Free Native Plants program
Find out how to claim free native plants for your home or a club on Council-leased land. Learn more about your eligibility.
What is the Free Native Plants program?
Council’s Free Native Plants program offers a range of plants to Brisbane residents and lessees on Council-leased land.
Eligible residential properties and lessees on Council-leased land in the Brisbane City Council area can claim free native plants each financial year.
Redeem your free native plants to:
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beautify your garden
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create habitat for local wildlife
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contribute to a greener, more sustainable Brisbane
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provide shade and grow our city’s urban forest with native species.
Easy to grow
Native plants are well-adapted to the local climate and soils. This makes them more resilient.
Use less water
Over time, native plants have developed efficient systems to absorb moisture and conserve water. This means they need less irrigation.
Low maintenance
Once established, native plants have greater resistance to pests and diseases. Taking care of them takes less time, resources and money.
Help soil health and erosion control
Native plants’ deep root systems improve soil structure, enhance water absorption and prevent erosion. Planting native species can improve the overall quality of your garden's ecosystem.
Improve biodiversity and support habitat
Native plants provide habitats and food sources for local wildlife, including birds, butterflies and bees. This contributes to the health of our local ecosystems.
Who is eligible
The Free Native Plants program is available to the following individuals or organisations within the Brisbane Local Government area.
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Residential properties – including detached houses and units in a duplex or townhouse complex or a residential apartment building (excluding hotels, motels and retirement villages).
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Owners or tenants of homes built in selected suburbs within the past 12 months.
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Lessees on Council-leased land.
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Official citizenship ceremonies held by a Council ward office and registered community group.
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Schools for Arbor Day.
Free Native Plants are not provided for:
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small or large-scale events
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fetes
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promotional programs or fundraisers
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giveaways or on-selling activities
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prizes
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commercial businesses
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universities and TAFE campuses
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government departments.
How many plants you can claim
| Group | Number of free native plants each financial year |
|---|---|
| Residential properties | 2 |
| Owners or tenants of homes built in selected suburbs within the past 12 months | 4 |
| Schools for Arbor Day | up to 50 |
| Lessees on Council-leased land | up to 20 |
| Official citizenship ceremonies held by a Council ward office or a registered community group | 1 plant for each new citizen |
How to claim your native plants
Residents can collect their free native plants from participating nurseries and Council's environment centres.
Collection option 1: From a participating nursery
There are steps you need to take before collecting your free plants from a participating nursery.
Take a paid rates notice or written approval from your property owner to:
- a Customer Centre
- your local library (excluding Pop-Up Library)
- our Mobile Library
- your local ward office.
For recently built homes in select suburbs
Recently built homes in select suburbs are eligible to receive additional plants.
- Bellbowrie
- Bracken Ridge
- Bridgeman Downs
- Bulimba
- Calamvale
- Carindale
- Carseldine
- Chapel Hill
- Doolandella
- Durack
- Eight Mile Plains
- Ellen Grove
- Everton Park
- Ferny Grove
- Fig Tree Pocket
- Fitzgibbon
- Heathwood
- Hemmant
- Hendra
- Kenmore
- Kuraby
- Mackenzie
- Manly West
- McDowall
- Mitchelton
- Moggill
- Nudgee
- Oxley
- Pallara
- Rochedale
- Runcorn
- Sunnybank Hills
- Taigum
- Tingalpa
- Upper Kedron
- Wakerley
- Wynnum West
Email the Free Native Plants team and attach a copy of the final inspection certificate for your house construction issued within the past 12 months.
Once approved, we’ll post a voucher to you.
Take your voucher to a participating nursery to claim your plants.
When collecting plants from a nursery, you must redeem all your yearly allocated plants in the same visit.
