Brazilian Ironwood

Brazilian Ironwood (Libidibia ferrea, still widely sold as Caesalpinia ferrea) is the shade tree for a large warm garden that needs cover quickly. It reaches about 12m tall and 8m wide over a couple of decades, with fine ferny foliage that filters light and yellow flowers through the warmer months. The mottled cream, grey and olive bark is why most people plant it.

Why you'll love it

• Bark worth looking at. The trunk sheds in patches and the pattern improves every year, in leaf or bare.
• Fast cover. Given warmth and water a bare block has usable shade in a handful of seasons, not a decade.
• Light, filtered shade. The foliage is fine and twice divided, so lawn and understorey planting still grow beneath it.
• Tough where it counts. Drought and heat tolerant, and content in poor soil once established.
• Yellow flowers. The warm season sprays work bees and butterflies, and the tree draws birds as it matures.

Where it works best

Shade over a lawn or entertaining area. At 8m across, plan on at least 6m of clearance from a house or fence line.

Driveways and avenues. Spaced 8m to 10m apart it makes a high, open canopy that a car passes under once the lower limbs are lifted.

Feature planting on acreage. A single tree standing clear in a lawn shows the bark and branch structure properly.

One caution. The surface roots are vigorous. Keep it well clear of paving, driveways, pipes and pool shells, and out of small courtyards.

Growing Brazilian Ironwood in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and plenty of space. It suits tropical, subtropical, warm temperate and arid or semi-arid gardens, and takes light frost once established but not a hard one. Cool temperate districts and frost hollows are not for it.

Soil. Not fussy: sand, loam and poor gravelly ground all work with reasonable drainage. Break up a wide planting hole rather than a deep one, and mulch 75mm deep clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first two summers, then taper off. A complete slow release fertiliser in early spring is plenty.

Pruning. Lift the lower limbs over the first few years to set the trunk height, and shorten any narrow forked leader early. Do the structural work while the branches are bare.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in four sizes: a 300mm pot, then 45L, 100L and 200L. The 300mm plant is a young whip, the sensible buy if you are planting several or are happy to wait. From 45L up you get a tree with a set trunk and real height on day one.

Some leaf drop after transit is normal. Stake advanced trees for the first year and expect strong growth from the second season. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every tree carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The best canopy trees for creating shade
• Compare our fast growing shade trees
• Choosing trees to line a driveway
• Trees with better behaved roots

Common questions

Will the roots lift my driveway?

They can. The surface roots are vigorous, so keep the tree at least 6m from paving, driveways, pipes and pool shells. On a tight block, choose a better behaved root system.

Does it lose its leaves?

In cooler and drier districts it goes bare briefly in winter and releafs in spring. In the warm tropics it holds most of its foliage year round.

How much frost can it take?

Light frost only, once established. Young trees need protection through their first two winters.