Coastal Tea Tree

Coastal Tea Tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) is the shrub to plant when the wind comes straight off the water. It grows to about 5m tall and 4m wide, tolerates salt spray and sand that would finish most screening plants, and covers itself in small white flowers in spring. Planted 2m apart it forms a windbreak that filters the gales rather than fights them.

Why you'll love it

• Front line coastal tough. Salt spray, sand, wind and poor soil are its normal conditions, not a compromise.
• Frost hardy as well. Unusually for a coastal shrub it handles genuine frost, so it works from cool temperate gardens to the subtropics.
• Character in the trunk. Older plants lean into the prevailing wind and shed papery bark.
• White spring flowers for the bees. Masses of small blooms carry nectar for bees, butterflies and small birds.

Where it works best

Windbreaks on exposed blocks. Plant 2m apart for a coastal windbreak. A double staggered row filters the wind and drops its speed, protecting the garden behind far better than a solid barrier.

Screening, privacy and coastal feature planting. At 2m spacing in a single row it screens to about 4m or 5m. Give it 2.5m if you would rather each plant showed its own shape, because a single specimen in a gravel garden reads as a small sculptural tree within five or six years.

Growing Coastal Tea Tree in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and open exposure. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and it is frost hardy once established. It is not a plant for shade or wet tropical humidity.

Soil. Sand is ideal. Any freely draining soil will do and poor ground is no obstacle. Avoid heavy clay that stays wet, or plant on a raised mound with coarse material through it.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to get the roots down, then leave it to the weather in all but the longest dry spells. A light native fertiliser in early spring is plenty; rich feeding makes soft growth the wind will tear.

Pruning. Tip prune early to build density from the ground up, and trim after flowering if you keep it as a hedge. Do not cut hard into old bare wood, because tea trees rarely reshoot from it.

One thing to check first. This species is native to south eastern Australia and has naturalised beyond that range, so check local council advice before planting in Western Australia or South Australia.

What to expect when it arrives

Four sizes are grown: tube stock, 140mm plants in packs of ten, 200mm plants in packs of six, and a 100L advanced plant. The packs are the practical choice for a boundary run, because 2m spacing means you need real numbers. Tube stock is the cheapest way to plant a long line and catches up within two or three seasons. The 100L size gives height and structure on day one, for a single feature or a gap in a row.

Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Everything else is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect roughly 300mm to 600mm of growth a year once it is away, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The leptospermum and tea tree care guide
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens
• Compare plants that make a good windbreak
• Screening plants that finish between 4m and 8m

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a windbreak?

Two metres apart, in two staggered rows if the site is genuinely exposed. Filtering wind beats blocking it, because a solid wall creates turbulence on the sheltered side.

Can I keep it as a clipped hedge?

Yes, provided you start trimming young and stay in green growth. It will hold at 2m to 3m. Cutting into thick bare wood usually leaves a permanent hole.

Will it cope with frost as well as salt?

Yes. It is frost hardy, rare in a plant this salt tolerant, so it suits cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens as well as coastal subtropical ones.