XANTHOSTEMON chrysanthus (Golden Penda)

Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) is the tree to plant when you want a canopy that flowers gold. It grows quickly to about 8m tall and 4m wide in a garden, carrying dense heads of bright yellow blossom that honeyeaters and lorikeets strip within days. This listing is ex ground stock: a field grown tree lifted to order at 6.5m to 7m, so you are buying shade and flower on day one.

Why you'll love it

• Instant canopy. At 6.5m to 7m on delivery this is a finished tree, not a decade of waiting for shade.
• Gold flowers that carry. Rounded heads of bright yellow bloom mainly through the warmer months, and they read from the street.
• A magnet for birds. Honeyeaters and lorikeets work the flowers hard and bees follow, so it feeds a garden as well as shading it.
• Comfortable in wet and heat. A North Queensland rainforest tree by origin, so humidity, heavy summer rain and damp ground do not trouble it.

Where it works best

Shade tree and feature planting. A single specimen in a lawn or front garden gives dense shade and a flowering display level with an upstairs window. Allow 4m of clearance from the house.

Driveways and avenues. Plant 5m to 6m apart for an avenue where each tree keeps its own crown shape.

Screening a boundary. At 3m centres the canopies knit into a high green wall that blocks a two storey outlook.

Growing golden penda in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering. This is a tree for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens will damage it.

Soil. Deep, well drained soil suits it best, though it copes with damp ground better than most flowering trees. Work compost through a wide planting hole and mulch 75mm deep, clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Ex ground trees need generous water for their first two summers while the root system rebuilds: a slow deep soak two or three times a week in warm weather. Feed a complete slow release fertiliser in early spring and again in late summer.

Pruning. Little is needed. Many gardeners hold it at 5m or 6m with a light prune after flowering, which also thickens the crown. Remove lower limbs only for a clear trunk.

What to expect when it arrives

Ex ground trees are grown in the field and lifted to order, which is why this size exists. Yours arrives at 6.5m to 7m with a root ball, root pruned in preparation. Expect a thinner crown than a container tree through the first season while it puts energy into roots, and treat some leaf drop as normal.

A tree this size needs machinery or several people to place, a hole prepared before it arrives, and staking for its first two years. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, delivery is Australia wide, and a minimum order of $300 applies before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Everything about growing golden penda, including flowering and pruning.
• Browse the full ex ground tree range for other mature specimens.
• Compare other Australian native trees for a feature position.
• Native plants with yellow flowers to plant beneath it.

Common questions

How far from the house should I plant it?

Allow at least 4m from a wall so the mature 4m crown has room and the roots stay clear of footings. For an avenue, 5m to 6m between trees lets each develop a full shape.

Will it grow in Melbourne or Adelaide?

Not reliably. It tolerates light frost only, so hard frosting southern and inland gardens sit outside its range. Tropical, subtropical and warm temperate coastal gardens are where it performs.

How soon will it flower after planting?

A tree this size is already of flowering age, but give it a season to settle. Most ex ground plantings flower properly in their second summer.