets from the main stems, are often prolific and occur over a long period from autumn through to spring.

Silky grevillea is popular in cultivation and succeeds in most temperate areas in soils of reasonable drainage. It prefers sunny or semi-shaded situations, responds well to pruning and is tolerant of at least moderate frosts. Some forms have a suckering habit which is never invasive. The species is an ideal size for average-sized gardens and, although it does not appear to attract honey-eating birds, native bees (as well as European honey bees) find the flowers very attractive. There is a popular hybrid form available known as "Colloroy Plateau" - this has G.sericea subsp.sericea and G.speciosa as its parents and has brilliant pink flower clusters.

The species can be grown from seed which should be "nicked" with a sharp knife prior to sowing to improve germination. Cuttings from firm, current season's growth usually strike reliably.