Canberra plants (hedging)

Thanks you’ve all been great help. I think we may do photinia after all as they are quick. I think I will do separate natives rather than hedge with them.

Now any thoughts on Goden Rain Tree? It was a suggested tree to plant.

+ 1 for rosemary.

Thornless blackberries. Grows fast, will need training and pruning but has delicious fruit.

Give a thought to life expectancy too – the plants’ that is, not your own (although that may matter to you as well).

Some fast growing native species don’t live too long, and might last only 7 to 21 years depending on species and local site and climate conditions. On that basis, avoid westringia (including W. fruticosa), hakea and some grevilleas if you want a long-lasting hedge. Some people get more out of them, but they’re lucky. However, these groups of plants are valued because they are fast growing. just make sure you have a long-lived replacement coming up behind them if you want your screen to last.

Callistemons are longer lived and make excellent hedging plants if given the right love and attention. But be aware that the wrong variety can get straggly very quickly if you don’t look after it. We have two out the front – one has been left to roam free and grow straggly, and the other is a really good dense little bush from years of pruning after flowering.

Oh, and after you decide what variety you want – go to some of the local community markets like trash and treasure at Jamo (does woden still have markets?) and speak to some of the people there that sell plants. Chances are that someone will be able to order in what you are looking for and it will be cheaper then what you will pay at a retail nursery.

Rosemary grows well as a low hedge in Canberra, and it comes in useful for a lamb roast too…

Noooo not Pittosporum!!

If you don’t necessarily want something you need to shape and have a bit of width to play with, get some Snowy River Wattles Acacia boormanii and plant 1m apart. Strictly speaking more of a screen than a hedge, we have them along the front boundary. They grow to about 6-8ft with multi-stems from the base and only take about 2 seasons to reach 4-5ft in height and over 1m wide.

After much research mein freund went for cherry laurel. Another one to consider as you search the nurseries for good plants.

Polygala Grandiflora

Mexican Orange Blossom

Viburnam Tinus Laurastinus

Leptospermum Rudolph

Grevillea Poorinda Constance

Westringia Fruitcosa

Westringia Wynyabby Gem

Actually googling it was quite interesting:

“The release of this attractive bottlebrush marks an important occasion for Australian and New Zealand Catholic communities: the pending canonisation of Mary MacKillop, regarded as Australia’s first Saint. The Order of St. Joseph, which Mary MacKillop helped to found in the late 1800s, has chosen an Austraflora selection to celebrate this remarkable event. Austraflora has licensed a select team of growers around Australia to participate in this project. The initial release will be in Autumn 2001, with the major release timed for spring 2001.”

So what happened in 2001 then? I thought her beatification was before that – was this last step just a long time coming?

Mary Mackillop Callistemon.

They’ll surely all be sold out after the weekend

I guess I’ll just check out the best options at Rodney’s (oh and great nursery suggestions would be appreciated – am I better off going to Yarralumla?)

We’re also going to plant some deciduous trees as its a fairly decent size garden front and back. What are your favourite canopy suggestions?

Photinia Robusta – grows thick and pretty fast, handles the drought, new growth is a stunning red colour, is relatively easier to prune than other varieties.

Comparing this to Pittosporum… I used to live in a house many years ago that had Pittosporum and Photinia. The Pittosporum was a bugger to work with. Sure, it was a dense green ‘wall’ but it was a lot more effort to trim. The foliage is ‘thicker’ and there are lots more leaves/shoots. In other words, you have to go over it many more times than Photinia and it tires you out faster.

Whatever hedge you go with, trim it narrower at the top / thicker at the bottom (i.e. like a letter A). This will allow more light to reach the lower foliage and hence you will avoid a ‘scraggy’ looking hedge with sparse branching/little foliage underneath. Also, trim a fair bit of new growth flat off the top each year while it is growing so you get a denser/thicker hedge (i.e. don’t let it shoot up to a tall height straight away).

While on the subject, check out this place for a cool hedge… http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Braddon,+Australian+Capital+Territory&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=37.591491,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Braddon+Australian+Capital+Territory&ll=-35.274866,149.140832&spn=0.001051,0.002411&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=-35.274866,149.140832&panoid=uPbCdjkr7mpEGY0aM-od8w&cbp=12,138.29,,0,5

Thanks for all the suggestions – never had to think about hedges until moved to Canberra. The photinias are looking nice at the moment but did hear they attracted blow flies (is that because of the “off meat smell” – never really smelt them before)?

+1 Viburnum – get Viburnum Tinus – copes with sun and shade frost, wind, the works. I have a row doing great about two metres from established ash trees which I struggle to get others things growing under. and can be either neatly clipped or let to ramble into a lovely, wide shrub. White flowers which are pink in bud. Tough but pretty, and a good screen.

Viburnum are what we have out the front of our place. A dense dark green shrub that grows (in our hedge) to about 1.5m. Nice, sweet smelling flowers in spring too.

Many, many people are allergic to the pollen from the Photinia (the common red and green Photina Robusta at least).

Pittosporum are quite good and there are several varieties particularly suited to hedging (James Sterling and Silver Sheen are two we use at the Built-Manor). I love the contrast of the fine, silvery leaves against the fine black bark.

Go Camelias – they are a tough plant, good in shade, grow well in Canberra, and will look beautiful when they flower. the casino hotel has a hedge of these – lovely. And it survives the drunk hoons and beer bottles etc.

Photinias are easy to grow, but one day they will get too big, and lots of people are allergic to the flowers.

Everyone seems to do Photinia but I’m not sure whether I want that or not.

I affectionately call Photinia the ‘off meat plant’ because that’s what they smell like when they flower.

I have a very successful native hedge growing underneath 70 foot high pin oaks. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the hedging plant at the moment. However, if you are really interested I can check it out overnight.

PS: it doesn’t flower but has attractive dark green/maroon foilage.

Alternatively, contact me through RA and I can give you the address as you can see it on google/street view

Hakea salicifolia. Another native thats hardy in canberras bad clay soils. Not as pretty flower wise as the callistemons, but is much faster growing afaik.

clp – The answer is YES!

Our photinia hedge is bullet-proof, and easily survived the harshest conditions over the last five years with little to no additional water.

Are camellias too hard?

Mary Mackillop Callistemon. We planted about 30 along the back fence about a year ago close enough so they’re starting to hedge now. Lots of buds forming so should look stunning in a month or so.
The reason for MMck was they’re narrower that other varieties.

I used Callistemon sp (Bottlebrush) as they are native, look great, attract birds and are fairly hardy. Prune them back after they flower in Nov-Dec to maintain the shape and density.
Kings Park Special is a very good cultivar for this purpose.