Native Frangipani

Native Frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum) is the Australian native tree for gardeners who want scent and height without much width. It reaches about 8m tall and only 4m across, with a slim upright habit that fits a courtyard, a narrow side garden or a driveway line. Through spring and early summer it carries tubular flowers that open cream and age to deep golden yellow, and the perfume travels right across a garden in the evening.

Why you'll love it

• Perfume you notice from the back door. The scent is honeyed and strongest at dusk, and one mature tree scents a whole courtyard.
• Tall and narrow. About 4m wide at maturity, so it gives canopy height on a block where a spreading shade tree will not fit.
• Fast growing native. It puts on height quickly and starts flowering young, unusual in a tree of this size.
• Two colours at once. Cream buds and deep yellow older flowers open together, so the tree carries both for weeks.
• Birds and coastal sites. Nectar feeders work the flowers, and it handles humidity and salt laden wind.

Where it works best

Feature tree in a small garden. Its narrow shape means you can plant 2m from a fence and still walk under it in a few years. Put it where you pass in the evening.

Screening at height. Plant 3m apart in a row. This is a high canopy screen rather than a hedge, so it blocks a neighbouring upper storey while leaving ground level open.

Driveways and entries. The same 3m spacing gives a light, airy avenue that does not overwhelm a suburban frontage.

Growing Native Frangipani in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering; part shade works but it flowers less and stretches taller. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens and takes light frost only, so cooler districts want a warm sheltered spot and protection for two winters.

Soil. This is a rainforest margin tree, so it rewards good soil. Work compost through the bed, keep drainage free, and mulch 75mm deep clear of the trunk. On heavy clay, plant on a mound.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week through the first two summers. It is not a drought tree, so keep water up in long dry spells even when established. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring.

Pruning. Worth doing, because left alone it can go leggy with a bare lower trunk. Tip prune the leaders for the first two or three years to force branching, and shorten whippy growth after flowering.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in eight sizes, from tube stock to 100L. Tubes, 140mm and 200mm plants are young single stems and the economical way to fill a driveway line or screen run, though they need a season of tip pruning. The 300mm and 400mm plants are the usual garden choice, while the 25L, 45L and 100L trees arrive already branched and often flower in their first spring.

Plants are packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Expect a few settling weeks, then fast growth once the weather warms. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse Australian natives for birds and habitat
• See more scented plants for the garden
• Compare our full range of trees
• Brisbane Box for broader native shade

Common questions

Is it related to the frangipani?

No. The common name comes from the flower shape and the perfume. This is an Australian rainforest tree, it stays evergreen, and it never drops to the bare grey branches of a true frangipani.

How tall does it get in a garden?

Around 8m tall and 4m wide. The 15m records come from trees drawn up in rainforest. Regular tip pruning while young keeps a garden tree lower and denser again.

How far apart for a screen?

Three metres apart in a single row. Closer than that and the trees compete and thin out at the base, which defeats the purpose.