Kalbarri Carpet emu bush

Sun

Full sun; light shade is tolerated, but growth is usually less compact and flowering reduced.

Water

Water regularly while establishing, allowing the soil to dry between waterings. Once established, water deeply only during extended dry periods; avoid frequent shallow watering.

Soil

Very free-draining sandy, gravelly or loamy soil. Avoid waterlogged ground and heavy clay unless drainage is substantially improved.

Height

0.5-1 ft (0.15-0.3 m)

Spread

5-7 ft (1.5-2.1 m)

Flowers

Yellow tubular flowers, mainly in spring and summer, with occasional flowers at other times in mild climates.

Foliage

Evergreen. Small, softly hairy, silver-grey leaves on low, spreading woody stems.

Growth

Moderate to fast in warm, well-drained conditions.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.2 ft (0.06 m)

2. After 1 year

   0.5 ft (0.14 m)

3. After 2 years

   0.7 ft (0.22 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

Australia

Growth rate

Fast

• Plant with the crown at soil level in a sunny position with excellent drainage.
• Water through the first growing season when the root zone dries; reduce watering once established.
• Feed sparingly in spring with a low-phosphorus fertiliser suitable for Australian native plants.
• Use a thin gravel mulch and keep it clear of the crown.
• In cold or winter-wet regions, grow in a freely draining container and overwinter somewhere bright, cool and frost-free.

Pruning. Lightly trim shoot tips after the main flowering flush to maintain a dense carpet and keep paths clear. Remove dead or frost-damaged stems in spring, but avoid cutting hard into bare old wood.

Spring

After frost risk has passed, plant in freely draining soil and remove any winter-damaged shoots.

Spring

Apply a light feed only if growth is weak or the soil is very poor.

Summer

Check new plants for dry roots; water established plants only during prolonged drought.

Late summer

After the main flowering flush, lightly trim spreading shoots and take semi-ripe cuttings.

Autumn

Clear fallen leaves from the mat and check that rainwater drains away from the crown.

Winter

Keep container plants on the dry side and protect them from frost and persistent rain.

• Cover sunny banks with a low silver mat to reduce exposed soil.
• Allow stems to spill over a low retaining wall or the edge of a large container.
• Plant beside dark paving or gravel for a clear foliage contrast.
• Combine with upright kangaroo paws and compact native shrubs in a dry Australian planting.
• Use along broad path edges where its mature spread will not obstruct access.

Garden styles it suits: Australian native, Desert / xeriscape, Dry gravel garden, Coastal, Modern Mediterranean and Low-maintenance.

Plant it with: Kangaroo paw, Westringia, Lomandra, Grevillea, Lavender and Blue fescue.

Wildlife: The tubular flowers provide nectar for honeyeaters in Australia and may attract nectar-feeding birds and insects elsewhere. The spreading foliage offers small-scale shelter for invertebrates.

• Root and crown rot in wet soil: improve drainage, reduce irrigation and replace badly affected plants rather than replanting into the same wet conditions.
• Frost damage: choose a sheltered position, protect during cold snaps and wait until spring to prune damaged growth.
• Sparse or leggy growth in shade: move to a sunnier position and lightly trim healthy shoot tips.
• Scale insects: inspect stems, remove small infestations by hand and use a labelled horticultural oil if needed, avoiding hot weather.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses, but reliable safety information for this cultivar is limited. No particular toxic part or severity is established; do not treat the leaves, flowers or other parts as edible.

• Silky emu bush (Eremophila nivea)

  Also has silvery, hairy foliage, but forms an upright shrub with mauve-purple flowers rather than a low carpet with yellow flowers.

• Creeping emu bush (Eremophila serpens)

  Forms a similarly low mat, but usually has green leaves and red tubular flowers rather than silver-grey foliage and yellow flowers.

Eremophila comes from Greek words meaning desert-loving, while glabra means hairless, although this cultivar has distinctly hairy foliage.

Propagation. Take semi-ripe cuttings from healthy, non-flowering shoots in summer or early autumn and root them in a sharply drained propagation mix. Seed will not reliably reproduce this cultivar.

Accepted botanical name

Eremophila glabra

Native range

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

Measured

Average height 170 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.