Plant profile
Ixora
Ixora coccinea
Also known as Jungle geranium, Flame of the woods, Ixora shrub.
Ixora is a tropical evergreen shrub grown for dense heads of red, orange, pink or yellow flowers. It flowers best with warmth, bright light and acidic soil.
- Grows well in
- Tropical, Subtropical
- Lifecycle
- Evergreen tropical flowering shrub
- Light
- Full sun, Part shade
- Mature size
- Usually 1–2 m high and wide; dwarf cultivars stay smaller
- Spacing
- About 60 cm–1.2 m apart depending on cultivar
- Growth habit
- Dense evergreen tropical shrub with terminal flower clusters
- Native range
- India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through parts of mainland South-East Asia
- Natural habitat
- Wet tropical forest, forest margins and humid scrub.
When to plant
Tropical
February–May, September–November
Subtropical
March–May, September–November
Temperate
September–November
Mediterranean
September–November
Tropical and subtropical: plant during warm weather with reliable moisture.
Planting
Plant into acidic, free-draining soil and water regularly while establishing. Avoid alkaline sites unless you can manage the soil pH.
Position and light
Full sun to part shade. Strong light gives the heaviest flowering where leaves are protected from extreme heat, while deeper shade produces a looser habit with fewer flower heads.
Soil
Acidic, humus-rich, free-draining soil. Alkaline conditions can cause yellow leaves from poor iron availability.
Watering
Keep moisture reasonably even through active growth and flowering.
Feeding
Use a fertiliser suited to acid-loving plants if needed.
Pruning
Prune lightly after flowering flushes to keep the shrub dense. Avoid repeated hard clipping if you want maximum flowering.
Propagation
Semi-hardwood cuttings are the easiest way to copy a cultivar.
Common problems
Iron chlorosis, scale and mealybugs can occur. Cold slows growth and can damage leaves, and plants are best kept away from cold, exposed positions in marginal climates. Yellow leaves with greener veins often point to iron becoming unavailable in alkaline soil rather than a need for more general fertiliser. Correcting pH and using an iron product suited to acid-loving plants is more useful than repeatedly feeding a chlorotic shrub.
Worth knowing
Ixora cultivars vary hugely in height and flower colour. Check the cultivar name before using species size as a final spacing guide. Ixora is widely used as a low clipped hedge in tropical Queensland gardens because it tolerates regular shaping without losing vigour.
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