Grevillea 'Spirit of ANZAC' PP29,372 - A moderately vigorous large evergreen shrub that can grow to 10 feet tall by 8 feet wide with fine textured silver-green dissected leaves. Nearly year-round it will be in flower with long curved bright red stamens emerging from white buds and calyces that contrast nicely against the foliage.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and give infrequent to occasional irrigation. This plant should prove hardy to 20-25° F. It can be pruned in late spring to keep compact and promote denser flowering, which will keep the hummingbirds happy.
Grevillea 'Spirit of ANZAC' was selected in 2007 from the plant breeding program at Kings Park in Perth, Western Australia and was the result of crossing a selected Grevillea banksii with red flowers and a trailing growth habit with the pollen parent being an unnamed Kings Park Grevillea hybrid (20060954) that has red-yellow flowers and a semi-upright growth habit.
The Kings Park breeding program's objective is the development of Grevillea cultivars that have large inflorescences with attractive colors. This same program gave us such great cultivars as Grevillea 'Kings Fire', Grevillea 'Kings Celebration' and Grevillea 'Kings Rainbow' and Grevillea 'Kings Sunrise'.
Grevillea 'Spirit of ANZAC' was released in March 2015 through a partnership with the Western Australian Returned Services League (RSL), which is equivalent to the United States Veterans Association and named to commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of the first major military action in World War I by Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in April 1915. This plant with red flowers was chosen as a reminder of the blood that was shed in this battle, when 11,000 ANZAC soldiers were lost. In Australia this plant was introduced as Grevillea 'RSL Spirit of ANZAC' but in the US as Grevillea 'Spirit of ANZAC'. It received US plant patent PP29,372 in June 2018 and was released in the US in 2019 through Star Roses & Plants (Ball Horticulture) plant introduction program.
This information about Grevillea 'Spirit of ANZAC' PP29,372 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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