Graptophyllum ilicifolium – Holly Fuschia

Holly Fuschia is a  pretty shrub with leaves that look and feel like holly leaves but red fushia-like flowers rather than berries.  If you have fond memories of holly from the Northern Hemisphere – or associate it with Christmas – this is a good substitute. But it is much more than that.

Graptophyllum ilicifolium – Holly Fuschia Leaves

The flowers suit the beaks of little brown honeyeaters and the bush offers them lots of protection. Also popular with the noisy friarbirds.

Graptophyllum ilicifolium – Holly Fuschia dense bush offers protection for small birds

I have two. One in a native bed on the east side of the house. A newer smaller one in the native square on the west side.

    • Evergreen Perennial
    • Green glossy oval leaves
    • Shrub to 5 Metres High. Mine has got up to 2m.  It prunes easily.
    • Semi-Shade / will tolerate Full Sun
    • Red flowers to 35 mm in Spring
    • Slow growing at first, but then grows rapidly

Would also make a good hedge or pot plant
Listed as Vunerable Species

Here it is flowering in July 2018

2 thoughts on “<em>Graptophyllum ilicifolium </em> – Holly Fuschia”

  1. I planted a holly fuschia on the edge of our dry rainforest about 12 years ago. We now have a copse of these plants and we find them appearing within a ten metre radius of the original plant. They are very healthy and quite dense forming a great habitat for birds such as the Lewin’s Honeyeater. We had a visit by a large (approximately 4 metre) carpet snake which climbed into the upper reaches of these plants and remained for several hours.

  2. I bought a tubestock plant early this year and have potted it on. For a few months now it has been in full sun in a black 25cm pot sitting in a 4cm ‘saucer’. I water it at least every second day. It flowers and looks very healthy. Need more rain to dig planting holes in my shale/clay soil. I will try and grow some cuttings in case it doesn’t survive, as it is a nice looking plant.

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