Compact Orange Ixora

Compact Orange Ixora (Ixora chinensis 'Compact Orange') is the low tropical hedge that flowers rather than just sits there. It holds at about 1m tall and 1m wide, carrying dense rounded heads of hot orange flowers through the warm months above glossy dark foliage. Planted 60cm apart it closes into a tight, even hedge that needs one shear a year to stay sharp.

Why you'll love it

• Colour at knee to waist height. Most low hedges give you green and nothing else. This one carries clustered orange heads for months.
• Compact by breeding, not by pruning. At roughly 1m each way it holds its shape with far less trimming than the full sized ixora.
• Built for heat and humidity. Coastal salt, high humidity and hot sun are all comfortable.
• Poolside without the mess. Glossy evergreen leaves and small flowers mean very little drops into the water.
• Birds and pollinators. The flower heads pull in nectar birds and butterflies.

Where it works best

Low hedging and edging. Plant 60cm apart in a single row. Ten plants give six metres of hedge, closing over in two seasons and holding at 800mm to 1m with one annual trim.

Poolside and paving. Salt and chlorine splash are tolerated, and the leaf drop is light enough not to clog a skimmer.

Mass planting and pots. Use the same 60cm spacing on a staggered grid for a block of colour, or grow single plants in a 400mm pot on a warm patio.

Growing Compact Orange Ixora in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering. This is strictly a tropical, subtropical and warm temperate plant, and it is frost tender, so anywhere that gets a real winter frost is out. In cooler southern gardens grow it in a pot and bring it under cover for winter.

Soil. Acidic and free draining is what it wants. Ixora is the classic yellow leafed sufferer in limey or alkaline soil, where it cannot take up iron. If your leaves yellow between green veins, treat with iron chelate and switch to an acidic fertiliser.

Water and feed. Keep the water up through summer, especially in pots. Feed with an azalea or camellia style acidic fertiliser in early spring and again in mid summer.

Pruning. Shear lightly straight after the main flush. Flowers form on new growth, so trimming late in the season removes next year's display.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold in one size, a pack of ten 140mm plants. Each is a bushy young plant rather than a rooted cutting, which is what you want for a hedge line, and ten plants cover six metres of single row at 60cm spacing.

Glossy leaves travel well, though a few may mark in transit. Plant into warm soil and expect steady growth through the first summer, with a proper hedge by the second. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Choosing low maintenance poolside plants.
• Browse other plants for poolside gardens.
• Compare the wider tropical garden range.
• See what suits growing in pots if frost rules out planting in the ground.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

Sixty centimetres apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet within two seasons and stay dense at the base, where wider spaced low hedges usually go gappy.

Why are the leaves going yellow?

Nearly always alkaline soil locking up iron, and it is the most common ixora complaint in Australian gardens. Apply iron chelate, mulch with an acidic material, and feed with a camellia or azalea fertiliser.

Can I grow it in a cold climate?

Not in the ground. It is frost tender, so a single hard frost will damage or kill it. In cool temperate gardens keep it in a pot on a warm sheltered patio and move it under cover through winter.