Waterwise Plant Details

False Sarsaparilla, Coral Pea

John Colwill

An easy care Australian native requiring full sun and is an extremely versatile plant. They are a fast growing evergreen climber (or groundcover if nothing to climb) with dark green leathery foliage and masses of rich violet-mauve or white pea shaped flowers during late winter/ early spring.

Growing to 3m, it is ideal for covering fences, walls and pergolas. Best planted in a full sun position in well-drained soil and feed with a controlled-release native fertiliser. This plant can be pruned back quite hard after flowering if necessary.

Available cultivars include 'Alba' (white flowers), 'Bushy Blue' (low shrub, blue flowers), 'Candy Wrapper' (pinky purple flowers),' Edna Walling Snow White' (compact growth, white flowers), 'Free ‘n' Easy' (vigorous climber, pink buds, whitish flowers), 'Happy Wanderer' (vigorous climber, blue flowers), 'Meema' (dense and shrubby with massed blue flowers), 'Pink Spray' (pinky-purple flowers, shrubby growth), 'Purple Spray' (climber, purple flowers), 'Mini Haha '(compact shrub, blue flowers), 'Sweetheart', 'Walkabout' (rich purple flowers) ,'Whiteout' (white flowers) and 'Winter White' (bushy, white flowers).

Pronunciation: Har-den-burge-ee-ah