What to Plant with Correa: Native Companion Planting Guide

Have you ever wondered why companion planting with native plants like correa is important?

As gardeners and horticulturists, it’s good to strive to create a harmonious ecosystem that not only looks aesthetically pleasing but also benefits the environment and each plant’s individual health.

Correa, a genus of eleven species of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, is a classic Aussie native plant which features beautiful bell-shaped flowers and a shrubby or ground-covering growth habit which responds well to pruning.

The focus of this article will be on understanding Correa’s needs and conditions, and which plants can help it to get everything it needs to thrive.

Understanding Correa: Needs and Conditions

Correa is known for its leathery leaves and tubular flowers that come in various colours, including greenish-yellow, pink, orange and red. It has a dense growth habit, with varieties excellent for hedging or as a ground cover.

In terms of needs, Correa prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate both full sun and partial to light shade elsewhere. It’s also frost-tolerant and can withstand dry spells once established, making it a low-maintenance choice for gardeners.

They’re able to tolerate coastal salty winds where other plants struggle. If you’re planting in such an environment, you can use correas as a small windbreak to create a calmer microclimate for plants below.

Ecologically, the Correa plant is a boon. It serves as a food source for nectar-feeding birds and insects, and its dense growth habit provides shelter for small creatures. Feeding your correa plant with a general organic fertiliser will encourage more abundant blooming, as long as all their other needs are met.

Choosing the Right Companions for Correa Species

Companion planting is about creating plant communities for mutual benefit. The primary goal is to choose plants that have similar needs in terms of sunlight, water, and soil. If the companions have different needs, one or more plants may not thrive, due to their needs not being met.

Other benefits of choosing good companions can include aromas that deter pests, flowers that attract birds, predatory and parasitoid insects to control pests, and/or root systems that fix nitrogen in the soil.

Westringia

Westringia, often referred to as coastal rosemary, is an Australian native genus that’s well-regarded for its robust nature. The shrub’s flowers exhibit a range of hues from mauve to blue-purple or white, often punctuated with contrasting red or brown spots. Depending on the variety, westringias can grow as a low-growing ground cover, spreading shrub or take on a denser, upright form.

Similarly to correas, they work great as hedges to define borders, along pathways, as mounds in mixed planting, or as naturally-shaped shrubs in coastal gardens, native cottage gardens, and contemporary Australian garden design styles.

In terms of needs, westringias are usually pretty adaptable as long as their feet don’t stay wet. They thrive in well-drained soil with exposure ranging from full sun to partial shade. Once established, the plants show remarkable drought tolerance, making them a low-maintenance choice for gardeners.

When compared to correa, westringia’s grey-green foliage offers a striking contrast to the vibrant green leaves of some correas. Correas with similarly blue-grey-green leaves provide rhythm in a plant palette with westringias.

The needle-like shape of westringia foliage contrasts with the rounder, leathery leaves of most correas too. Beyond aesthetics, westringia and correa flowers complement each other in attracting similar types of wildlife.

They’re both a magnet for nectar-feeding birds, bees and butterflies.

Lilly Pilly

These plants belong to the Syzygium, Acmena and Waterhousea genera and are natives of Australia. They come in various sizes, from small shrubs to large trees, and are known for their glossy leaves and colourful, edible berries.

Lilly pillies are hardy and can grow well in a variety of soils and light conditions, provided there’s adequate drainage. They prefer well-drained, sandy soil types and positions that offer sunny to partly shaded light. These plants are also quite resistant to most pests and diseases, although they do fall victim to lilly pilly beetles and psyllids, as well as myrtle rust.

They work well as a feature tree, as taller screening for a garden, or as low hedging alongside your correas.

Native Grasses

Native grasses, such as those from the Poa, Themeda or Pennisetum genera make a low-maintenance and environmentally friendly choice for your garden. They’re generally pretty drought-tolerant and can adapt to a variety of soils.

These grasses with their upright, straight growth habit provide a textural contrast to Correa’s smooth leaves and shrubby growth habit. Besides this aesthetic difference, native grasses serve an important role in local ecology by providing habitat for different types of small creatures, and offering pollen (not nectar) to pollinators and seeds to other fauna.

Strappy monocots like grasses, dianella and lomandra are generally better at preventing soil erosion than dicots using their fibrous root system. Just be aware that not all grasses can cope with the same coastal conditions that correas can.

