Honey Myrtle

Honey Myrtle 'Pink Lace' (Melaleuca 'Pink Lace') is the native shrub for the spot that is soggy in winter and bone dry in February. It settles at about 2m tall and 1.5m wide, holds fine evergreen foliage from the ground up, and carries soft pink bottlebrush flowers honeyeaters find within a season. Few plants take that much swing in soil moisture and still look tidy.

Why you'll love it

• Wet feet and dry spells both suit it. It copes with a boggy low spot in winter and with drought once established.
• Birds arrive. The pink brushes carry real nectar, so honeyeaters and native bees work them through the season.
• The right size for a suburban block. At 2m by 1.5m it screens a fence line without becoming a tree you have to manage.
• Coastal proof. Salt wind and sandy soil are its natural conditions, so a front row position is no trouble.
• Dense to the base. Fine foliage down to ground level, so a row screens properly rather than lifting into bare legs.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense screen. At 2m mature height it is a boundary screen rather than a privacy wall for a two storey outlook.

Damp ground and drainage lines. The swale, or the corner that stays wet after rain: this is where it beats almost every other native shrub its size.

Coastal gardens and mass planting. The same 1m spacing suits a drift on an exposed block, filtering salt wind for softer plants behind.

Growing Honey Myrtle in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the densest growth and the heaviest flowering. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, which covers most of the populated coast. It is frost hardy once established, though give first year plants some shelter in hard frosting districts.

Soil. Genuinely unfussy. Sand, loam and clay all work, and it accepts poor ground that would starve an exotic shrub. It is one of the few shrubs you can plant where water sits, so no mounding is needed on clay.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then leave it to the weather. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring only, as standard garden fertilisers carry too much phosphorus for native roots.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build density, then trim lightly after flowering. It reshoots from old wood, so an overgrown plant can be cut back hard in early spring.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in tubes and in 140mm plants sold in packs of ten. Tubes are young single stemmed plants and the sensible choice for a long hedge line, since natives like this close the gap between sizes within a couple of seasons. The 140mm pack suits a screen you want moving sooner.

Some leaf drop in the box is normal rather than a fault. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee. Expect visible new growth in four to six weeks in warm weather, and a closed screen in two to three seasons at 1m spacing.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full melaleuca range
• Understanding bottlebrush flowering and pruning
• Native plants that bring birds into the garden
• Compare screening plants from 1m to 2m

Common questions

How far apart do I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. Closer planting does not close the screen faster, and makes watering and feeding harder.

Will it really grow in wet soil?

Yes. It tolerates periodically waterlogged ground, unusual in a shrub that is also drought tolerant. Permanently standing water is still too much, so aim for a spot that drains within a day or two.

Can I keep it lower than 2m?

Comfortably. A trim after each flowering holds it at 1.2m to 1.5m, and because it shoots from old wood it stays furnished at the base rather than opening up.