Kangaroo Paws are truly one of Australia’s most iconic plants; the flower features as the floral emblem of West Australia and has even appeared on a number of stamp issues.
Kangaroo Paws originate from the south west of Western Australia and of the 12 species 11 are from the Anigozanthos genus.
The 12th is particularly distinctive. It comes from the Macropidia genus and is known as the Black Kangaroo Paw because of its black and green flowers.
The vibrant flower colours and unusual paw-like flower head (that gives them their name) have made Kangaroo Paws immensely popular garden plants across Australia and around the world.
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Kangaroo Paw flowers are highly distinctive with their finger-like projections and the cover of fine velvet hairs that give the flowers their colour.
In the wild the flower colours range from red and green through various shades of reds and yellows to the black and green of the Macropidia fuliginosa.
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Kangaroo Paws do best in slightly acidic soils with good drainage and full sun exposure. They do not like wet feet but they will cope with a range of soils if there is good structure in the soil. Very high phosphorous levels may also be detrimental to some Kangaroo Paw species.
Most Kangaroo Paws will die back and become dormant over winter. You should take advantage of this characteristic to cut back most of the leaves and old flower stems to ground level (see pruning section).
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