There are many reasons to add flowering plants to your home’s landscape. They help add colour and beauty to the garden space. Flowering shrubs make wonderful natural fences and barriers and provide your home privacy and protection. And they can also help increase curb appeal and even boost the value of your home.
But even beyond this, flowering hedge plants in Australia can help keep local environments in balance. They provide food for pollinators, and homes for wildlife, help clean the air, and can even prevent erosion and pollution. Our plant care experts understand the value of finding the right plant for the right spot in your yard. That is why we wanted to share our top list of the best flowering hedge plants Australian gardens offer.
Why are flowering hedge plants practical for Aussie gardens?
These plants are worth checking out with a bit of colour, sweet fragrance, attractive foliage, and easy care requirements! Our plant gurus wanted to ensure you are ready for the season. Whether planting an entirely new garden, revamping your landscape, or adding a few new touches, we are here for you.
Best flowering hedge plants for Australian gardens
Like elsewhere, climate and local environmental norms must be considered when planting. The tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions are most conducive to flower hedges. Finding the right plant for the right spot in your yard is critical. It will make overall care easier in the short and long term and save you time, money, and stress. Whether you are looking for low-maintenance hedges or screening plants to add some privacy to your yard, here are some options well worth considering:
1. Orange Jasmine / Mock Orange
This stunning and popular Australian hedge plant is perfect for homes in many areas. It grows best in the tropical to subtropical regions. It can commonly reach 20-30 centimetres, but with regular pruning, it can be kept to a 7-12 centimetres height. This plant loves full sun and tolerates partial shade, and it needs moist but well-drained soils to be healthy and to produce maximum blooms. The plant can be used effectively in a backyard for screening solutions, hence their categorisation as a Neighbours Be Gone Tree.
2. Indian Hawthorn
This shrub is grown for its red-green-tinged foliage and its stark white flowers. Hawthorn shrubs prefer full sun and can tolerate light shade. You will get the best blooms and have less mildew and root rot in full sun. Moist, well-drained soils are preferred, and these hedges can easily be kept to a short or medium height, depending on your needs.
3. Camellia Sasanqua
You need camellia hedges in your garden if you want stunning colours and blooms with attractive foliage. Camellia can quickly grow from 1.5 to 4 metres high by 1.5 to 2 metres wide, but pruning can keep it smaller if needed. Full sun, well-drained soils and mild acidic soils are best. Camellias can thrive in most soils and are also somewhat salt tolerant.
4. Hydrangea
Most hydrangeas are perfectly suited for Australia’s tropic and temperate regions. They prefer partial sun, with a few hours of full sun in the morning and afternoon shade ideal. Some varieties are more tolerant of full sun. Most hydrangeas thrive in fertile, well-draining soils and do well with slow-release fertiliser and routine pruning.
5. Deutzia
This unique Australian flowering hedge plant offers colourful blooms and a compact yet vigorous growth habit. Moist, well-drained soil is best; these plants benefit from organic matter. Full sun to part shade is preferable; some species are more cold-tolerant than others. The plant is compact at just 5 centimetres tall, but it can spread up to over 1.5 metres.
6. Daphne
Daphne edges should be planted in the yard with full sun to part shade. Soil needs to be well draining and kept moist though it can be allowed to dry out some between routine waterings now and then. The shrub can vary in size, and the new growth can become leggy and scraggly if not cut back. Regular trimming and tipping will keep it full and flush.
7. Azalea
While some sun is needed, partial shade is the preferred light level for most azalea shrubs and hedges. Azaleas need well-drained, acidic soil with moderate organic matter or added compost. You can find azaleas in every colour and every size imaginable. Finding one that fits your landscape needs should be easy, and trimming is not too problematic either.
8. Escallonia
This popular and unique Australian hedge plant must be grown in full sun and protected from cooler breezes and excessively high temperatures. Escallonias can handle moderate salt levels and are a popular hedge plant in areas where other plants do not thrive. This makes them particularly helpful as a hedge or screen plant in milder coastal areas
9. Rhododendron
In damper areas with more rainfall, flowering plants can be a little harder to come by. But the rhododendron is perfect in these areas. They prefer damp climates with cool, mild temperatures. With hundreds of varieties available, you can find one that works for your home garden needs. It just needs dappled shade and shade in the heat of the afternoon.
