Hi there, gardening experts - please help! I am looking for a plant that will grow up to around 2.5 metres tall and 1.5m wide to give some screening to a deck area. The deck sits about 800mm above a North facing raised garden in Wellington, and it has no fencing, hence the desire to plant something in front of it to soften the lines of the deck and provide some screening.
The raised garden currently has flaxes, multi-branching yukka, Cordyline kaspar, rosette succulents, a dragon tree type plant and Aloe in it, so it has a native/desert/sculptural feel - can you think of anything that might look good amongst this lot and will grow to the size mentioned!
Another piece of garden nearby (shaded) has nikau, cabbage trees, pungas, puka, ferns and flaxes, so I would be happy to bring an element of that garden into the other part of the garden.
I love puka and am tempted to plant this in the area but can they be pruned to keep them as small as I mentioned!
Any other suggestions welcomed.
Thanks!
mooncake1,
Feb 9, 12:55am
PS. What I thought was a 'dragon tree' in my garden is actually a fan aloe. It's awesome!
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 9, 1:03am
Puka grows HUGE! I'd put in a coloured maple - there are some stunners from lime green to fire engine red.
mooncake1,
Feb 9, 1:11am
Yes I suspected the puka might be too huge for the area, and I want as much sun to hit the deck as possible and not be shaded by a dense tree.
Thanks for the suggestion - will investigate the maples!
I was also thinking a protea or leucadendron to give the area some colour (apparently the fan aloe is from South Africa so it might not look so out of place!) What do you think!
spiritofgonzo,
Feb 9, 1:20am
nothing wrong with a nikau, as you suggest
mooncake1,
Feb 9, 2:35am
Thanks gonzo :-) I love nikau so much, but they are so slow growing, and the area in question is in full sun for much of the day so am not sure I could bear to plant one there only to have it not like it there! There are two nikau nearby but they are planted in a lower and shaded part of the garden and sheltered by the puka and other trees.
I'd plant another Cordyline kaspar there but no one seems to sell them anymore.
keyfinders,
Feb 9, 4:18am
The native NZ nikau's are the really slow ones.Look for the offshore island varieties, (Kermadec etc)they are faster and I have had good results from them before.Ask at the local garden centre especially if you have a GC that specialises in natives!Hope that helps.
lemming2,
Feb 9, 5:25am
Maples don't like wind much - does the area get much exposure! But something in the protea/leucadendron line could also look great with the other south Africans. Worth exploring, as they're pretty hardy.
spiritofgonzo,
Feb 9, 6:06am
agree with keyfinders.Rhopalostylis chathamica is much faster growing and also more tolerant of wind and sun (chatham island version).All nikau are happy in full sun, as long as they're hardened off to it, so ask the nursery if they've been hardened to full sun conditions.
spiritofgonzo,
Feb 9, 6:14am
I'm not sure protea and leucadendron go with your theme . although it's very much a personal thing.South african plants can go really well with some large sculptural succulents and cacti, if done well, or Australian natives . but generally they don't go with much, but their fynbos cousins.Erica's, leucodendrons, leucospermums, with stunning carpet succulent type flowers such as the mesebryanthemums.Keep it simple.I think you could also get away with using any other types of palms which would fit your theme, or ponga's.
mooncake1,
Feb 27, 10:00pm
Thanks all! You have given me some great ideas. I will look more into the palms and pongas. You're right, a portea/leuc doesn't match so well with the other spiky and sculptural plants.Cheers!
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