By Brownie
Happy new year to all local gardeners.
The last month has been a little trying for us all– with lots of rain, storms, winds, some hail and oppressive humidity. Let’s be honest, in these tropical conditions, gardening isn’t much fun.
I’ve just been keeping up with the basics and delaying the heavier work to Autumn.
A neighbour recently asked if he could trim back trees and shrubs along the boundary that were growing over into his yard. To be honest, as I hadn’t been into their yard for years, I didn’t realise how much they’d grown.
Then a newsletter from a horticultural company about a new lilly pilly release got me thinking about better plants to grow along a boundary fence.
With smaller block living becoming the norm, the opportunity to grow larger plants is becoming less and less – and so what can you plant if you need a screening plant between you and the neighbour.
This new lilly pilly release is called Syzygium ‘Up and Away’, and it does what the name says – growing in a column shape 4-5m high but only 1-2m wide.
The native is a fast grower and they say it has good disease and pest resilience – so no problems with psyllid pimpling common on the leaves of other varieties.
Just like other lilly pillies, their new leaves grow in a flush of pink, and they have the fluffy white flowers that native and honey bees love, so they still make a good habitat choice for the backyard.
It responds well to being pruned, but they say that because of the natural column shape, pruning isn’t needed – unless you want to keep it under a certain height.
The range of plants to choose from that grow tallish but narrow is fairly limited – but there are some great ones you can find from good nurseries.
One of the best is Cupressus pencil pines, with Cupressus sempervirens ‘glauca’ probably being the most commonly grown.
Not only is it very narrow and pointy, but the foliage is also dense and forms a striking architectural garden plant. They can sometimes be a little touchy, and it’s not uncommon to see one dying for no apparent reason in a line of lush and healthy plants.
In a similar vein, there are a number of conifers in the Thuja and Juniperus groups that grow in the same column shape and perform just as well. But get some advice for your soil and climate, as many are suited to cooler southern areas.
These two groups have the benefit of having a lovely soft look and provide excellent habitat for little birds to hide or nest within.
Another great choice would be the Indian Mast Tree (or Polyalthia longifolia).
This is a leafy tree that grows straight up and has shaggy leaves that hang down on very short branches. The resulting look is something like a tall Cousin It from the Adam’s Family.
It grows well in our area and examples can be seen growing happily in some public spaces and private gardens.
So, even if you live on a small block, there’s no reason why you can’t grow one of these tall but narrow small trees to green up your space.