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Chamelaucium 'Matilda' PP 20,816 (Matilda Wax Flower) - An evergreen shrub to 2-3 feet tall by 3 to 4 feet wide with tight narrow needle-like leaves that are shorter and more congested on the stems than other waxes and with flowers that appear over a longer period from fall to late spring. The flowers emerge a pure white then are picotee with reddish-pink petal bases and finally turn a solid dark pink usually with all combinations on the plant at the same time.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. Needs very little irrigation and is cold hardy to 25-30 degrees F. Often wax flowers are budding and blooming while there is a risk of frost but this plant flowers over a longer period and even initiates flowering in fall before the danger of cold temperatures.
Chamelaucium is a genus from southwestern Western Australia. The name for the genus is thought to come from the Greek words 'chamai' meaning "dwarf" and 'leucos' meaning "white", though the reasoning for this is unknown. Another possibility suggested is that the name is derived from the Latin word 'camelaucum' which was the name used for the headgear of medieval Popes. One would have to have a crystal ball to ask the French botanist René Louiche Desfontaines what he meant when he first ascribed the name in 1819.
Chamelaucium 'Matilda' originated from a breeding program conducted by the State of Western Australia at its Medina Research Station and at its South Perth nursery and laboratories. 'Matilda' was selected from seedlings of a controlled cross in 1999 between a Chamelaucium intraspecific hybrid designated as '5001/720-8' and a Chamelaucium megalopetalum selection designated as 'CM 6.6'. The plant was originally identified by its breeder's reference name 'WX47' but later officially named 'Matilda' but was also sold in Australia under the names Chamelaucium axillare 'Mathilda' or 'Mathilda Espererance'. It received US Plant Patent 20,816 on March 9, 2010. The patent specifies that this interspecific Chamelaucium hybrid is notable for its early flowering, compact growth habit, and dense terminal cover of large white flowers that age to white with a diffuse magenta to maroon ring. We first received this plant from Joe Walker of Obra Verde Growers in 2009, and it was marketed in the US by Ball Horticulture/ Star Roses and Plants. We continued to grow and sell this very showy and very popular cultivar until 2022 but had to discontinue growing it as we were not licensed to produce this patented plant and it became no longer was available to us from any source. Sadly, it has since become unavailable in the nursery trade.
We think of this plant each time we hear Banjo Paterson's haunting song "Waltzing Matilda": Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me? And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled, Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?
Information displayed on this page about Chamelaucium 'Matilda' PP20,816 is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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