Dianella

Dianella is a genus of strappy-leafed plants that are native to Australia. These plants are known for their hardiness, drought tolerance, and attractive blue or purple flowers and berries.

Some dianellas can thrive in coastal areas alongside correas. Similarly to lomandras and grasses, dianellas offer a contrasting aesthetic with their strappy leaves, as well as their delicate flowers and berries.

Lomandra

Lomandra, another genus of Australian native grass-like plants, is recognised for its hardiness, drought tolerance, and resistance to a range of pests and diseases. The strappy leaves of Lomandra provide a textural contrast to Correa’s smooth, oval leaves.

Lomandra provides habitat and food for various creatures, especially when mass planted. This plant’s resilience and low maintenance requirements make it a popular choice among Aussie gardeners.

Scaevola

Who needs boring mulch, when you can plant a flowering ground cover?

Scaevola, also known as fan flowers, are Australian natives that offer a ground cover solution for your garden. They’re hardy, drought-tolerant, and thrive in well-drained soil under sunny conditions.

Their trailing habit and fan-shaped flowers provide a different texture to Correa’s upright growth and bell-shaped flowers.

Scaevola attracts insects like parasitoid wasps and hoverflies, which parasitise sap-sucking pests like aphids, scale and psyllids. Catering to their adult, nectar-eating life forms encourages females to lay their eggs inside or nearby pests to feed on.

Carpobrotus

Carpobrotus, also known as pigface or ice plant, is a genus of succulent plants that are native to Southern Africa and coastal areas of Australia. They’re known for their fleshy leaves, vibrant pseudo daisy-looking flowers, and ability to withstand harsh coastal conditions.

Carpobrotus provides a contrast to Correa with its succulent leaves and bright flowers. It’s also a valuable addition to local ecology, providing food for various creatures with its nectar-rich flowers and edible fruits.

Just be aware that its root system is shallow and the leaves are heavy, so avoid steep slopes where it can lose its crip and slide down as it matures.

Pandorea

Pandorea is a genus of Australian native climbers known for their showy flowers. They’re a hardy plant, fast-growing, and can tolerate a range of light conditions, but prefer well-drained soil and a sunny to partly shaded position.

Pandorea offers a different growth habit to Correa, climbing up trellises or other supports. Its large, bell-shaped flowers also contrast with Correa’s smaller blooms.

If you’re more interested in providing habitat that aesthetic beaty, you can allow it to climb over correas to provide habitat. In reality, it’s hard to make this look neat and tidy in an amenity garden, but that isn’t every gardener’s first priority.

Acacia

Acacia, commonly known as wattle, is a large genus of shrubs and trees native to Australia. They’re known for their feathery foliage and fluffy  yellow flowers.

Acacia provides a textural and colour contrast to Correa with its feathery leaves and bright yellow flowers. It’s also a key part of local ecology, providing habitat and food for various creatures.

Callistemon

Callistemon, commonly known as bottlebrush due to the shape of its inflorescences, is a genus of native hardy Australian trees and shrubs. Some prefer well-drained soil and a sunny position, while others can tolerate periodic wet feet.

The vibrant red, yellow, orange, pink and white flowers of callistemon provide a difference to correa’s often subdued blooms, which may appear at different times of the year. While callistemons naturally bloom most in spring, with some cultivated varieties blooming most of the year, correas tend to flower from late summer to early spring.

Callistemons are particularly popular with birds and insects, providing a lovely auditory sensory addition to the garden through birdsong as well as a biological pest control with its attraction for beneficial insects.

Grevillea

Grevillea is a diverse genus of Australian native plants, ranging from ground covers to large shrubs, and tall trees. They’re known for their spider-like flowers and are generally hardy and low maintenance.

When paired with Correa, Grevillea offers a contrasting aesthetic with its intricate flowers and diverse growth habits available to design with. It’s also a crowd favourite among various birds and beneficial insects.

Daniel’s Wrap

Understanding the needs and conditions of your Correa variety and choosing the right companions can lead to a thriving, biodiverse garden. Whether you’re aiming for a contemporary native garden, a native cottage garden or a coastal haven, you’ve now got a decent plant palette to start with.

But don’t just stick to the plants on this list. If you find something special that you think will pair really well in your garden, go for it!