City Farm Nursery
16 Victoria Street, Windsor Qld 4030 07 3857 8774Tuesday to Friday: 8.30am-12.30pm
Sunday: 6.30am-12.30pm
Monday: Closed
B4C Sustainability Centre
Corner of Wright Street and 1358 Old Cleveland Road, Carindale Qld 4152 07 3398 8003Monday to Friday: 7am-3.30pm
Saturday: 8am-12pm
Sunday and public holidays: Closed
Access via 21 Wright Street
Daly's Native Plants
57 Weedon Street West, Mansfield Qld 4122 07 3349 0807Monday to Friday: 7am-3.30pm
Saturday: 6.30am-12 noon
Sunday: Closed
Paten Park Native Nursery
57 Paten Road, The Gap Qld 4061 07 3300 6304Tuesday to Sunday: 9am–4pm
Monday and public holidays: Closed
Crossacres Garden Centre
58 Crosscares Street, Doolandella Qld 4077 CrossacresGarden@gmail.comTuesday-Friday: 8.30am-4.30pm
Saturday-Sunday: 8.30am-5pm
Monday: Closed
Collection option 2: From an environment centre
Take your paid rates notice for the current financial year or written approval from your property owner or property manager to one of Council's environment centres:
- Downfall Creek Bushland Centre, Chermside West
- Karawatha Forest Discovery Centre, Karawatha
- Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre, Boondall.
Find the location and opening hours of Council's environment centres.
Collect your plants from the Council display stand at the environment centre.
Lessees on Council-leased land and official citizenship ceremonies
You can apply online to claim free native plants for a:
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lessee (e.g. a club) on Council-leased land
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official citizenship ceremony.
Complete the online application form to place an order your free native plants.
Once approved, you will receive information regarding collection of your plant order.
Selecting your native plants
Every plant enriches our city's urban forest, supports our iconic wildlife and makes our city more sustainable.
We offer a range of native plants that suit Brisbane soils and our subtropical climate, including:
- groundcovers
- tufting plants
- climbers
- small and medium shrubs
- feature trees.
While we endeavour to supply the variety of plant species on offer throughout the year, seasonal availability means this is not always possible. If a species is not available at the time of request, it may be substituted with a similar plant type and size available through the Free Native Plants program.
Plants are supplied in either 90 mm or 140 mm pots.
Groundcovers
| Species | Description and growing requirements | Attracts |
|---|---|---|
| Cut Leaf Daisy (Brachyscome multifida) | Hardy eye-catching ground cover to 60 centimetres with purple daisy flowers throughout the year. Best grown well drained soils in full sun. Especially effective in rockeries, mass plantings, pots, hanging baskets and borders | Bees, lizards |
| Creeping Boobialla (Myoporum sp.) | Hardy prostrate groundcover that grows to 1 metre. Purple or white flowers during the summer months. An excellent spreading groundcover for a sunny well-drained position. Suitable in pots or containers. | Birds, lizards |
| Fan Flower (Scaevola aemula) | Spreading groundcover that grows to 60 centimetres with dark green foliage and small mauve-pink flowers in spring and summer. Prefers well-drained soils. Great for hanging baskets. | Bees, lizards |
| Native Violet (Viola banksii) | Attractive dense groundcover that grows to 15 centimetres suitable for damp shady areas. Small, round, light green leaves with violet flowers throughout the year. Ideal for rockeries, mass plantings, pots and hanging baskets. | Lizards, frogs |
Tufting plants and grasses
| Species | Description and growing requirements | Attracts |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Flax (Dianella caerulea) | Hardy plant with long, strappy leaves that grows to 45 centimetres. Blue flowers on branched spikes appear in spring. Bright blue berries occur after flowering. Prefers a sunny position in well-drained soil. | Birds, lizards |
| Knobby Club Rush (Ficinia nodosa) | Tough, fast-growing, spreading, tufting grass with upright, dark green foliage up to 1 metre. Grows best in a full sun position. Brownish flower heads are produced on spikes throughout the year. Great plant for water features, ponds and effective in mass planting or containers. | Birds, frogs, lizards |
| Mat Rush (Lomandra sp.) | Deep green, glossy, narrow strap leaves to 1 metre. Small yellow-cream flowers in spring and summer. Grow in a full sun to partial shade position. | Lizards, frogs |
Climbers
| Species | Description and growing requirements | Attracts |
|---|---|---|
| Guinea Vine (Hibbertia scandens) | A vigorous twiner with glossy, dark green leaves and large, golden yellow flowers over spring and summer. Grows to 3 metres and makes an excellent screening plant on walls or fences. Prefers well-drained soil. Grow in full sun to partial shade in an open position. Suitable for tubs and containers or as a groundcover. | Birds |
