RF HorticultureQualified horticulturist Call

Blog · 13 October 2026

Hard-to-find plants worth tracking down for a North Shore garden

A yellow camellia, the yellow 'Shady Lady' waratah and three less common Japanese maples for North Shore gardens, with where to find them and what they cost.

By Robert Navarro ·

Weeping Japanese maple 'Inaba Shidare' with red autumn leaves
Photo: Andy Mabbett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Short answer: if you want something your neighbours won't have, three hard-to-find plants suit North Shore gardens well: the yellow camellia (Camellia nitidissima), the yellow waratah 'Shady Lady Yellow' (also sold as 'Golden Globe'), and a few less common Japanese maples: 'Bihou', 'Ukigumo' and 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'. Retail prices on 12 October 2026 ranged from about $38 to $270, and some sizes were sold out. One popular collector plant I'd keep out of the garden is variegated monstera, for reasons below.

"Rare" is used loosely in plant sales, and none of these is rare in the wild-conservation sense. Here I mean plants that only a few specialist nurseries grow, that you'll rarely see in a big garden centre, and that people go looking for by name. I've checked each one's weed status, and the prices come from NSW and Victorian nurseries on 12 October 2026. Stock of rare plants comes and goes, so ring ahead.

Yellow camellia (Camellia nitidissima)

What makes it special: camellias come in reds, pinks and whites, and that's about it. This species from southern China, near the Vietnam border, has golden-yellow flowers, and it only came into cultivation in the 1970s (Burke's Backyard). Breeders have been using it ever since to try to get yellow into garden camellias.

North Shore fit: good, if you're patient. It's a warm-climate plant that wants a sheltered spot and humus-rich soil that stays moist but drains well. Sources differ on light: Camellia Grove lists it for semi-shade to shade, but Nurseries Online says it needs a protected spot with some sun to set buds. It won't take much frost. That describes a lot of sheltered North Shore gardens under a canopy. Be ready for three things:

  • It's shy to flower when young (Camellia Grove), so you may wait a few years.
  • The flowers are small, about 5 cm, on a lanky shrub that can reach about 5 m.
  • It's prone to root rot, so on clay, plant it high or grow it in a large pot.

Retail price (checked 12 Oct 2026, will change): Camellia Grove Nursery, Glenorie, $200 for 300 mm. Phone them to check stock. For general camellia care on the North Shore, see my heritage and classic gardens guide.

In the ground or a pot? If you have a sheltered spot where the soil drains well, I'd plant it in the ground, since it can grow to about 5 m. On clay, a large pot is the safer start. The Royal Horticultural Society notes that potting mix breaks down over time and can become waterlogged, so repot on time, but don't jump to a much bigger pot all at once.

Yellow waratah 'Shady Lady Yellow'

What makes it special: a waratah with soft yellow flowers instead of red. It was registered for plant breeder's rights as 'Golden Globe' and licensed to be sold as 'Shady Lady Yellow', so you'll see both names (ANPSA Waratah and Flannel Flower Study Group, 2011). It was bred by Graeme Downe at Sassafras in the Dandenongs, and its plant breeder's rights were granted in 2006. The PBR record describes it as a second-generation hybrid: an unnamed waratah crossed with the Tasmanian waratah (T. truncata), then two of those seedlings crossed with each other. T. truncata is the only parent species it names. It isn't new, but it's often out of stock.

North Shore fit: like all waratahs, it needs excellent drainage and slightly acidic soil, in sun or part shade. On heavier shale and clay soils, build a mound rather than digging a hole, and avoid high-phosphorus fertiliser. The study group newsletter says it takes a few years to flower, then flowers heavily. My post on why waratahs die in Sydney gardens covers planting in more detail.

Retail price (checked 12 Oct 2026, will change): Mountain View Nursery (Moruya NSW), $38 for 140 mm, in stock. Northcote Nursery in Melbourne lists it at $32.95 to $62.95, all sizes sold out, and only delivers locally.

Less common Japanese maples

These three are named cultivars of Acer palmatum. They get searched for by name ("rare japanese maple bihou", "…ukigumo", "…mikawa yatsubusa"), and none of them are common garden-centre stock.

  • 'Bihou'. Lime-green spring leaves, orange and gold in autumn, then bright golden-yellow bare stems all winter. Upright and fairly compact, so it fits a courtyard.
  • 'Ukigumo' ("floating clouds"). Leaves come out white with green veins, then turn pinkish-white. With so little green in the leaf, I'd give it the most shelter of the three. About 2.5–3 m.
  • 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'. A dwarf with leaves stacked like roof shingles. About 1.5–2 m, good in a large pot or at the front of a bed.

North Shore fit: Japanese maples like morning sun but not hot afternoon sun (ABC Gardening Australia). They also need shelter from hot, drying winds. Keen growers often keep the delicate types in pots so they can move them around; Gardening Australia featured an Adelaide garden doing exactly that. A spot on the east side of the house, or under the edge of taller trees, should suit all three.

I try to grow every plant in the conditions it does best in. With a Japanese maple, that means either recreating that cool, sheltered microclimate for it, or choosing a different plant that suits the site as it is.

Retail prices (checked 12 Oct 2026, will change):

Don't count on the Victorian nurseries sending these to Sydney. Warranglen's shipping policy says it doesn't post plants and only delivers locally (within 30 km). Feature Trees Ballarat delivers locally and asks you to contact it first about anything further away. Potted plants coming from interstate also have to meet NSW biosecurity entry conditions. Treat those prices as a guide, and ask a Sydney nursery whether it can order the variety in. Mountain View Nursery delivers to Greater Sydney.

The one I'd leave out: variegated monstera

Variegated monsteras (the 'Thai Constellation' and 'Albo' types) are some of the most searched-for collector plants. The trouble is that Monstera deliciosa has escaped into bushland in NSW. PlantNET records it growing wild in coastal areas of the North and Central Coasts and the lower Blue Mountains, mostly where garden waste has been dumped. Indoors or in a pot on a balcony, it's fine. I wouldn't plant one out in a garden that backs onto bush, and I'd never dump the cuttings in the bush or over the back fence. My weeds guide covers other garden plants that escape into bushland.

Hunting tips

  • Ring ahead. Rare plants sell out, and specialist growers often have stock that isn't online.
  • Buy healthy, not big. A well-rooted small plant of a rare variety is a better buy than a stressed large one.
  • Check the label. Rare plants are often sold under two names (like 'Golden Globe' and 'Shady Lady Yellow'). Look up both.
  • Plan the spot first. A rare plant is harder to replace, so match it to the light and soil. My garden styles guide can help you fit it into the wider garden.

Help with your garden

Get in touch for a quote if you'd like help with this.

Sources

← All blog posts

Get in touch for a quote

Call, text or send a quick enquiry. Quotes for garden care, pruning, planting and regular maintenance. No travel fee on the North Shore.

Get in touch for a quoteCall 0481 106 188
CallGet a quote