Conifers can be great ornamental additions to your garden but they need the proper growing conditions and care to thrive. If you plan to add conifers to your garden, here are some of the best tips to ensure you get flourishing plants.
Why plant conifers
Before the how, the why. Conifers hold their foliage all year, so a planting that looks good in February still looks good in July. That evergreen reliability makes them the structural bones of a garden: the dark, still shapes that everything else is arranged around.
They also work hard. A row of upright conifers is one of the fastest ways to block a view or filter a prevailing wind, and their density makes them far better at screening than most deciduous alternatives. Once established, deep root systems let them draw water from lower soil layers, so they need less irrigation than most ornamentals, and they are generally untroubled by pests and diseases. Those same roots anchor soil on slopes and banks, reducing erosion where heavy rain would otherwise carve channels. If year round privacy is the main goal, it is worth comparing them with the options in our guide to fast growing screening trees.
Finally, the range is enormous. Ground hugging junipers, columnar pencil pines, broad spreading cedars and compact dwarfs all belong to the same group, so there is a conifer for almost any position. Our closer look at conifers and what makes them tick covers the different forms in more detail.
Planting Conifers
The best times to plant are spring and early autumn. You can plant on an overcast day when there is ample soil moisture in order to reduce transpiration or water loss from the tree. Conifers grow best in full sun, and a little afternoon shade is best for dwarfs. For planting conifers, you may dig a hole twice the width of and more shallow than the height of the root ball.
If planting in a container, loosen the roots by firmly tapping around the pot with the palm of your hand. Make sure that you trim any roots that may be growing out of the drainage holes. In order to prevent the roots from girdling and killing the plant, the circling bases should carefully be loosened by hand or with a small hand cultivator prior to planting.
Also, ensure that the trunk flare is slightly higher than the surrounding soil to compensate for settling, especially if your soil is heavy or poorly drained. You may use excess soil to create a rim around the plant as it will allow water to collect, thus keeping the plant moist until established and also providing extra soil when settling occurs. Make sure that you water thoroughly after planting.
Soil
Most conifers prefer slightly acidic soil that is loamy and well-drained. You may not need to add organic matter unless the soil is very compacted or if it retains very little moisture. If soil drainage continues to be a problem, you may even consider raising a planting bed to improve the soil.
Water Requirement for Conifers
You need to take care of the plant until new roots are established. Check the plant every two to three days for the first few weeks for signs of stress, and water it whenever the soil feels dry. Once the roots have grown out into the surrounding soil in three to six months, they can be checked less frequently. Remember that established plantings need supplemental water only during periods of prolonged drought. The amount of water the plant needs will depend on the species and the soil type.
Water thoroughly, especially if the top 5cm to 7cm of soil feels dry. Deep water the plant when needed, then frequently shallow water. It is important that conifers do not show signs of stress as readily as other plants. Conifers seldom wilt; instead, the overall plant colour will lighten or fade, and interior needles will turn brown.
Fertilising
Keep in mind that conifers are not heavy feeders and only need an annual application of a general, complete garden fertiliser or a top dressing of well-rotted manure. The best time to fertilise is early spring, before the plants break dormancy, or in late autumn as growth slows for winter. In cold districts, a fed conifer also copes better with the first hard frosts, which is worth reading alongside our list of frost tolerant plants for Australian gardens.
Pruning and Maintenance
Make sure that you immediately remove dead or diseased branches, regardless of the time of year. Other pruning should be done when the plant is dormant. Remember that most conifers cannot re-sprout from older wood; therefore, never remove more than one-third of the total growth at a time. Pruning too drastically may never fully recover the plant.
Choosing the right conifer
Match the shape to the job before you fall for the foliage. Narrow, columnar forms such as the pencil pine suit driveways, formal avenues and tight side boundaries, and our pencil pine care guide covers spacing and long term height. Broad, spreading species are better as single specimens with room to develop, and dwarf cultivars belong in pots, rockeries and low borders where their slow growth is an asset rather than a frustration. If you are choosing a living Christmas tree, our guide to caring for a Christmas tree explains how to keep a potted conifer healthy from one December to the next.
Growing conifers in the Australian climate
Conifers are a northern hemisphere staple that need a slightly different approach here. The main adjustments are disease pressure in humid climates and the fact that most conifers cannot regrow from bare wood.
| Location | What performs |
|---|---|
| Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Tasmania | Ideal for cypress, juniper and thuja. Cool dry conditions suit them |
| Perth | Excellent - Mediterranean cypresses and junipers thrive in dry heat |
| Sydney and coastal NSW | Good, with more canker pressure in wet years |
| Brisbane and subtropical Queensland | Native conifers do best; Cupressus struggles with humidity |
| Tropical north | Stick to native species such as hoop pine and kauri |
The pruning rule that catches everyone
Most conifers will not reshoot from bare old wood. Cut a hedge back past the green growth into the brown interior and you get a permanent hole that never fills in.
This is the opposite of how lilly pilly, murraya and viburnum behave, which is exactly why people get caught - they prune a conifer hedge the way they would prune a lilly pilly hedge and ruin it. Trim lightly and often, always staying within the green growth, and never let a conifer hedge get so far away that you would need a hard cut to reclaim it.
Cypress canker
The main disease of Cupressus in Australia and the usual reason a healthy-looking Italian cypress suddenly develops dead brown branches. Look for sunken lesions on stems with resin bleeding, and individual branches dying while the rest of the tree looks fine.
There is no reliable cure. Prune out affected branches well below the visible damage, disinfect tools between every cut, avoid overhead watering, and keep plants spaced for airflow. In humid subtropical gardens, junipers, thuja and the Australian native conifers are the lower-risk choices.
Drainage over fertility
Almost every conifer wants sharp drainage and will rot in soil that stays wet - swamp cypress being the notable exception. On heavy Melbourne or Brisbane clay, plant on a raised mound rather than in a flat bed. They are not heavy feeders, and a light application of controlled-release fertiliser in spring is enough.
Australia's own conifers
Worth remembering that we have them. The bunya pine, hoop pine, Queensland kauri, brown pine and the cypress pines are all Australian natives, and the Wollemi pine was found alive in 1994 after being known only from fossils. In warm and subtropical gardens they outperform the imported species, and brown pine (Podocarpus elatus) clips well enough to use as a large hedge.
Watering
Deep and infrequent, and only through the first two summers for most species. Established conifers are notably drought tolerant, which is why they suit Perth and Adelaide so well. Overwatering causes far more losses in Australian gardens than drought does.
Ready to plant?
Follow the planting, watering and pruning steps above and a conifer will hold its shape for decades with very little from you. Browse the full range in our conifers for formal gardens collection to find the right form for your site.
