Scented Paperbark

Scented Paperbark (Melaleuca squarrosa) is the screening shrub for the difficult wet corner. It grows to about 4m tall and 3m wide, dense to the ground, with soft papery bark and creamy yellow bottlebrush flowers that carry a honey scent through late spring. Frost hardy, salt tolerant and genuinely happy in soggy soil, it handles the sites that defeat most hedging plants.

Why you'll love it

• It thrives where drainage is poor. Boggy ground, drainage lines and rain garden edges suit it, so you can screen the part of the block nothing else will grow in.
• Scented flowers that feed wildlife. Cream to yellow bottlebrush spikes bring in honeyeaters, native bees and butterflies, and the perfume carries on warm evenings.
• Cold and coast in one plant. Frost hardy enough for cool temperate gardens and salt tolerant enough for a beachside boundary, which is a rare combination.
• Papery bark and fine foliage. Layered cream bark and small crowded leaves give it texture close up, not just bulk at a distance.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row for a solid screen to about 4m. It holds foliage low, so there is no bare strip along the bottom once it fills out.

Coastal gardens and windbreaks. Salt tolerance makes it a front line plant on an exposed coastal block. A staggered double row at 1.5m filters wind rather than blocking it.

Damp and low lying beds. Use it along a swale, dam edge or the corner that stays wet after rain, where it outperforms a conventional hedge.

Growing Scented Paperbark in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the densest habit and the heaviest flowering; part shade works but the screen stays looser. It suits cool temperate, warm temperate and subtropical gardens, and is frost hardy once established.

Soil. Wet and heavy soils are fine, which is the point of this plant. It tolerates clay and periodic waterlogging, and grows on average garden soil provided it gets water through summer. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then as needed. Unlike most hedging plants it does not resent staying damp. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build density low down, then trim after flowering each year. It reshoots from old wood, so an overgrown plant can be cut back hard and will refurnish from the base.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in 35L, which is a substantial advanced plant rather than a young shrub. That means a screen with real height in its first season, and fewer plants needed to close a run, though it is heavier to handle and needs a properly dug hole.

Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Some leaf drop after transit is normal, not a fault. Expect new growth within about six weeks in the warmer months. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Identifying and caring for paperbark trees
• Browse the full melaleuca range
• Coastal and salt tolerant plants
• Screening plants for 2m to 4m

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One and a half metres apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet within a couple of seasons while each keeps enough room to stay furnished at the base.

Will it really grow in wet soil?

Yes. It is naturally a swamp and creek margin plant, so seasonally waterlogged ground and heavy clay suit it. Permanent standing water is still too much.

Can I keep it as a low hedge?

Yes. Trimmed after flowering each year it holds comfortably at 1.5m to 2m, and because it shoots from old wood it stays dense rather than lifting into bare stems.

Is it suitable for a cold garden?

It is frost hardy and native to cool temperate south eastern Australia, so winter frost is not a problem for an established plant. Shelter it through the first winter after planting.