Once established they are very drought tolerant and rarely require artificial watering. With many different forms, growth habits and flower colours, eremophilas can be used for many different purposes in the garden. In addition, the flowers of many species produce nectar and are excellent for attracting birds. In cultivation all species perform best in well-drained soils and rarely succeed in continually wet soils. Shallow clay soils can present problems but if garden beds are built up to 300-600mm, greater success is experienced.
Many species tolerate alkaline soils.
Many species are adaptable to humid climates but those species with hairy foliage may be subject to fungal diseases is those areas and are best avoided. Emu bushes are not demanding as far as fertilizing is concerned but they do respond to applications of slow release fertilizer applied after flowering. If desired, the plants can be pruned back by about one third after flowering to promote a bushy habit of growth. Each thumbnail image links to a higher resolution image and brief details of each plant can be seen by selecting the highlighted plant name 1. Keith Townsend 2.