| Pandorea (Pandorea sp.) | A hardy, vigorous, fast growing, evergreen twining plant with bell-shaped pink or white flowers in spring followed by large oblong shaped seed pods. Spreads up to 6 metres. Prefers an open, sunny position in well-drained soil. Great as a screening plant on a fence or trellis. Will grow in a large pot. | Butterflies, bees, insects |
| Sarsaparilla Vine (Hardenbergia sp.) | Fast growing, low maintenance, heavy flowering climber with dark green leathery leaves. Grows to 3 metres. Long lasting dark purple flowers, appear over winter and spring. Plant in a full sun to semi-shade position in a well-drained soil. Plant to trail over fences for privacy, retaining walls or on a trellis. Will grow in a large pot. Stunning when mass planted. | Bees, Birds, butterflies, insects |
Small shrubs (0.5-2 metres)
| Species | Description and growing requirements | Attracts |
|---|---|---|
| Bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.) | Fast growing, hardy, woody shrub that grows up to two metres that produces beautiful blooms in a variety of single colours in spring and summer and sometimes again in autumn. Plant in a moist, well-drained, sunny position. Regularly prune to encourage bushier growth and increased flower production. Great for containers, edging, rockeries, hedges and borders. | Birds, insects |
| Coastal Rosemary (Westringia sp.) | Hardy, small, fast-growing, evergreen shrub that grows to 1m². Long flowering and suitable as a hedge or screening plant or for low maintenance gardens, exposed sites and coastal gardens. Suitable for container planting. | Birds, butterflies, insects |
| Grevillea (Grevillea sp.) | Showy, evergreen plants that grow to two metres with nectar-rich flowers. They produce a 'spider flower' in a variety of single colours throughout the year. Grevilleas do best in a sunny position with light, gritty, free-draining soil. | Birds, bees, butterflies |
| Lilly Pilly (Syzygium sp.) | Hardy evergreen plants to two metres with glossy, green leaves with fluffy, pom-pom, white or pink flowers in spring and summer followed by pink or red berries. Prefers a sunny position with well-drained soil. Lilly Pillies make excellent screens, windbreaks and hedges and can be pruned to size and shape. | Birds, bees |
| Swamp Banksia (Banksia robur) | Hardy, evergreen shrub to two metres with bold flowing spikes in a variety of single colours. Flowers appear from autumn through to spring. Plant in an open, sunny position in well-drained soil. To encourage flower production and thicker foliage, cut flowering spikes and use in a floral display. | Birds, bees, butterflies, insects |
| Tea Tree (Leptospermum sp.) | Attractive small shrub ranging in size from 80 centimetres up to two metres. Showy pink or white flowers in spring and autumn. Prefers moist well-drained soil in full sun or light shade. A useful feature plant for rockeries or over retaining walls. | Insects, bees |
| Thyme Honey Myrtle (Melaleuca thymifolia) | Small hardy shrub to 1m². Mauve claw type flowers occur in clusters and are borne during summer. Grows best in full sun with good drainage. Suitable for large pots or containers. | Insects |
Medium shrubs (3-5 metres)
| Species | Description and growing requirements | Attracts |
|---|---|---|
| Banksia (Banksia sp.) | Hardy evergreen shrubs with attractive foliage with bold cream-golden flowering spikes appearing over late summer to spring. Grows to 3 metres. Plant in an open sunny position in very well-drained soil. Regularly prune to encourage dense growth. | Birds |
| Bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.) | Hardy, woody shrub that grows up to five metres that produces beautiful blooms in a variety of single colours in spring and summer and sometimes again in autumn. Plant in a moist, well-drained, sunny position. Regularly prune to encourage bushier growth and increased flower production. Bottlebrushes make excellent screening plants and are quick growers. | Birds, insects |
| Grevillea (Grevillea sp.) | Showy, evergreen plants that grow to 5 metres with nectar-rich flowers. They produce a 'spider flower' in a variety of single colours throughout the year. Grevilleas do best in a sunny position with light, gritty, free-draining soil. | Birds, bees, butterflies |
| Lilly Pilly (Syzygium sp.) | Hardy evergreen plants to 5 metres with glossy, green leaves with fluffy, pom-pom, white flowers in spring and summer followed by pink or red berries. Prefers a sunny position with well-drained soil. Lilly Pillies make excellent screens, windbreaks and hedges and can be pruned to size and shape. | Birds, bees, flying foxes |
