Waterhousia floribunda ‘Warners Select’ (Weeping Lilly Pilly)

Weeping Lilly Pilly 'Warners Select' (Waterhousea floribunda 'Warners Select') is the screen to choose when you want height and movement rather than a flat green wall. Left untrimmed it reaches about 10m tall and 5m wide, with long willowy leaves that hang in soft curtains and move in the lightest breeze. This listing is field grown stock, lifted ex ground at 6m to 6.5m, so the privacy is there the week it goes in.

Why you'll love it

• Instant height. At 6m to 6.5m it clears most two storey sightlines on day one, which no potted tree at this price can do.
• Weeping habit with real presence. Pendulous new growth flushes pink and bronze before hardening to green, so the canopy keeps changing through the year.
• Handles damp ground. It grows along creek banks in the wild and copes with soil that stays wet, where most screening trees sulk.
• Coastal and humid tolerant. Salt laden wind and long humid summers do not mark the foliage, so exposed near coastal blocks suit it.
• Native and bird attracting. Cream summer flowers are followed by fruit that native birds work through.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row. At this size the crowns are almost touching from the start, so the run reads as one hedge within a season.

Driveways and avenues. Spaced 4m to 5m apart the weeping crowns arch over a drive without casting the heavy shade of a fig.

Feature and shade tree. A single tree left to grow forms a broad soft canopy for a back lawn.

Growing weeping lilly pilly in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens are outside its range.

Soil. Any reasonable garden soil, including clay and ground that stays damp. Backfill with the soil that came out of the hole rather than pure compost, stake for the first two years, and mulch 75mm deep kept clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Field grown stock loses feeder roots in the lift, so water deeply three times a week through the first summer, then taper off. Hold the fertiliser until new growth appears, then feed with a controlled release native food in spring and late summer.

Pruning. Trim after the spring flush and again in late summer to hold a screen at 3m to 5m. It reshoots from old wood, so a hedge that has run away can be cut back hard.

What to expect when it arrives

This is a field grown specimen at 6m to 6.5m, lifted with a root ball and delivered on a truck rather than in a carton. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and access matters: machinery or several people are needed to place it. Expect the tree to sit quietly for its first few months while the root ball knits into the surrounding soil, then push hard from the second warm season. Delivered Australia wide and our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Weeping lilly pilly care guide
• Browse ex ground advanced trees
• Compare the full lilly pilly range
• Settling a transplanted tree into its new site

Common questions

How far apart should I plant them for a screen?

1.5m apart in a single row. Any tighter and the root balls compete before either tree has established.

Can I keep it lower than 10m?

Yes. Two trims a year hold it at 3m to 5m and it stays furnished right to the base. Left alone it keeps climbing towards 10m.

Will it cope with a wet spot in the yard?

It is one of the better screening trees for ground that stays damp. It will not survive standing water for weeks on end, so a soakage area still needs drainage work first.

Is it frost hardy?

Light frost only. In cold inland or southern gardens the soft new growth burns, so choose a hardier screen if heavy frosts are normal for you.