Ornamental Trees & Plants

Choosing ornamental trees and plants: start with the role

A garden reads well when every plant has a job, so decide the job before you buy on looks. Most ornamental planting comes down to four roles.

• The feature. One plant given room to be looked at: a crepe myrtle for summer flowers and winter bark, a magnolia for sheer presence, a grass tree or giant bird of paradise for sculpture. One strong feature beats three competing ones.
• Structure. The evergreen bones that hold the picture together: clipped Japanese box, pencil-thin Mediterranean cypress, lilly pillies and conifers. These are what the garden looks like in July.
• Foliage colour and texture. Cordylines, nandinas, heucheras and Japanese maples earn their place with leaves rather than flowers, so the effect lasts months, not weeks.
• The understorey. Agapanthus, lomandras, liriope, fountain grass and groundcovers like dichondra knit the taller plants together and smother the weeds while they do it.

Ornamental plants for your climate

The range spans every Australian growing zone, and the same four roles can be filled anywhere; only the cast changes. In tropical and subtropical gardens, heliconias, cordylines, alocasias and gingers give a lush, layered look with almost no effort, while crepe myrtles and frangipanis handle the heat in full sun. Temperate gardens from Sydney to Melbourne and Adelaide have the widest choice of all, including the classic partnership of deciduous feature tree over evergreen understorey. In cold and frost prone districts, lean on Japanese maples, oaks, ornamental pears, conifers and hardy perennials, and treat the tropical foliage plants as pot subjects you can shelter. In Perth, Adelaide and dry inland gardens, agaves, lomandras, westringias and kangaroo paws deliver strong form on low water, and many Australian native trees are at their best in exactly these conditions.

Evergreen or deciduous?

Neither is better; they do different work. Evergreens hold privacy and structure through winter, which is why they dominate screening and hedging. Deciduous trees give you flowers or fresh spring growth, summer shade, autumn colour and then winter sun through bare branches, which is exactly what you want over a lawn, a pergola or a north facing window. A useful rule: deciduous where you live in summer and want light in winter, evergreen where you need year round cover.

Planting and establishment

Dig the hole twice as wide as the pot and no deeper, plant at the original soil level, water in heavily and mulch 75mm deep with the mulch kept off the trunk. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, tapering off in the second year as the roots take hold. Feed in early spring with a controlled release fertiliser, using a low phosphorus formula for natives. Give feature trees room from the start: a tree with a listed 4m spread wants its trunk at least 2m from paths and 3m from the house, and it is far easier to allow that on planting day than to fix it in year six.

Common questions

What actually arrives when I order a tree?

Each product page lists the available sizes, from tubestock and 200mm pots up to advanced ex-ground stock in some lines. Everything is delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95, advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Which ornamental plants suit pots?

Compact crepe myrtles, cordylines, nandinas, agapanthus and Japanese maples all live happily in containers of 40cm or more with good drainage. In cold districts, pots also let you grow the tropical foliage plants and move them under cover for winter.

What gives a new garden shape fastest?

Grasses and strappy plants. Lomandras, liriope and fountain grass reach full size within one to two seasons and make even young plantings look intentional while the trees and shrubs catch up.

Where should I start with a feature tree?

Measure the space, then choose the biggest tree whose mature size genuinely fits it. Our Teddy Bear magnolia growing guide is a good worked example of matching a popular feature tree to a suburban block.