Brisbane Box

Brisbane Box (Lophostemon confertus) is the tree to plant when you want real shade without the drop and mess of a eucalypt. In a garden or street setting it settles at around 12m tall and 8m across, carrying a dense evergreen head of glossy leaves on a trunk that peels back to cinnamon, grey and cream. It is fast, genuinely tough, and once the roots are down it copes with poor soil, salt wind and long dry spells.

Why you'll love it

• Proper shade, reasonably soon. Fast growing and evergreen, so the canopy is doing useful work in a few years rather than a decade.
• Bark worth looking at. The trunk sheds in strips to a smooth mottled surface, so it reads as a feature tree as well as a shade tree.
• Built for hard sites. Poor soil, drought, wind and salt tolerant, so it holds up on exposed blocks and compacted urban ground.
• Manageable underfoot. Broad leathery leaves rather than fine shredding litter, so gutters and paths stay easier than under a gum.
• Native and bird attracting. White and cream flowers through the warm months bring in nectar feeding birds.

Where it works best

Shade over a lawn or driveway. Give a single tree at least 6m from the house and 4m from paving. The root plate is wide, so keep it clear of pipes and pool shells.

Avenues and long driveways. Plant 5m apart. At that spacing the crowns knit into a continuous canopy without the trunks crowding each other.

Windbreaks and high screening. A row at 5m filters wind across a boundary and screens a neighbouring upper storey, which is height no hedge reaches.

Growing Brisbane Box in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the best shape and density; part shade grows more open. This is a tree for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, and it takes light frost only, so cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens sit outside its range.

Soil. Not fussy. It handles clay, sand and compacted ground better than most large trees, provided water does not sit around the trunk. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first two summers, more often in sandy soil, then it largely looks after itself. A low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring is all it asks.

Pruning. Very little needed. Lift the lower branches over two or three winters to the clearance you want underneath, and remove competing leaders while the tree is young so it builds one strong trunk.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in eight sizes, from 140mm to 400L. The 140mm and 300mm plants are young and single stemmed, the sensible choice for an avenue or shelter belt where you need numbers. The 400mm and 45L sizes are the usual garden starting point, while the 75L, 100L, 200L and 400L trees arrive with real trunk calliper and height.

Stock is packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Expect a quiet few weeks after planting, then strong growth through the first warm season. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare our full range of trees
• Browse Australian natives for birds and habitat
• Native Frangipani, a narrower native alternative
• Preparing ground properly before planting

Common questions

How big does Brisbane Box really get?

In a garden or street it settles at about 12m tall and 8m wide. The 20m plus figures come from trees in closed forest, which is a very different situation from an open lawn.

How far from the house should I plant it?

At least 6m from the building and 4m from paving, pipes and pool shells. Pruning the top does not change what the roots do.

Will it grow in Melbourne or Adelaide?

Light frost only. It is reliable in warm temperate coastal gardens but struggles where hard frosts are the norm, so cold districts want a hardier shade tree.