Baccharis trimera 19cm / 3L Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Baccharis trimera Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Carqueja

Baccharis trimera

£26.99
Protect from hard frostSun-lovingEvergreenLoved by pollinators
Pot size
19cm / 3L £26.99

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Description

The Baccharis trimera, known across South America as Carqueja and sometimes offered as Baccharis Green Coral, is one of the most arresting textural shrubs you can grow. It is an erect, almost leafless plant whose whole personality comes from its flattened, bright green winged stems. These photosynthetic cladodes branch and stack like living coral, giving a sculptural outline that holds interest in every month of the year. If you want something genuinely unusual for an architectural planting scheme, this is a real collector's piece.

Botanically it belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae, and is closely allied to Baccharis genistelloides, the name under which much of its UK horticultural information is listed. It is evergreen, so the green coral effect never disappears, and in late summer into autumn it carries a scattering of small, creamy white flowerheads. They are modest rather than showy, but being rich in nectar they draw bees and hoverflies, which makes it a quietly useful plant for wildlife and pollinators.

Carqueja is borderline hardy in the UK, rated around RHS H3, so it is happiest in milder gardens or given a sheltered, sunny spot with a warm wall and very sharp drainage. Think of it as a plant for a favoured microclimate rather than an exposed frost pocket. We suspect it may in fact prove tougher than its H3 rating suggests, as it comes from the cold highlands of South America and some growers report it taking harder frosts, but we have not yet trialled it through a British winter ourselves, so for now we treat it as borderline and would give it that bit of winter protection until it proves otherwise. In colder gardens it is easily overwintered in a pot moved to a porch or unheated greenhouse. Our hardy exotics what to expect guide explains how these borderline exotics behave through a British year.

Naturally adapted to poor, dry ground, Baccharis trimera is impressively drought tolerant once its roots are down, which makes it a natural fit for a dry and gravel garden or the front of a sun-baked exotic border. Its neat scale and love of sharp drainage also make it an excellent candidate for pots and containers, where you can move it into shelter for winter and enjoy that coral-like structure up close.

A curiosity with real presence, this Carqueja earns its place among our wider range of hardy exotics. Every plant is nursery grown, selected for strong, well-coloured stems and a healthy root system, and packed with care to arrive in superb condition.

Live Arrival Guarantee

All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit, and every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something is not right on arrival, we will make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.

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What to Expect

Seasonal by nature: what to expect

  • Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
  • It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
  • Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.

Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons

Delivery & returns

Order by 1pm Monday to Friday for same day dispatch. Every plant travels in protective, plant-safe packaging with tracked delivery.

Changed your mind? See our Return Policy.

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How to care for Carqueja

Plant me in full sun and protect me when hard frost threatens.

In their words

What our customers say

Arrived just like the photos - maybe even fuller. Healthy, well-acclimated, and straight into my collection with no issues.

Emily P.

Flawless leaves, stunning variegation, and clearly cared for by experts. It’s already a talking point in my home office.

James R.

Hard to find rare plants that are pet-safe. Ours arrived in perfect condition and looks amazing without any worry.

Sophie L.
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About Carqueja

Baccharis trimera needs full sun and well-drained soil. It is half-hardy to around −5°C and needs protection from hard frost.

Good for

Architectural Dry & Gravel Gardens Exotic Borders Pots & Containers Wildlife & Pollinators

Hardiness

TenderVery hardy

RHS H3 · Semi-hardy · down to around −5°C

RHS H3, so protect the crown in hard winters or grow it under cover in colder counties. We suspect it may prove hardier than this, but that is currently untested in our conditions.

Position

Full sunSouth-facingWest-facingEast-facingSheltered

full sun, in a sheltered spot. The winged stems stay dense and well coloured with plenty of light.

Soil

LoamSandChalkWell-drainedAcid pHAlkaline pHNeutral pH

sharp, free-draining loam, sand or chalk. It resents winter wet, so grit or gravel worked through the planting hole pays off.

Watering

Water regularly through the first growing season to settle the roots, then only in prolonged dry spells. Established plants are very drought tolerant and prefer to run on the dry side, especially over winter. Feeding is rarely needed on lean soils. A light spring tidy to remove any frost-damaged stems keeps it looking fresh. Read moreShow less

Water regularly through the first growing season to settle the roots, then only in prolonged dry spells. Established plants are very drought tolerant and prefer to run on the dry side, especially over winter. Feeding is rarely needed on lean soils. A light spring tidy to remove any frost-damaged stems keeps it looking fresh.

