Rhagodia spinescens

Common Name: Spiny Saltbush (Rhagodia spinescens)

Description:
Spiny Saltbush is a hardy and adaptable Australian native shrub with a dense, spreading habit and distinctive silvery-grey foliage. This evergreen plant is well-suited to Melbourne gardens, especially those needing low-maintenance solutions for dry, coastal, or exposed conditions. It grows to around 1–1.5 metres in height and can spread up to 4 metres wide, forming a naturally compact mound or low screen. Tiny creamy-white flowers appear in summer, followed by bright red berries in autumn that attract birds and other wildlife. It performs best in full sun but can tolerate part shade, and it thrives in a wide range of soils including sandy, loamy, and clay-based types—even those with high salinity. Rhagodia spinescens is drought-tolerant once established, frost-resistant to about –6 °C, and is often used for erosion control, habitat planting, and as a fire-retardant groundcover in low-fuel landscape zones.

Form:

• Shrub – Medium

• Shrub – Clumping / Mounding

• Ground Cover

• Suitable for Hedging / Screening

Mature Size:

• Height: 1–1.5 m

• Width: 2–4 m

Aspect:

• Full Sun

• Part Shade

Flowering:

• Flowers in Summer

Flower Colour:

• Creamy-white

Fruit Colour:

• Bright red

Key Attributes:

• Evergreen

• Perennial

• Native Australian

• Drought Tolerant once established

• Frost Tolerant (to approximately –6 °C)

• Salt Tolerant

• Coastal Hardy

• Low-Maintenance

• Suitable for Erosion Control

• Provides Wildlife Habitat

• Bird Attracting

• Fire-Retardant Qualities

Toxicity:

• Not known to be toxic; berries are edible but generally unpalatable

Companion Plants:

• Acacia ramulosa – supports habitat planting in arid conditions

• Banksia species – for height contrast and bird appeal

• Lomandra – complements texture and offers ground-layer structure

• Eucalyptus or Callistemon – excellent for native-themed gardens and foliage contrast