Rhaphiolepis indica ‘Oriental Pearl’ is a superb, low-maintenance evergreen shrub celebrated for its tidy, compact, and rounded growth habit. It features leathery, dark green leaves that are a lovely bronze-red when new, providing year-round colour and texture. In spring, it is covered in clusters of sweetly fragrant, star-shaped white flowers, followed by small, ornamental dark-blue berries. This shrub is highly versatile, making it perfect for hedging, mass planting, rockeries, or containers. It is exceptionally tough and well-suited to coastal and harsh conditions.
Care Tips:
- Position: Thrives in a position with full sun to part shade. Full sun will encourage the best flowering and foliage colour.
- Soil: Tolerant of most soil types, including poor, sandy, and clay soils, provided they are well-draining. It is particularly well-suited to coastal areas.
- Watering: Once established, it is very drought-tolerant, making it a great water-wise choice. Water regularly when young.
- Pruning: Requires very little pruning to maintain its neat shape, often only needing a light trim after flowering to tidy it up.
- Pests & Diseases: Generally pest and disease-free, making it a truly low-maintenance plant. It is also quite frost-tolerant once mature.
