Hebe diosmifolia

Hebe diosmifolia (Hebe diosmifolia) is a neat evergreen shrub for cool and coastal gardens where a low hedge needs to look after itself. It forms a rounded bush about a metre tall and wide, dense with fine leaves, and covers itself in clustered flowers that open pale lilac and fade to white. Frost, salt and constant wind are all part of its natural brief.

Why you'll love it

• A low hedge without the work. At a metre by a metre it settles at hedge height on its own, so one light trim a year is enough to keep the line crisp.
• Frost hardy and wind tolerant. It comes from exposed New Zealand country, so tableland gardens and windy coastal blocks suit it far better than they suit most shrubs.
• Bees work it heavily. The small massed flowers are an easy nectar source, which makes a hedge of it genuinely useful rather than just tidy.
• Dense right to the ground. Fine foliage held low means no bare ankles at the base, the usual failure of a low hedge.

Where it works best

Low hedging. Plant 60cm apart in a single row. The bushes knit into a continuous low hedge within two seasons and hold at about a metre without hard pruning.

Coastal gardens and windbreaks. Salt laden wind does not brown the foliage, so it works on a front boundary or as a low shelter row for softer plants behind.

Borders, mass planting and pots. Use it as a formal edge to a bed, in blocks of five or more, or single in a 400mm pot beside a doorway.

Growing hebe in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the densest bush, though it accepts a few hours of afternoon shade. Cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens are its range. It dislikes prolonged heat and humidity, so subtropical and tropical gardens are not suitable and it struggles through a long humid summer.

Soil. Free draining, and it is not fussy about fertility. On heavy clay, mound the bed and work compost and coarse sand through. Keep 75mm of mulch over the roots and clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then weekly in dry spells. It is not a drought plant, so a hot exposed position needs irrigation. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring is all the feeding it asks for.

Pruning. Trim lightly straight after flowering, taking no more than the current season's growth. Hebes reshoot poorly from bare wood, so never cut back into leafless stems.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown in tube stock. A tube is a young rooted plant, usually a single stem well under knee height, which is the sensible way to buy a hedge: you need numbers, and tubes establish faster and cost less per metre.

Tip prune the plants at planting to force branching low down. Expect them to reach hedge height in two to three seasons in a cool climate garden. Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Alternative hedging plants worth considering
• Compare the full hedging range
• Browse frost hardy plants
• Plants suited to coastal gardens

Common questions

How many plants per metre for a hedge?

Just under two per running metre at 60cm spacing. Closer planting does not speed up the join and makes the row harder to water evenly.

Will it grow in Brisbane or the tropics?

No. Sustained heat and humidity are the one thing it will not take, and plants tend to thin out and die back over a subtropical summer. Cool and warm temperate gardens are where it performs.

Can I cut it back hard?

Not safely. Hebes rarely reshoot from bare wood, so keep pruning to the leafy growth and trim every year rather than letting it get away from you.