White Rice Flower – Pimelea ferruginea ‘Alba’
Pimelea ferruginea ‘Alba’ – White Rice Flower is a compact Australian native shrub with glossy green foliage and masses of brilliant white flower clusters through spring and summer.
The flowers are produced in rounded heads at the ends of the branches and can become so abundant that an established plant appears almost covered in white. Against the small, dark glossy leaves, the effect is particularly striking.
Generally growing around 0.6–1 metre high and 0.6–1 metre wide, ‘Alba’ naturally develops into a dense, rounded shrub. Some plants can become slightly larger under favourable conditions. Its manageable size makes it particularly useful for pots, rockeries, borders, low hedges and foreground planting.
Once established, it is drought tolerant, accepts a range of soils provided drainage is good and tolerates light frost.
At a Glance
Botanical name: Pimelea ferruginea ‘Alba’
Common name: White Rice Flower / Snowball Rice Flower
Height: 0.6–1 m
Width: 0.6–1 m
Habit: Dense, compact, rounded evergreen shrub
Flowers: White
Flowering: Spring–summer
Foliage: Small, glossy deep green leaves
Position: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Sand, sandy loam, loam and well-drained clay loam
Water: Low once established
Drought: Tolerant once established
Frost: Light frost tolerant
Heat: Well suited to warm, dry summers
Pots: Excellent
Pruning: Prune after flowering
Wildlife: Bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects
Natural origin of species: Coastal south-western Western Australia
Conservation: Parent species not threatened
Why Grow Pimelea ferruginea ‘Alba’?
• Masses of pure white flower heads.
• Long flowering period through spring and summer.
• Compact, dense growth around 0.6–1 m high × 0.6–1 m wide.
• Attractive glossy evergreen foliage.
• Drought tolerant once established.
• Tolerates light frost.
• Excellent for pots and containers.
• Suitable for rockeries and front-of-border planting.
• Can be clipped into a low hedge or compact feature shrub.
• Flowers attract bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.
Flowers & Foliage
Flowers
The flowers of ‘Alba’ are bright white, rather than the pink normally associated with wild Pimelea ferruginea.
Numerous tiny tubular flowers are packed into rounded terminal clusters, producing the characteristic rice-flower appearance. During peak flowering the clusters can become sufficiently numerous to almost hide the foliage.
The principal flowering period is spring through summer, although timing will vary somewhat with climate and seasonal conditions.
Foliage
The leaves are small, glossy and deep green, creating an attractive evergreen mound even when the plant is not flowering.
The parent species has opposite, narrowly oval to elliptical leaves typically around 1 cm long, with margins that curve slightly under.
Wildlife Value
The massed flower heads attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects, making ‘Alba’ useful in pollinator-focused native gardens.
Because it is a relatively low, compact shrub, its strongest habitat contribution is as a flowering and nectar resource rather than as major nesting cover.
Planting it with shrubs of different heights, foliage densities and flowering seasons helps create a more complete habitat garden.
Best Position
Grow in full sun to light or partial shade.
A sunny position will generally encourage the densest growth and strongest flowering, although some light shade is readily tolerated.
It is particularly useful for:
• Front of native borders
• Rockeries
• Low informal hedges
• Feature planting
• Coastal gardens
• Pollinator gardens
• Courtyards
• Large and medium pots
Soil & Water
Soil
‘Alba’ is adaptable provided drainage is good.
Suitable soils include:
• Sand
• Sandy loam
• Loam
• Clay loam with adequate drainage
• Quality free-draining potting mix
The parent species naturally grows in coastal sand dunes and rocky coastal headlands, including limestone and granite-derived soils.
It is therefore particularly well suited to sandy and coastal garden conditions.
Water
Water regularly while establishing.
Once established, Pimelea ferruginea ‘Alba’ is drought tolerant and can cope well with periods of dry weather.
Occasional deep watering through prolonged hot, dry periods will help maintain flowering and foliage quality.
Avoid keeping the root zone continually wet.
Frost, Heat & Drought Tolerance
Frost
Tolerates light frost.
In areas experiencing repeated heavy frost, position young plants where they have some protection until established.
Heat
Well suited to warm-temperate, Mediterranean and semi-arid climates, particularly where the soil drains freely.
Drought
Drought tolerant once established. This reflects the parent species’ natural adaptation to the dry-summer climate of south-western Western Australia.
Pruning
‘Alba’ responds well to pruning and can be maintained as a neat rounded shrub or low hedge.
Trim behind spent flower heads after the principal flowering display to encourage fresh branching and maintain a compact shape.
Established Pimelea ferruginea also tolerates quite firm pruning after flowering, making it useful where a more formal outline is desired.
Regular shaping is preferable to allowing the shrub to become oversized and then repeatedly cutting it back during active flowering.
Pot Suitability
Excellent for pots and containers.
Its naturally compact dimensions make ‘Alba’ particularly suitable for:
• Courtyard pots
• Patio containers
• Entrance displays
• Balcony gardens with sufficient sunlight
• Mixed native container displays
Use a free-draining potting mix and avoid leaving the container sitting permanently in water.
Container plants will need more frequent watering than established garden plants, particularly during hot weather.
Garden Design Ideas
Use Pimelea ferruginea ‘Alba’ as:
• A white-flowering feature shrub.
• A compact plant at the front of a native border.
• A low informal hedge.
• A specimen in a decorative pot.
• A bright contrast against darker green foliage.
• A flowering shrub in a rockery.
• A pollinator plant near vegetable or habitat gardens.
• A coastal garden shrub.
• A repeated edging plant where a low rounded form is wanted.
Its clean white flowers work particularly well beside purple Mint Bushes, blue or mauve native flowers, Chocolate Lilies, Lechenaultia and compact Melaleucas.
Cultivar & Natural Range
‘Alba’ is a white-flowering horticultural form of Pimelea ferruginea rather than a separate botanical species or subspecies.
White-flowered forms occur within the cultivated diversity of Pimelea ferruginea, while wild plants more commonly have pink flowers.
The parent species is endemic to Western Australia and occurs around the coast of south-western WA, approximately from Port Denison in the north to Cape Arid in the south-east. It grows naturally in coastal sand dunes and on rocky limestone and granite headlands.
Shipping Note
At Sylvaterre Native Nursery, every plant is treated with care and respect. Unlike many online nurseries that ship tubestock lying flat — often stacked on top of each other in standard Australia Post boxes — all Sylvaterre plants are shipped upright in custom-made cardboard plant boxes. This helps ensure they arrive healthy, happy, and ready to thrive in your garden or pots. See our shipping cartons in the image gallery.
