Mosquito Bush

Botanical Name: Plectranthus neochilus

Common Names: Lobster Bush, Smelly Spur Flower, Mosquito Bush, Poor Man's Lavender

Mosquito Bush is a tough backyard favourite that loves the Perth heat. It has succulent leaves that smell like strong herbs or camphor when you brush past them. This strong smell helps keep pests away, making it a ideal companion plant for your fruit trees and vegie patch.

Features:

Ideal prune height range: 0.5-1m

pH growing conditions: 6.0 to 7.0

Shade or full sun: Loves full sun to part shade in Perth Metro

Minimum pot year 5: 20L pot or straight in the ground

Time to harvest leaves: straight away

Mosquito Bush grows fast and spreads out to make a brilliant ground cover or low border. It hates wet feet in winter but deals well at dry sandy soils once it gets going. It pops out purple and blue flower spikes that bees love.

Interesting Notes:

People call it mosquito bush because the aromatic oils in the leaves help deter bugs when crushed and rubbed on skin. It is easy to strike from cuttings and survives on very little water.

Medicinally It's mainly used as a traditional folk remedy in parts of Africa, where crushed leaf vapours are inhaled for clearing stuffy noses or mild head colds.

No safe edible or tea uses. while people continue to brew the leaves for tea, mosquito bush works best as a natural garden insecticide rather than a culinary drink.

research shows it can wipe out fruit flies completely and also tends to accumulate fluoride from tap water, making it much better suited for pest control than your teapot.

Great for filling dry spots under fruit trees where nothing else wants to grow.

Limited stock. Pickup from Parkwood, WA. Delivery to Perth Metro only.

Keywords: Lobster bush, Plectranthus neochilus, mosquito bush, Perth backyard plants, drought tolerant ground cover