| Tea Tree (Leptospermum sp.) | A bushy rounded shrub that grows to 5 metres. White or pink flowers cover the shrub in spring. Prefers well drained soil in a sunny position. Ideal as a screen, hedge or windbreak. | Insects, bees |
Shade and feature trees (over 5 metres)
| Species | Description and growing requirements | Attracts |
|---|---|---|
| Blush Satinash (Acmena hemilampra) | An evergreen tree with a dense crown, glossy green foliage, bright copper-tan new growth. Quick to establish and grows to 8 metres. Clusters of small white flowers appear in spring. Plant in full sun in well-drained soil. Suitable as a feature tree, screen or hedge. | Birds, bees, butterflies |
| Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) | An attractive specimen tree up to 8 metres. Showy, dense cluster of golden yellow flowers appear from summer to winter. Plant in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil. Suitable as a hedge, windbreak, screen, or feature tree. | Birds |
| Ivory Curl Tree (Buckinghamia cellsissima) seasonal | Fast-growing evergreen tree that grows to 8 metres. Striking, long, creamy- fragrant, honey-producing flowers appear from spring until autumn. Prefers moist, well-drained soil in a full sun to semi shade position. | Birds, bees |
| Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis anacardioides) seasonal | Attractive evergreen shade tree with rounded canopy. Grows to 8 metres. Green-yellow flowers are produced in autumn followed by orange fruits in winter. Plant in a full sun to partial shade position in organic rich soil. Ideal as a shade or specimen tree. | Birds, bees, insects |
| Tulipwood (Harpulia pendula) | A hardy, fast-growing, evergreen tree that grows up to 10 metres with attractive, pale green foliage. Large sprays of light green-yellow, slightly fragrant flowers appear in summer followed by orange fruit. Requires open sunny position in a light to medium soil type. Excellent shade tree. | Birds, bees |
| Wattle (Acacia sp.) | Stunning and iconic Australian tree with masses of bright or pale-yellow ball shaped flowers in winter and spring. Grows to 6 metres. Prefers a sunny position in well-drained soil. Wattles are suitable as a hedging plant or as a screen. | Birds, butterflies, bees |
| Weeping Lilly Pilly (Waterhousea floribunda) | Hardy, evergreen tree that grows to 8m². Clusters of white flowers appear from spring to summer, followed by green, round fruits. Plant in a sunny open position in well-drained soil. Regular trimming will produce colourful, new growth and keep the plant bushy. Can be trimmed to shape and size. Ideal as a dense screen or windbreak, or stunning as a large container plant. | Birds, bees |
Watch our video for tips on establishing your new native plants.
Video: How to plant your free Brisbane City Council native plants
Hi, I’m Annette McFarlane for Brisbane City Council’s Free Native Plants program. I’m going to show you the simple steps to help you get your native plants off to a great start.
Now hopefully you’ve done a bit of pre-planning and worked out what you want your native to do, where it’s going, and you have selected the right species for the job.
- Plant as soon as you can after bringing your native plant home.
- Dig the hole twice as large as the container the plant comes in.
- If the soil is dry like it is here, water the hole with some liquid seaweed or fertiliser.
- Gently remove the plant from its container, there should be no need to tease the roots.
- Place it into the hole at the right level, backfill and firm.
- If you have some compost it always helps to use it when you plant.
- Make sure to mulch around the plant.
- Water well until the plant’s established, that’s usually for the next two-to-three months.
- Once it is established feed with a good-quality native fertiliser to help your plant really grow strongly.
So there you go. With just a little care and attention up front your plant has the best chance of getting established and give you benefits for years to come.
There’s a variety of natives available through the program including ground covers, flowering container plants, tufting grasses, vines, butterfly-attractors, screens and of course iconic Australian features trees.
For more on natives and the free plants program visit Council’s website.
Helpful links
Frequently asked questions
Rates notices are not accepted at nurseries to claim your free native plants.
To claim your free native plants, take a paid rates notice from the current financial year to a Customer Centre, library or ward office.
You will then be given a stamped voucher to redeem your plants from a participating nursery.
You can’t collect unclaimed plants from a previous financial year. You can only claim the current financial year’s allotment of free native plants.