Winter Lights Syzygium

Winter Lights Syzygium (Syzygium australe 'Winter Lights') is the lilly pilly for narrow spaces, holding about 3m tall on a footprint of only 1.5m. Its selling point is the new growth: bright red to bronze flushes that come on strongest through the cooler months, when most hedges look flat. It is a psyllid resistant selection, so the young leaves stay smooth without spraying.

Why you'll love it

• Colour in the off season. Red and bronze new foliage lights up the hedge through autumn and winter, then settles to glossy green.
• Narrow enough for a side path. At 1.5m wide it screens a boundary in gardens where a standard lilly pilly would crowd the walkway.
• Psyllid resistant. Older lilly pillies pucker and pimple once psyllid finds the soft growth. This one resists it, which means no routine spraying.
• Native, bird friendly and edible. Cream and white flowers are followed by berries the birds work through, and the fruit is edible for people too.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 75cm apart in a single row for a dense hedge. That spacing closes the gaps within two seasons and keeps the row furnished right to the ground.

Pots and small gardens. A pot 400mm or wider suits it, and container growing settles it around 2m. A matched pair either side of an entry works well, as does a row of pots along a balcony wall.

Topiary and shaping. Fine leaves and willing reshooting make it easy to hold as a column, a cone or a clipped standard without the plant thinning out.

Growing Winter Lights in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the densest growth and the strongest red flush; part shade is tolerated but the colour is muted. This suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, and it takes light frost only, so cold inland and southern districts want a sheltered warm wall or a hardier hedge.

Soil. Not fussy about soil type, but it wants drainage. On heavy clay, plant on a raised mound with compost worked through the bed, and mulch 75mm deep clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper off as the roots go down. A controlled release native fertiliser in early spring and again in late summer keeps the flushes coming.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build density. Each trim triggers a fresh coloured flush, so two or three light cuts a year give both a tighter hedge and more colour than one hard cut.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: 140mm in packs of ten, 200mm in packs of six, 250mm in packs of three, and single 300mm plants. The packs are the sensible way to buy a hedge run, and at 75cm spacing a pack of ten covers about seven and a half metres. Single 300mm plants suit a pot or a short infill.

Plants are packed to travel upright, and a little leaf bronzing after transit is normal rather than a fault. Expect new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete lilly pilly care guide
• Compare the full lilly pilly range
• Browse tall and narrow screening plants
• Screening plants in the 2m to 4m range

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

Seventy five centimetres apart in a single row. Because the plant is naturally narrow, tighter spacing than a standard lilly pilly is what gives an unbroken face.

How tall will it get, and can I keep it lower?

Left alone it settles around 3m. Two or three light trims a year hold it anywhere from 1.5m upwards, and it reshoots from old wood if a neglected hedge needs cutting back.

When does it colour up?

The red and bronze flushes are strongest through the cooler months and after each trim. Full sun and a spring feed both intensify the colour.