8 Red Native Australian Flowers You Must See

There are many Australian natives that have gorgeous red flowers.

The two most prominent ones that come to mind immediately for me are the Waratah and the Sturt’s Desert Pea.

So, if you’re creating a certain colour scheme in your garden and are looking specifically for red native flowers, here’s a list of plants to consider.

Anigozanthos ‘Big Red’

This attractive kangaroo paw cultivar has deep red flowers that appear in large sprays and on stems that can reach a height of 2 metres. 

Planted en masse, this cultivar would make a dramatic statement along a driveway or meandering path through your garden. The flowers are rich in nectar and will attract lots of native birds to your garden. 

Asteromyrtus ‘Fireball’

Asteromyrtus is native to Cape York and this cultivar has stunning red pompom flowers in winter through to early spring. 

It’s a small tree with a weeping habit. It can reach a height of 4 metres and a spread of 3 metres. It does need to be protected from frost but is fairly dry-tolerant once established.

Callistemon

This outstanding bottlebrush has the most stunning bright red brush flowers. Some compact bottlebrush cultivars like ‘Scarlet Flame’ only reach a height of 1.5 metres and a spread of 1 metre.

This makes them perfect for small gardens or they can even be grown in a large pot. The plant has fine leaves that are green when mature and coppery red when young. 

The flowers are self-cleaning which means that they’ll drop off the plant when they’re finished. This will provide you with a lovely red carpet under your shrub.

Correa ‘Dinner Bells’

For a more subdued statement, you could consider this delightful Correa for your garden. It will produce bell-shaped flowers in a brilliant shade of red with creamy tips from early summer through into winter.

This is a dense shrub that can reach a height and spread of 1.2 metres.

Grevillea ‘Charlie’s Angel’

This pretty grevillea has clusters of deep red spider flowers throughout most of the year. It’s a low-growing variety that only reaches a height of 20 cm and a spread of 50 cm.

This makes it perfect as a ground cover plant or for growing in a lovely pot on your balcony.

Gymea Lily (Doryanthes palmeri)

This stunning plant can add a touch of the tropics to any garden but will grow in most climates around the country. It has bold upright strappy leaves that can reach a height of 4 metres.

The tall flower stems feature racemes of deep red flowers that are loved by nectar-feeding birds.

Surprisingly, this plant will even thrive in frost-prone regions such as Canberra, Melbourne and the Blue Mountains.

Sturt’s Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa)

The iconic Sturt’s Desert Pea is the well-known floral emblem of SA. It occurs naturally in all states except Victoria and Tasmania but is restricted to the arid desert regions of the country.

The Sturt’s Desert Pea grows as a creeping vine along the ground. The pinnate leaves are a deep green colour and the unusual flowers are deep red with a black centre. 

As the seeds can be difficult to germinate, this plant is often propagated using tissue culture.

Waratah (Telopea speciosissima)

The stunning red Waratah is the floral emblem of New South Wales. Each flower head can measure up to 15cm in diameter. 

The plant grows as a small tree up to a height of around 4 metres. The leaves are dark green and leathery and have serrated edges.

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