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Hakea francisiana (Grass-leaf Hakea) A large shrub to 15 feet tall with upright branches bearing long broad linear silver green leaves that are held erect and 4 inch long racemes of deep pink flowers rising from the leaf axils in winter and spring.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil where it can tolerate alkalinity and light to heavy frosts (hardy to around 18° F) and requires little irrigation once established. Only lightly prune as heavy pruning can be damaging to this plant. Grass-leaf Hakea is very popular in cultivation in Australia and it is described in Rodger Elliot and David Jones' Australian Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants (Vol 5. Lothian Press, 1990) as being "one of the most eye-catching of the hakeas when in full bloom". It makes a great specimen plant for the garden and is attractive to nectar feeding birds.
Grass-leaf Hakea occurs in the wild in arid to semi-arid regions of southern Western Australia and central and western South Australia on sandy, gravely soils or clay loams. The name for the genus honors Baron Christian L. von Hake, a 18th and 19th century German patron of botany and the specific epithet honors Charles Fraser, the first superintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Image on this page courtesy of Jo O'Connell of Australian Native Plant Nursery.
This information about Hakea francisiana displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate 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 that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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