Two plants in the same pot size can be very different sizes above the soil. A 200mm pot of ground cover is a mature plant; a 200mm pot of fig tree is a baby. This guide sets expectations by plant type so you can buy the right starting point.
Hedging and screening plants
Sold from 50mm tubestock through to 45L bags. Tubestock hedging (lilly pilly, murraya, photinia, viburnum) typically arrives 15 to 30cm tall and reaches a dense 1.5m hedge in two to three years with feeding. A 200mm pot arrives 40 to 80cm tall and gets there roughly a season sooner. 45L stock arrives 1.5 to 2m and simply needs to knit together. Quantity beats size for long runs: see our hedge calculator.
Trees
Young trees in 200mm to 25L are 0.5 to 1.8m at dispatch and establish rapidly, usually overtaking larger transplants in vigour. 45L to 100L trees arrive 1.5 to 3.5m with developed trunks for instant structure. Ex-ground and 200L specimens are mature trees; talk to us before ordering so we can confirm freight to your site.
Palms and tropical
Palm heights are measured to the top of the fronds. A 300mm golden cane at 1.2m bushes out quickly; advanced bags give the instant resort look. Tropicals in smaller pots establish fastest in warm months.
Fruit trees
Citrus and most fruit trees ship grafted, typically 60cm to 1.2m in 200mm to 25L. A grafted tree fruits within a year or two regardless of starting size, so smaller is genuinely fine here.
Indoor plants
Sold by pot size with the plant already at display size: a 200mm fiddle leaf is around 50 to 80cm, a 300mm around 1 to 1.4m.
Ground covers, grasses and climbers
140mm and under are the workhorse sizes: they spread to full coverage within a season or two. Buying bigger rarely pays here.
Growth rates as a rule of thumb
| Type | Typical growth per year |
| Bamboo | 1 to 3m |
| Fast hedging (viburnum, lilly pilly) | 60cm to 1m |
| Murraya, photinia, camellia sasanqua | 30 to 60cm |
| Feature trees (magnolia, crepe myrtle) | 30 to 60cm |
| Slow formal plants (buxus, conifers) | 10 to 25cm |
Rates assume sun, water and feeding as covered in our care guides. For exact pot dimensions see the pot and bag size guide, and every plant is backed by our 30 day guarantee.