These 5 new Australian native plants survive extreme heat and drought

One of the most anticipated Australian native plant releases for 2026 is a new waxflower from Kings Park.

“It’s called Rhiannon. Big song, big flower,” says Digby. “That’ll be the biggest flower on a waxflower that we’ve produced, which is three centimetres in diameter.”

This hardy shrub produces striking white to pale pink blooms from late winter through to spring. Like most waxflowers, it is exceptionally drought-tolerant once established and will tolerate light frost.

Waxflowers thrive in full sun and require well-drained soil, with best flowering achieved in open, sunny positions. Growing to approximately 1.5 metres tall and wide, ‘Rhiannon’ makes an excellent feature plant in native gardens.

This will be a limited release, with around 1,000 plants available from August 2026 through Helix Australia stockists.

Kangaroo paws

Three new kangaroo paws are set to be released in 2026, with ‘Bush Merlot’ arriving in retail in July.

Digby describes the flowers as “really rich, electric purple-magenta”, adding, “It’s a bit hard to describe until you see it.”

Kangaroo paws are well known for attracting birds, particularly honeyeaters, making them an excellent choice for wildlife-friendly gardens.

They prefer sunny positions with excellent drainage and are relatively low-maintenance once established. ‘Bush Merlot’ is compact, reaching around 60–80cm in height, fast-growing, and has been bred for improved disease resistance.

The next kangaroo paw release, due later in 2026, is ‘Bush Plum’.

“They’re all garden-tough, very hardy, resilient hybrids,” says Digby.

‘Bush Plum’ features deep burgundy tones that add rich colour to native gardens throughout spring and summer. Like all plants in this new range, it has been bred specifically to cope with the conditions of Australian home gardens.

Growing to a similar compact size as ‘Bush Merlot’, ‘Bush Plum’ is well-suited to smaller gardens where space is limited.

The third kangaroo paw release, ‘Bush Flamingo’, will follow toward the end of 2026.

Speaking about ‘Bush Plum’, ‘Bush Merlot’ and ‘Bush Flamingo’, Digby says, “People can be confident they’ll stay alive in the garden.”

‘Bush Flamingo’ showcases vibrant coral-pink flowers with a long flowering season and provides an important food source for native birds.

Grevilleas

Another highly anticipated Australian native plant coming in 2026 is a new grevillea named ‘Rica’, due for release around September or October.

The plant honours Rica Erickson, the pioneering Western Australian botanist, author and artist who made significant contributions to the understanding and appreciation of Australian flora.

Grevillea ‘Rica’ features distinctive red and cream spider-style flowers that appear over an extended period.

Grevillea ‘Eleanor’ returns

Also returning in 2026 is Grevillea ‘Eleanor’, which sold out rapidly following its initial release.

“We’ve built the numbers up for that,” says Digby.

‘Eleanor’ features pink and cream flowers and blooms across much of the cooler months, from autumn into spring, highlighting the strong demand for well-bred native plants that combine ornamental appeal with reliability.

Grevillea landscape series

Kings Park is also developing a new Grevillea landscape series.

“We’re also looking to release our Grevillea landscape series for broader landscape applications rather than just home gardens,” says Digby.

Grevilleas are among Australia’s most valuable native plants, offering spectacular flowering displays while attracting birds, bees and other beneficial wildlife. They work beautifully as feature plants, in mixed native borders or as informal hedges, while some larger varieties can even be trained as small trees.

Why do we need new natives?

So why do we need new native plants at all? According to Digby, many Australian natives found in the wild don’t necessarily thrive in home gardens.

“Particularly in the Western Australian landscape, the diversity is amazing, but the plants have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to grow where they do,” he explains.

“They are used to a particular rainfall pattern, water accessibility and soil type. When you bring them into a garden situation, you change the water regime, the soil type, and the number of pests they can tolerate.

“So a lot of plants that do really well in a wild situation don’t do that well in a home garden, particularly plants that have come straight from the wild.”

When selecting plants to breed, parent plants are chosen for their adaptability.

“We take the amazing attributes of our flora, the colour, the flowering, the food source and habitat for local fauna, and breed for adaptability.”

Hardy plants that look stunning

The result is a new generation of Australian native plants bred to withstand harsher summers and reduced rainfall.

“We want plants that will survive,” says Growns. “Plants you know are going to look great and survive for a longer period.”

He also believes these new cultivars can help transform urban areas into habitats for native wildlife.

“It would be great if people got on board with that, so urban fauna can thrive with plants that provide food and shelter, and we start to see native animals moving through urban environments.”

Where to buy the new 2026 native plant releases

The new Kings Park releases will be available through selected retailers and specialist native plant nurseries in 2026.

Chamelaucium ‘Rhiannon’ will arrive in August through Helix Australia stockists, while the ‘Bush Merlot’ kangaroo paw will be available from July through selected wholesale suppliers.

Contact your local specialist native plant nursery to register interest and confirm availability dates. Many nurseries offer pre-orders for highly anticipated new releases.

How to get started with these new Australian native plants

For gardeners new to Australian native plants, these Kings Park releases are an excellent place to start.

Ensure excellent drainage when planting. This is the single most important factor for success with most Australian natives. If your soil is heavy clay, consider raised beds.

Plant in autumn where possible (March to May in southern Australia), allowing roots time to establish before summer heat. In tropical and subtropical regions, winter planting is usually best.

Water regularly during the establishment period (the first 8–12 weeks), then gradually reduce watering as plants develop strong root systems. Once established, these hardy plants typically require minimal supplementary watering.