Mature size

Height0.5-1 m
Spread0.5-1 m

Reaches full size in 10-20 years

Growth habit

Bushy

Flowering

Aug-Oct

Seasonal colour

Foliage

Evergreen

Pruning

No routine pruning is required. In spring, remove any dead or frost-damaged stems, and you can cut the plant back lightly at the same time to rejuvenate it and keep the winged green stems dense and upright.

Toxicity

Baccharis trimera is not classed as a toxic ornamental and no significant poisoning risk is reported for normal handling. In South America the dried stems are used to brew a traditional herbal tea known as carqueja, but this plant is supplied purely as an ornamental and no part should be eaten or used medicinally without qualified guidance. As a sensible precaution, do not use it to make herbal preparations during pregnancy, and wash hands after handling as with any garden plant.

Native range

S. Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay & N. Argentina

Family

Asteraceae

Also known as

Baccharis trimera

Genus

Baccharis
Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Baccharis trimera, also known as Carqueja?

Baccharis trimera, called Carqueja in its native South America and sometimes offered as Baccharis Green Coral, is an erect, almost leafless evergreen shrub in the daisy family. It is grown for its flattened, bright green winged stems, known as cladodes, which branch like living coral to give a striking architectural texture all year round.

Is Baccharis trimera hardy in the UK?

It is borderline hardy, rated around RHS H3, which is roughly -5 to 1C. Grow it in a mild or coastal garden, or give it a sheltered, sunny spot with very sharp drainage and protect the crown in hard frosts. In colder areas it is easiest kept in a pot that can be moved to a porch or frost-free greenhouse for winter. We suspect it may in fact prove hardier than H3, as it comes from the cold highlands of South America and some growers report greater cold tolerance, but we have not yet trialled it through a British winter, so we treat it as borderline for now. Our hardy exotics guide explains what to expect through a British year.

How do you grow and care for Baccharis trimera?

Give it full sun and a sharp, free-draining soil such as loam, sand or chalk. It is naturally adapted to poor, dry ground, so avoid rich feeding and winter wet. Water regularly in the first season to establish it, then only in dry spells, as established plants are very drought tolerant and prefer to run dry. That makes it a fine choice for a dry and gravel garden.

Can Baccharis trimera be grown in pots?

Yes. Its compact size and love of sharp drainage make it an excellent container plant. Use a gritty, free-draining compost, water sparingly and keep it in the sunniest spot you have. Growing it in a pot also lets you move this borderline hardy shrub under cover for winter. See more of our plants for pots and containers for inspiration.

Does Baccharis trimera need pruning?

No routine pruning is needed. In spring, remove any dead or frost-damaged stems, and you can cut the plant back lightly at the same time to rejuvenate it and keep the winged green stems dense and upright.

How big does Baccharis trimera grow, and is it good for pollinators?

It is a compact shrub, reaching around 0.5 to 1 m in height and spread over ten to twenty years. In late summer and autumn it carries small, creamy white flowerheads that are rich in nectar and draw bees and hoverflies, which makes it a quietly valuable plant for wildlife and pollinators.

Does my plant come with a pot?
Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.

It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.

If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit.
How big will my plant be when it arrives?
Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.

If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.

That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look.
What makes your plants different from the supermarket or garden centre?
There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.

Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.

When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.

We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box.
What should I do when my plant arrives?
First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.

Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.

It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.

Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.

Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help.
Will my plant survive being shipped?
Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.

During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.

That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.

The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.
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Packaged with Care

Every order is hand-packed in eco-friendly, protective packaging - refined through thousands of deliveries to ensure your plant arrives healthy, hydrated, and looking its best.

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Perfect for Gifting

From rare collector’s pieces to easy-care favourites, our plants arrive fully potted and ready to enjoy. Add a personalised note at checkout for a thoughtful finishing touch.

Delivered fresh, beautiful, and gift-ready.

Sustainability at Heart

Sustainability at Heart

All plants are ethically sourced from trusted growers, never wild-collected. Every order ships carbon-neutral in minimal-waste packaging.

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Baccharis trimera
£26.99