Browse plants / Casuarinaceae
Drooping sheoak Allocasuarina verticillata
Previously known as Casuarina stricta
When it flowers
- January, not flowering
- February, not flowering
- March, not flowering
- April, not flowering
- May, not flowering
- June, not flowering
- July, not flowering
- August, not flowering
- September, not flowering
- October, not flowering
- November, not flowering
- December, not flowering
Very hardy tree with weeping needle-like branchlets, a key food plant for cockatoos.
A tough small tree of dry woodland and coast across south-eastern Australia, with long, drooping grey-green branchlets. Male and female flowers are on separate trees; female trees carry woody cones whose seeds feed glossy black-cockatoos and other parrots. Handles drought, wind, frost and salt.
In the garden
- Attracts
- Birds and shelter for small wildlife
- Flowers
- Inconspicuous; male trees turn rusty brown in flower, female trees carry woody cones.
- Leaves
- Long, weeping, grey-green needle-like branchlets; furrowed bark.
Growing conditions
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Sandy, loam and clay
- Soil pH
- Neutral and alkaline
- Drainage
- Needs good drainage
- Frost
- Hard frost
- Water
- Very drought tolerant
- Coast
- Exposed to salt spray
- Climate
- Arid and semi-arid, dry summers (Mediterranean) and temperate
Planting and care
- Grown from
- Seed
Planting
Full sun in well-drained soil. Plant female trees, or a group, for cockatoo food.
Pruning
Little pruning needed.
Care
Very hardy; needs no fertiliser. Fallen branchlets make a good mulch.
Where it comes from
- Family
- Casuarinaceae
- Order
- Fagales
- Native to
- ACT, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria
- Natural range
- Woodland, rocky hills and coast of south-eastern Australia.
Where to buy
Specialist native nurseries.
We don't have stockists listed for this plant yet. Local native nurseries are often the best place to ask.
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Further reading
- Allocasuarina verticillata on the Atlas of Living Australia (Atlas of Living Australia)
Native nurseries near you
An independent list of nurseries that specialise in Australian native plants. Nobody pays to be on it. Distances are approximate and in a straight line. Opening hours and stock vary, so check before you go.