Brachyglottis 'Sunshine' is a stunning evergreen shrub that brings year-round colour and texture to your garden. Also known as Senecio 'Sunshine', this hardy New Zealand native is beloved by gardeners for its distinctive silvery-grey foliage and cheerful yellow daisy-like flowers. Perfect for coastal gardens, rockeries, or as a striking focal point in mixed borders.
Foliage: Beautiful silvery-grey leaves with a soft, felted texture
Flowers: Bright yellow daisy flowers from June to August
Height: Reaches 90-120cm (3-4 feet) tall
Spread: 90-120cm (3-4 feet) wide
Growth habit: Compact, rounded shrub
Evergreen: Retains leaves throughout winter
Position
Sun requirements: Full sun to partial shade
Soil type: Well-draining soil, including poor soils
pH tolerance: Adaptable to most soil pH levels
Coastal tolerance: Excellent - highly salt and wind tolerant
Hardiness
Frost tolerance: Hardy to -5°C to -10°C (RHS H4)
Suitable regions: Most of the UK, particularly coastal areas
Protection needed: May require fleece protection in very cold, exposed areas
Planting
Best time to plant: Spring or early autumn
Spacing: Allow 1-1.5 metres between plants
Soil preparation: Ensure good drainage - add grit or sand to heavy clay soils
Watering: Water well after planting, then sparingly once established
Ongoing Care
Watering: Drought tolerant once established - avoid overwatering
Feeding: Minimal feeding required - too much fertiliser reduces flowering
Pruning: Light pruning after flowering to maintain shape
Deadheading: Remove spent flower heads to encourage more blooms
Design Applications
Coastal gardens: Ideal for seaside locations
Rockeries: Perfect for Mediterranean-style plantings
Mixed borders: Provides excellent contrast with darker foliage plants
Containers: Suitable for large pots on patios
Ground cover: Effective for covering slopes or difficult areas
Companion Plants
Pairs beautifully with:
Lavender
Rosemary
Hebe varieties
Ornamental grasses
Purple-flowered perennials (creates striking colour contrast)
Benefits for Wildlife
Pollinators: Flowers attract bees and butterflies
Birds: Seeds provide food for finches and other small birds
Year-round interest: Evergreen foliage offers winter structure
Potential Issues
Waterlogged soil: Can cause root rot - ensure good drainage
Very cold winters: May suffer frost damage in exposed positions
Leggy growth: Usually indicates insufficient light or over-fertilising
Prevention
Plant in well-draining soil
Avoid overwatering
Provide winter protection in cold areas
Prune lightly to maintain compact growth
This versatile shrub is perfect for gardeners seeking a low-maintenance plant that delivers year-round interest. Its drought tolerance makes it ideal for busy gardeners, while its striking appearance ensures it earns its place in any planting scheme. Whether you're creating a coastal garden, adding structure to a mixed border, or looking for a reliable evergreen shrub, Brachyglottis 'Sunshine' is an excellent choice that will reward you with years of reliable performance.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
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