Cheerful, sunshine yellow flowers, attractive evergreen foliage and the ability to establish quickly and thrive even when the soil is poor and dry makes Euryops ‘Little Sunray’ a very useful and appealing little shrub.
It’s tough enough to grow even near the sea but will need protection from anything more than light frosts. Where frosts are heavier, it can sometimes be grown on the sunny side of trees which provide an overhang of frost protective foliage.
This is one of those plants which is marvellous for quick effect in new gardens and to fill gaps when gardens are being altered. It’s also great for low maintenance planting schemes, carrying on looking good without needing any attention to spraying or pruning. Planted in groups, it will grow densely and prevent weeds.
It can make an attractive, informal hedge, or be spot planted in between other shrubs and trees to link the plantings and act like little blocks of sunshine. In coastal and sun drenched gardens Euryops ‘Little Sunray’ is a fun plant to combine with a wide range of shrubs. Try it with pride of madeira, Echium fastuosum, which has big fat spikes of purple-blue flowers in spring arising from a rounded bush of grey-green foliage.
Plant it with bushy Grevilleas, such as gold and red flowered ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, and with winter and spring flowering Leucadendrons such as ‘Jack Harre’, ‘Kiwi Magic’ and ‘Rising Sun’. The masses of yellow flowers of Euryops ‘Little Sunray’ are an effective contrast to fresh looking green foliage. Combinations to consider are with the fine and cascading foliage of the new, bushy, compact Acacia varieties ‘Green Mist’ and ‘Limelight’ and Cordyline ‘Emerald Goddess’.
In frost free situations, it looks striking as a foreground to the big, glossy, dark green leaves of native Puka, Meryta sinclairii.
Or contrast the golden flowers with bronze foliage by planting ‘Little Sunray’ as a foreground to bronze ake ake, Dodonaea viscosa ‘Purpurea’, or the new manuka, Leptospermum ‘Electric Red’ which has glowing red flowers in spring and deep bronze foliage throughout the year.
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Schemes & Themes
using Liddle Wonder Plants