Anigozanthos humilis (Cat’s Paw)

This is a very pretty Kangaroo Paw. It is much shorter than the flavidus (up to 30 cm or 12 inches with the flower spike), is a combination of yellow, orange and red in the flower. The flower stalk stands just above the foliage.

This is also a very hardy plant. According to a comment I read, it grows in soils with a high lime content as a preference! In fact in builder’s rubble. At last a plant that will not cringe when I dig the hole in my limestone rubble mounds. It is apparently difficult to maintain in the garden if the high pH conditions do not exist. Amazing little plant.

I remember the first time I saw this growing on the side of the road in Western Australia. Having only seen pictures in books, it was a great thing to see masses of the plant in the ‘flesh’.

This one does not seem to be as frost hardy as the Anigozanthos flavidus. As we are having slight frosts now it will be test of the plant’s hardiness. They all need good drainage which can be achieved by raising the planting spot by about 8cm (4 inches) as a minimum, or adding gypsum to the soil to break up any clay.