Plants for Poolside Gardens

The three tests every poolside plant must pass

Anyone who has spent a summer scooping leaves knows the wrong tree beside a pool is a maintenance sentence. So judge every candidate on three points. First, leaf drop: evergreen plants with large, firm leaves are far easier to live with than fine leafed or constantly shedding species, because what does drop comes out in one scoop rather than a thousand. Second, root behaviour: keep anything with vigorous roots at least 3m from the pool shell, pipework and paving, and lean on clumping species close to the edge. Third, splash tolerance: anything within a metre or two of the water cops regular chlorinated or salt water spray, so the front row needs tough, glossy foliage.

Building the planting: backbone, feature, fill

Palms are the backbone of most Australian pool gardens, and they dominate this collection for good reason: fibrous, well behaved root systems and foliage that stays on the plant. The Golden Cane Palm is the classic clumping screen for privacy behind the waterline, while foxtail, bangalow and kentia palms make clean single trunk features. Around them, cordylines, heliconias, giant bromeliads and bird of paradise build the resort layer with bold colour and almost no litter.

If your look is architectural rather than tropical, the agaves, yuccas, cycads and pandanus here read beautifully against water and paving, and they thrive on the reflected heat that cooks softer plants. Frangipanis deserve a special mention: technically deciduous, but the big firm leaves drop over one short window and collect in a single clean up, a fair trade for months of perfumed flowers. Dietes, agapanthus and coastal rosemary handle the practical edges and fence lines.

Choosing for your climate

• Tropical and subtropical gardens. The whole collection is open to you, palms and heliconias included. Your only real constraint is the fence rule below.
• Warm temperate and coastal gardens. Most palms, frangipani, hibiscus, agave and yucca all perform. Salt spray tolerance matters near the coast, and the same toughness covered in our coastal plants collection translates directly to salt water pool splash.
• Cool temperate gardens around Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra. Skip the tropical palms and build with cordylines, dietes, agapanthus, yucca, European fan palm and coastal rosemary, which give the same clean poolside look with real cold tolerance.
• Hot inland gardens. Agave, yucca, dietes and pandanus shrug off radiant heat from paving that would scorch soft tropical foliage.

Placement, fencing rules and planting

Australian pool fencing rules require climbable objects, including sturdy branches, to be kept clear of the fence, generally within a 900mm arc, so position shrubs and small trees with the compliance certificate in mind. Keep palms with significant trunks at least 1.5m from the pool edge and larger trees 3m or more from the shell and pipework. In garden beds beside paving, improve drainage before planting: most poolside plants hate wet feet in winter. Water new plantings deeply twice a week through their first summer, mulch 50mm to 75mm with a coarse mulch that will not blow into the water, and feed once in early spring. A simple palette maintained well beats a busy one: a spine of screening, one sculptural feature reflected in the water, and bold foliage repeated along the edge.

Common questions

Which plants drop the least into the pool?

Clumping palms like golden cane, plus cordylines, bromeliads, agaves, yuccas and bird of paradise. All hold their foliage rather than shedding it, and what they do drop is big enough to grab in one pass.

Will palm roots damage the pool shell?

Palm roots are fibrous and non woody, so they do not thicken and crack structures the way tree roots can. Planted 1.5m or more from the edge, the palms here are among the safest large plants you can put near a pool. The heavy rooted exceptions are big feature palms like the Canary Island date, which want more clearance.

What about a salt water pool?

Splash from a salt pool is milder than beachfront spray, so any coastal tolerant plant handles it comfortably. Westringia, pandanus, agave, hibiscus and most of the palms take it without marking.

Can I plant right up to the pool fence?

Only with low growers. Anything that develops sturdy, climbable branches must sit outside the 900mm non climbable zone, so keep shrubs and palms back and use strappy plants like dietes and agapanthus against the barrier.

Where do I start with a full pool makeover?

Our guide to poolside plants for Australian gardens walks through complete planting plans, and if privacy from the neighbours is part of the brief, pool screening plants covers heights, litter and fence rules together. Everything here is delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95 and the 30 day healthy plant guarantee.