Plant in full sun to moderate shade. It is drought tolerant once established but can also tolerate regular irrigation. Rated by the breeder as hardy to at least 14° F and useful down to USDA Zone 8a. In trials by the breeder this plant has shown potential for shade tolerance with further shade tolerance tests underway and has proven hardy to winter temperatures down to 14 F and has good drought tolerance and post wilt recovery in containers. It does well in sandy soils, but also tolerates heavier clay soils. It has not shown good tolerance to high salt levels and therefore should not be planted in beach plantings or where gray water is used to irrigate.

Lomandra hystrix 'LHCOM' was first discovered in 2002 in an open pollinated bed of Lomandra hystrix seedlings at a nursery in New South Wales, Australia by Tod Layt of Ozbreed Environmental Turf and Plant Breeding. 200 seedling plants were selected for their smaller shoot and leaf size and from these plants 10 were selected the following year for further trails and evaluation. In late 2004 a single plant was selected as having a narrower leaf width combined with a compact, dense growth habit with a shorter plant height than the parent form as well as a more horizontal basal shoot attitude, which gives this plant the more rounded form. This plant was given the cultivar name 'LHCOM' and the marketing name Tropic Belle. The plant was accepted for Australian Plant Breeders' Rights on May 30, 2006 and has a US Plant Patent Pending.

We first began trialing Tropicbelle in June 2007. It is similar to Lomandra 'Gary's Green', a plant we have grown at our nursery since 1999, but has proven to remain smaller. It was also quite similar but smaller than another Lomandra hystrix selection we trialed that is called Lomandra hystrix Katie Belles [ 'LHBYF' ] - our preference was for this smaller Tropicbelle. Lomandra hystrix grows naturally in Queensland and New South Wales.

The name Lomandra is comes from the Greek words 'loma' meaning "margin" and 'andros' meaning "male" and is in reference to a circular margin on the anthers. The specific epithet 'hystrix' is Greek for "porcupine-like" or "prickly" in reference to the whorled clusters of bristly bracts around the flowers and at the branches of the inflorescence. The genus Lomandra has long been placed with the Australian Grass Trees in the Xanthorrhoaceae or related Dasypogonaceae and more in its own family, the Lomandraceae, or combined with the Cordyline into the Laxmanniaceae, but current treatment is to put it in the subfamily Lomandroideae in the Asparagaceae. Image courtesy of Ozbreed. 

The information about Lomandra hystrix Tropicbelle ['LHCOM'] PP20,759 displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.