Red Pokers

Red Pokers are an easy-to-grow, large shrub with fine, grey-green foliage and long red flower spikes.

For information on staying waterwise, seeking a watering exemption while establishing your garden, offers, rebates and more, please visit the Water Corporation website.

Noongar Name: Unknown

Scientific Name: Hakea bucculenta

Performance: Easy to grow

Size: Large shrub with a maximum height of 5m

Flower: Red

Flowering Time: Djilba-Djilba (Aug-Sep)

Natural Distribution: Grows in the Southwest of WA

: Hakea bucculenta (CC BY-NC 4.0) lorrainecphelan

: Hakea bucculenta (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Kevin Schafer

Growing at a Glance

See Growing Guide for more detail

Position: Suitable for a sunny position.

Watering: A waterwise, drought-hardy plant.

Feeding: Fertiliser not required.

Pruning: Generally not needed.

Waterwise Listing

Growing Guide

Ideal Position

Red Pokers prefers an open, full sun position and is perfect for a feature shrubbery. This plant and its neighbours should be well spaced so they don’t overlap once fully grown. For best results, avoid morning, overhead or afternoon shade.

Red Pokers makes an excellent feature specimen and focal point for any garden.

Red Pokers is ideally placed at the back of your garden bed.

When to Plant and Watering

Excellent screening plant. Plant young seedlings in Djeran (mid-Autumn) prior to the Makuru rains (Winter). Avoid planting in the hottest times of the year.
Seedlings should be watered twice a week over their first summer in the garden. It is important to ensure water penetrates down into the root-zone.
We recommend using a soil wetting agent as Perth soils are often ‘water repellent’, or do not absorb water effectively.
A layer of composted, coarse mulch can help in getting your garden started. It will help by reducing water loss and suppressing the growth of weeds.

Red Pokers are waterwise, drought-hardy plants and do not require supplementary water once established.

Red Pokers should be grouped with other waterwise, drought-hardy plants.

Feeding and Soil Care

Red Pokers don’t need fertiliser because they are adapted to grow in our local soils, which are typically low in nutrients.
Plants will benefit from adding some vegetable-based compost (avoid those with manure) into the soil at planting.
As your garden develops, practice ‘cut and drop’ when you prune your plants. The leaf and branch material that falls to the ground slowly breaks down over time, releasing nutrients to help your garden to grow.

How to Prune

Red Pokers generally don’t need pruning for shape, as their natural growth is usually attractive and/or interesting.
If part of the plant dies or grows in an undesired direction, prune from the base of the stem in question with a pair of secateurs or loppers.
You can also leave dead leaves and branches on the plant, as they provide valuable habitat and camouflage for insects.