Crowea exalata: Croweas are members of the Rutaceae family in company
with Boronias and Correas. There are three species. One species is from
Western Australia and two from eastern Australia. Crowea exalata is a
beautiful small spreading shrub with aromatic foliage and profuse pink
flowers. The main flowering period is between October and June. Sporadic
flowering occurs at other times. A word of warning: a number of different
forms have appeared in nurseries over the past few years. Some are dwarf forms
or ground covers and some have white flowers. Many of these forms have proved
difficult to establish and die suddenly. A native plant nursery person
confirmed these problems. Even in pots in the nursery there is a high
attrition rate. On a more positive note: two hybrids have proved to be hardy
and long-lived in both our garden and other Northern Tableland’s gardens. Crowea
Coopers Hybrid and Crowea Festival are both small upright shrubs
with large pink flowers. They are said to be hybrids between Crowea exalata
and Crowea saligna, the other eastern species. The “conventional”
form of Crowea exalata is very hardy, free flowering, drought tolerant
and frost resistant. The main image is Coopers Hybrid from the gardens at
Yallaroo. This plant is about six years old. The close-up image is a flower
from one of our Crowea exalata plants. The flowers are usually about
one centimetre in diameter. 