Correas In The Garden

Correa glabra variegated form

I was putting Correa glabra, a variegated form, on to the tables at the Spring Flower Show and Plants Sale organised by the Australian Plants Society. This is a pretty plant. Some Correas have a fruity scent in the leaves, which makes them good to grow near a path where the leaves can be brushed as people walk past them.

Correa glabra exists in a number of forms. What I have is a variegated form which has yellow blotches. The leaves are shiny and the blotching is better seen when the plant is growing out in the open. These Correas need to be tip pruned to keep them dense bushes. A friend made a practice of pinching the top couple of leaves of each branch on the bushes and alsways had prolific flowering as a result. This works with many species.

This particular species grows to about half a metre high and wide and grows well in clay soils that dry and crack in the heat of summer.