flannel flower – what is it? The Flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi) is an Australian native wildflower, native to NSW, and found mainly in coastal regions. The flower has grayish green foliage and white daisy-like, velvety flowers with green tips. It is often one of the first plants to appear and bloom after a bushfire has been through an area, and in Spring can be found growing at the back of sand dunes on the mid-coast of NSW. The flower prefers sandy well-draining soils and requires little water. Some varieties are frost hardy and can tolerate extremes of temperatures, while others prefer more temperate conditions. The plant unfortunately has an unfounded reputation of being difficult to propagate and cultivate.

Over recent years, large quantities of naturally occurring populations have been wild harvested for the cut-flower industry. That, plus encroaching urbanism, has reduced the numbers of wild plants to a point where the National Parks and Wildlife Service have placed it on the list of protected plants. A licence is currently required to wild harvest or commercially propagate the flower.

Our company is helping to fill the gap left by the loss of over-harvested wild flowers. We cultivate Flannel flowers to provide cut flowers for florists, and we also grow Flannel flowers in pots and tubes to supply to nurseries for sale as plants for home and garden.