Hakea multilineata (Grass-leaved Hakea)

This is another hardy and very pretty Hakea. When we first moved here, the first thing we did was plant a windbreak around our fruit tree orchard. This large shrub was used extensively because out of the plants available to me at the time, this was the only one that would cope with the lime and low rainfall. It proved to be a great choice. Its foliage is well down the trunk, it flowers prolifically at the end of winter and the birds use it for food and nesting. I haven’t been able to convince the galahs to eat the seed pods rather that the almonds, unfortunately.

I can see the flowers from the house which is a great bonus.

This large shrub is a Western Australian species. The books say acidic sandy or gravelly loams. Mine are doing very well in highly alkaline sandy loams. Some of these Hakeas are touchy to raise from seed. They don’t like cold wet soils. Early autumn or spring seems to be the best time, so they can be well grown before the cold of winter.

This plant is suitable as a cut flower. I haven’t tried it but the cut stems need to be soaked in water for a couple of hours.