Plants for Mass Planting

How to choose a plant worth repeating

A plant you buy once can afford to be temperamental. A plant you buy forty of cannot. The best candidates for repetition are evergreen, hold their shape without constant clipping, and still look presentable after five years of neglect, which is why lomandras, liriope, westringia and gardenias dominate commercial landscapes. Before committing to a full run, be ruthless about three things: the mature width, because that sets your spacing and your budget; the climate fit, because one drift means one point of failure; and the maintenance rhythm, because forty plants that each need deadheading is a part time job.

Structure the planting in layers rather than a flat carpet. A repeated groundcover such as kidney weed or native violet knits the floor, a mid band of Lomandra 'Tanika' or liriope gives year round body, and a taller rhythm of one flowering shrub, perhaps French Lavender in the sun or gardenias in the warmth, lifts the whole bed. Three species, repeated generously, beat fifteen species planted once.

Where mass planting earns its place

Repetition solves the awkward spots single plants cannot. On slopes and above retaining walls, 'Cousin It' casuarina, creeping boobialla and star jasmine at 1m spacings grip the bank and stop mulch washing away. In the dry shade under trees, mondo grass and liriope hold ground where lawn fails. Around pools, no mow grass and Xanadu philodendron give clean bones with nothing to drop. In the humid north, gardenias, ixora and Xanadu carry beds through steamy summers but are frost tender, while cooler gardens lean on box, lavender, gaura and hydrangeas in shade, all frost hardy. For dry sun anywhere south of Brisbane, westringia and lavender are close to unkillable. Most of the strappy backbone options sit in our grasses and strappy leaf range.

Spacing and how many plants you need

Work off the grid, not the pot size. Divide the bed area by the spacing squared and round up.

• 15cm to 20cm apart. Dwarf mondo, mondo grass and kidney weed: 25 to 44 plants per square metre for a solid carpet.
• 30cm to 40cm apart. Native violet, no mow grass, liriope, blue chalk sticks and agapanthus: 6 to 11 per square metre.
• 50cm to 60cm apart. Gaura, dianella, Lomandra 'Tanika', lavender, Westringia 'Zena', Florida gardenia and Polygala 'Little Bibi': roughly 3 to 4 per square metre.
• 80cm to 1m apart. Aimee Yoshiba gardenia, Xanadu philodendron, White Knight and Annabelle hydrangeas, Snowstorm Melaleuca: about 1 to 2 per square metre.

For big runs, tubestock changes the economics entirely. The plants cost far less each, catch up better than most people expect, and simply add about a year to the finished look. The tubestock range carries many of the same varieties in bulk friendly sizes.

Care for plantings by the dozen

Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, mulch 75mm deep between plants, and keep the mulch off stems. Feed the natives with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in spring and the exotics with a controlled release feed in early spring and late summer. Then standardise the maintenance: one pass with the shears after flowering keeps lavender, westringia and polygala dense, hydrangeas get a late winter prune, and strappy plants need nothing beyond an occasional tidy. Buy two or three spares in the original run and grow them on in pots, because matching a three year old drift with a new nursery plant is harder than it sounds.

Common questions

How many plants do I need per square metre?

Divide 1 by the spacing in metres squared. At 50cm centres that is 4 plants per square metre, at 60cm about 3, and at 1m just 1. A 10 square metre bed at 50cm spacings needs 40 plants, so spacing decisions move the budget more than plant price does.

Is tubestock worth it for mass planting?

For runs of 20 or more, usually yes. Tubestock costs a fraction of potted stock, establishes quickly with regular water, and reaches the same finished planting about a year behind 200mm pots. Larger sizes make sense where you need instant cover on a visible frontage.

What should I repeat on a slope or retaining wall?

Lomandras and dianellas for the body, with 'Cousin It' casuarina, creeping boobialla or star jasmine spilling over the edge at 1m spacings. All of them grip with fibrous roots and cope with the dry, exposed conditions walls create. Our low maintenance groundcovers collection covers the flat ground equivalents.

Can a massed bed still flower?

Yes, and single species drifts flower harder than mixed beds look like they do. Gaura flowers for months, Polygala 'Little Bibi' barely stops in mild climates, lavender brings the bees, and massed hydrangeas own the shade in summer. Repeat one flowering species rather than sprinkling several.

How does delivery work for bulk orders?

Everything here is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, which most massed orders clear easily. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.