Elite Lilly Pilly

Elite Lilly Pilly (Syzygium australe 'Elite') suits a long boundary with a narrow bed. It reaches about 5m tall and only 2.5m across, so it screens an upstairs window from a garden bed you can still walk past. Growth is fast, the glossy foliage holds down to ground level, and planted a metre apart it closes into a solid green wall.

Why you'll love it

• Height without the width. About 5m by 2.5m, so it screens a two storey outlook from a bed narrow enough for a side boundary.
• Fast to close a gap. A fast growing selection, so a bare fence reads as a screen in two to three seasons.
• It handles a hard site. Coastal and salt tolerant, comfortable in humidity and tolerant of wet feet, so beachfront boundaries and damp corners both work.
• It clips into any shape. Reshoots readily from trimmed wood, which makes it a genuine topiary plant rather than only a screen.
• Native, and the birds find it. Cream brushes through the warm months, then edible pink berries the birds work through.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 1m apart in a single row. Tighter spacing does not close the screen faster, it only sets the plants competing for water and feed.

Formal hedging and topiary. The same 1m spacing gives a clipped hedge between 1.5m and 4m, held with two trims a year. Single plants shape well enough for a clipped pillar or a matched pair at an entry.

Growing Elite Lilly Pilly in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the densest wall; part shade works but the screen stays looser. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost once established, so hard frosting inland districts, the tablelands and cold southern gardens want a frost hardy hedge instead.

Soil. Not fussy about type, and unusually forgiving of damp ground for a screening plant. Work compost through the whole row rather than each hole, and mulch 75mm deep, kept off the stems.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper off. A controlled release native fertiliser in early spring and late summer keeps the colour strong.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to force branching low. Then trim once the spring flush hardens and again in late summer. It shoots from old wood, so a neglected hedge can be cut back hard.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in ten sizes, from tube through to 200L. The tube, 140mm, 180mm and 200mm plants are young and single stemmed, and they are the sensible buy for a long boundary: a season slower to close, but far cheaper per metre. The 250mm to 400mm pots are the usual middle ground, and the 45L, 100L and 200L sizes arrive already branched with height on day one.

Plants are 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 two to three weeks after planting, then new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete lilly pilly care guide
• Compare the full lilly pilly range
• Screening plants from 4m to 8m
• Plants that suit clipping and topiary

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the canopies knit within two to three seasons and the base stays furnished, which is where most hedges quietly fail.

Can I keep it lower than 5m?

Yes. Two trims a year hold it anywhere from 1.5m to 4m. Because it reshoots from old wood it stays leafy at the bottom instead of lifting into bare trunks.

Will it cope with a damp part of the garden?

Better than most screening plants, since it is rated wet feet tolerant. Seasonal damp is fine, though permanently boggy ground still slows it. On heavy clay, plant on a low mound.