page_title: Xerochrysum bracteatum
section_title: Cultivars
hierarchical_section_title: Xerochrysum bracteatum / Cultivation / Cultivars
caption_attribution_description: Xerochrysum bracteatum 'Dargan Hill Monarch' (cultivated, labelled) Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Australia
context_page_description: Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990. It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas. The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans, and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles, and grasshoppers visit the flower heads.
  The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs.
context_section_description: 'Bright Bikini' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
  'Dargan Hill Monarch' was a natural form collected around 1.6 km (0.99 mi) inland from Cunninghams Gap in southern Queensland in May 1961, and registered in February 1977. It is a low perennial shrub 60 to 80 cm (23.5 to 31.5 in) high and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) across. The foliage is grey and the large flowers are 7–9 cm in diameter and golden yellow in colour. It grows best in full sun and fair drainage. Cuttings strike readily, as does seed, although seedlings may differ from the parent.
  'Cockatoo' arose as a spontaneous hybrid between 'Dargan Hill Monarch' and a white-flowered perennial form of X. bracteatum, in the garden of Victorian plantsman Doug McKenzie in Ocean Grove near Geelong in Victoria. He applied to the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA) for registration, which was granted in 1980. It is a dense perennial shrub which reaches around 1 m (3.3 ft) high and wide. The oblanceolate leaves measure 6 to 12 cm (2.5 to 4.5 in) long and are covered with fine hairs that give them a greyish cast. Fine hairs also cover the stems. The flower heads have light lemon-yellow bracts and orange discs and average 7 cm (3 in) in diameter. They are held on long stems around 12–15 cm (4.5–6 in) above the foliage. Like all forms, it prefers full sun. Although a perennial, it loses vigour after a few years, at which time it is best replaced. The name 'Cockatoo' was chosen as the shape and colour of the ray florets are reminiscent of the wing feathers of the sulphur-crested cockatoo.
  'Golden Bowerbird' is a hybrid, bred by a deliberate backcross of 'Cockatoo' to 'Dargan Hill Monarch' by Doug McKenzie, who applied for registration with the ACRA in 1980. (It was granted in 1981.) It has much larger flower heads than both parents, yet is a smaller shrub, which reaches 40 cm (15.5 in) high by 70 cm (27.5 in) wide. Denser than that of other forms, the foliage is covered in fine grey hair. On stalks around 10 cm (4 in) above the foliage, the flower heads measure up to 9 cm (3.5 in) in diameter, although larger ones up to 10 cm are occasionally seen. They have around 300 bracts per flower head, compared with 80 for 'Dargan Hill Monarch' and 200 in 'Cockatoo', giving them a "doubled" look. It is reported as producing fewer flower heads than 'Princess of Wales'.
  'Princess of Wales' is a spontaneous hybrid, arising from a cross between 'Dargan Hill Monarch' and an annual form. Arising in the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, it was selected by employee Peter Ollerenshaw in summer 1983. He applied to register the cultivar with ACRA in March 1985. It was named in honour of a visit by Diana, Princess of Wales to the gardens in November 1985, the same month registration was granted. With compact foliage, this form reaches 60 cm (23.5 in) high and wide. Unlike its parent 'Dargan Hill Monarch', its foliage has hair only on the midrib on the leaf underside. It flowers very profusely, and the large flower heads are borne on stalks 5–9 cm (2–3.5 in) above the foliage. Unlike other forms, the stems wither and die naturally after flowering, making way for more new growth and flowers. The flower heads are golden yellow and measure 6 cm (2.5 in) across.
  'Diamond Head' was a natural form collected around Diamond Head in New South Wales, where it is quite common on bluffs and cliffs. John Wrigley, curator of the Australian National Botanic Gardens at the time, applied to the ACRA to have it registered, which it was in February 1977. Found on an exposed headland in nature, it grows as a low mat-like perennial shrub 8 cm (3 in) high and 60 cm (2.0 ft) across. The foliage is green and rough and the flowers are 3 cm in diameter and yellow in colour with an orange disc. It makes an ideal plant for rockeries, and strikes easily from cuttings during the spring growing period.
  'Hastings Gold' was a natural form from Hastings Point to the east of Murwillumbah on the New South Wales far north coast. It is a perennial herb with green bushy foliage reaching 25 cm 
caption: 'Dargan Hill Monarch'
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