Slow Growing

Why slow growing plants earn their keep

Speed is the most oversold trait in gardening. A fast plant fills a gap in two seasons, then asks to be cut back two or three times a year, every year, forever. Slow growing plants invert the deal: more patience up front, then years of a garden that holds its shape on one annual prune. Under this tag we keep plants that put on roughly 30cm of growth a year or less, and many, like grass trees and bottle trees, grow far slower than that.

Slow also means predictable. These are the plants to set near paths, pools, walls and windows, because the plan you plant is the plan you keep.

How to choose

• Formal hedges and borders. Japanese Box and English box build the classic clipped edge on a single annual trim. Spaced 30cm to 40cm apart, they close into a low border in three to four seasons.
• Architectural features. Dragon trees, grass trees (Xanthorrhoea glauca), Queensland bottle trees and beaked yucca deliver sculpture that never outgrows its spot.
• Small and courtyard trees. Frangipanis, Teddy Bear magnolias and Japanese maples lead the slow growing trees collection, all of them happy for decades in the one corner.
• Pots and tubs. Dwarf olives like 'Bambalina', dwarf date palms, jades and kentia palms will live in a 50cm to 60cm pot for years between repots.
• Groundcovers. No Mow grass (Zoysia tenuifolia) and kidney weed creep rather than run, filling gaps without invading the beds next door.

Where they work in Australian gardens

The range spans every climate, but match the plant to yours. Grass trees, bottle trees and yuccas are built for dry and frost light gardens and ask for very little water once established. Olive trees and pencil pines suit Mediterranean climates around Adelaide and Perth as well as inland gardens with cold winters. Japanese maples colour best in cool temperate gardens with shelter from hot afternoon wind, from the ranges of New South Wales through Victoria and Tasmania. Box grows almost anywhere in the country, which is why formal gardens lean on it so heavily, while the palms and frangipanis want the warm half of the continent or a frost free microclimate further south.

Buy the size you want to see

With a fast screening plant, small stock catches up quickly and saves money. With slow growers the calculus flips: the years are the expensive part, so it is usually worth buying the most established size on offer. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and a semi advanced grass tree or olive arrives with a decade of growing already done. If the real job is privacy on a deadline, a slow plant is the wrong tool. Start with the hedging and screening range instead and accept the trimming that comes with speed.

Planting and care

Slow growth means modest appetites. Plant into free draining soil in a hole twice the width of the pot, water deeply twice a week through the first summer, then taper to weekly or less once established. Feed once in early spring with a controlled release fertiliser at half the packet rate: heavy feeding will not make a slow plant fast, it just forces soft, floppy growth. Mulch 75mm deep and keep it off the trunks. Prune once a year at most, box after its spring flush, olives and maples in late winter.

Common questions

How slow is slow growing?

As a working rule, 30cm a year or less. Within that there is a wide spread: a dwarf olive might add 20cm a year, while a grass tree adds one to two centimetres of trunk.

Will a slow growing plant still get big eventually?

Some will. Slow describes the rate, not the destination, and a bottle tree is still a substantial tree given thirty years. Check the mature height on the product page, then decide whether the timeframe suits the space.

Are slow growing plants better in pots?

Generally yes. They exhaust the mix slowly, keep their proportions, and need repotting every two to three years instead of every spring. Use a premium mix and a pot only one size up from the current one.

Can I make one grow faster?

A little. Consistent water, an annual feed and a warm sheltered position all help at the margins, but growth rate is genetic. If the pace worries you, buy bigger stock instead: everything here is delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95, and our 30 day healthy plant guarantee covers the trip.