Tea Tree

Mozzie Blocker Tea Tree (Leptospermum liversidgei 'Mozzie Blocker') is a native screening shrub with citronella scented foliage that releases its perfume whenever you brush past. It reaches about 3m tall and 2m wide, holds fine dense growth to the base, and covers itself in small white and pink flowers in spring. It is frost hardy, salt tolerant, and one of the few good screens that grows in ground that stays wet.

Why you'll love it

• Fragrance you release by touch. Crushed foliage smells strongly of lemon and citronella, which is worth planning for beside a path or a seat.
• It grows where drainage is poor. Wet feet tolerant and at home on swampy ground, so a low soggy corner becomes an opportunity.
• Fine dense screening. At 3m by 2m with foliage to the ground, a row at 1m spacing gives a soft screen without the bulk of a lilly pilly.
• Spring flowers that pull wildlife in. Masses of small white and pink flowers feed bees and butterflies, and small birds nest inside the twiggy growth.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense screen. Left informal it makes a soft green wall at about 3m; trimmed twice a year it holds at 1.5m to 2m.

Damp and low lying ground. Drainage lines, dam edges and the wet corner most plants sulk in all suit it, and 1m centres along a swale give a screen that also holds soil.

Coastal gardens. Salt tolerance makes it a workable coastal screen, and a single plant near a doorway earns its keep for the scent alone.

Growing Mozzie Blocker Tea Tree in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the densest growth and heaviest flowering. It grows across tropical, subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy once established, so it suits southern gardens as well as northern ones.

Soil. Undemanding, and unusually relaxed about wet ground. Sand, clay and periodically waterlogged sites all work. It prefers slightly acidic soil, so avoid heavily limed beds.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer. After that it needs little unless the season is very dry. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, because standard garden blends can damage this family.

Pruning. Trim lightly after flowering, and again in late summer if you are holding it as a hedge. Regular light trimming matters, because tea trees are reluctant to reshoot from old bare wood.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in two sizes: tube stock and 140mm plants in packs of ten. Both are young and single stemmed on arrival, which is normal for this species and no barrier to a good hedge. Tube stock is the value choice for a long boundary; the 140mm packs are a season further along.

Tip prune from the day you plant, because early trimming produces a screen furnished to the ground. Expect a quiet fortnight, then new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Aromatic plants gardeners use to deter insects
• Browse Australian native shrubs
• Compare hedging and screening plants
• More fragrant plants for paths and entries

Common questions

Does it actually stop mosquitoes?

Be realistic about this. The foliage contains citronellal, the compound behind citronella oil, and crushing a handful of leaves releases it. A shrub standing in the garden will not clear an area of mosquitoes, so buy it for the fragrance and the screening.

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row. The canopies knit within two to three seasons and the screen stays dense at the bottom, which is where most informal hedges fail.

Can I keep it lower than 3m?

Two trims a year hold it at 1.5m to 2m without difficulty. Start trimming while the growth is still soft, because it does not reliably reshoot if you cut into thick bare wood.