10. Weigela
Weigela plants will make the biggest and more brilliant blooms in full sun but can tolerate a little shade in the afternoon. Varieties with gold, chartreuse or purple foliage need more sun to maintain the colour in their leaves. The plant overall is vigorous. The mature size varies from 30 centimetres tall and 45 centimetres wide up to 3 metres tall and 3.5 metres wide.
11. Lilac
Lilacs thrive when grown in full sun and can reach heights of 25 centimetres with an equal spreading distance. Because of this, you should practise good hedge spacing so they do not shade and crowd each other out.
Thankfully, while some varieties can reach massive heights, there are varieties better suited for smaller hedges and borders. These are extremely popular in home gardens today.
12. Feijoa Sellowiana
Typically grown as a small evergreen tree or large shrub, this plant is a popular option for flowering hedges in Australian yards. It can hit up to 8 metres tall to nearly as wide, but most are easily grown and trimmed to around 2.5 to 3.5 metres tall. The attractive oval-shaped leaves sport a silvery-white underside. It needs moderate moisture and full sun for best growth.
13. Cascade Lilly Pilly
The Lilly Pilly plant is prevalent in subtropical and temperate areas. It is healthiest and has better colour in full sun, but it can tolerate some shade. The plant prefers well-drained soil with good organic matter content. It won’t tolerate water logging and must have good drainage. However, if you can understand these problems and know how to treat them, the plant can get quite tall but can easily be kept to a desired height with pruning.
14. Hebe
Hebe shrubs do best with cool summers and mild winters as they are not cold-tolerant. They adapt to various soil types though they grow best in right well-draining soils. Though full sun is preferable, they can be grown in both sun and shade, so growth remains full and compact. Deadheading blooms can encourage new flushes during the blooming season.
15. Ninebark
A low-maintenance plant, this is a popular choice for homeowners because it is a native plant and grows well in full sun to partial shade. It can adapt to a range of soil types and is drought-tolerant once established. The plant grows to 1 to 2.5 metres in height and has a spread of equal reach. Ninebark grows moderately and is easy to trim to maintain its shape.
16. Oleander
Oleanders enjoy full sun and thrive in hot areas with reflective heat from walls, fences, or pavement. They will tolerate partial shade but have spindly growth with fewer leaves and flowers. Oleanders tolerate many different soil types but must have good drainage and cannot get waterlogged. The plant is highly poisonous, so care is needed when used in the landscape.
17. Potentilla
Potentilla plants are attractive and popular as flower hedge plants. These beauties need at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sun to thrive and prefer early morning to late afternoon sun. Overly warm and dry conditions can stress the plant out and require more frequent watering to compensate for moisture loss. Typical growth is around 1 metre tall and up to twice that in width and spread.
18. Summersweet
This plant grows best in full sun to part shade and can handle semi-wet soil.
The plant is perfect for areas that drain slowly or often remain too soggy for other flowering plants. Summersweet can range from 1.5 to 2.5 metres tall and 1 to 2 metres wide. It is also notable that some varieties have long plume-like flower clusters reaching more than 2.5 metres
19. Viburnum
Viburnums are great for hedges as they are not picky and will grow in any soil if it drains well. They can tolerate moderate shade but will have the best blooms and berries in full sun conditions.
There are many varieties, with mature heights of 8 to 75 centimetres and spreads averaging 10 to 12 centimetres. The viburnum plant can easily be sheared to the desired size.
20. Dwarf Crape Myrtle
Dwarf varieties are very compact, with a height of 1 metre or less. Semi-Dwarf varieties are usually each not taller than 3 metres. Smaller varieties mean less pruning to keep the plants to desired size. To get the best colours and blooms, full sun is needed for all crape myrtle plants. These plants handle a range of soils but do best in slightly acidic soils.
21. Forsythia
Forsythias are beautiful plants that make wonderful flower hedges. These specimens prefer well-drained, evenly moist soil. With proper care, they can thrive in other soil conditions as well. Forsythia shrubs need moderate amounts of water but can handle some drought-like conditions after an established root system. Pruning is best done in the fall.
22. St. John’s Wort
St. John’s Wort is a simple yet stunning shrub that can work quite well as a hedge. The evergreen shrub averages 1 metres high by half a metres wide.
The plant thrives in full sun to part shade and has to have well-draining soil. Shrubs growing in shady areas will see less foliage, fewer flowers, and duller colours overall. Pruning can be done to keep a more compact shape.
Choosing the right flowering hedge plant for your garden
Factors to consider when choosing a flowering hedge plant for your Australian garden include:
- The climate in your area and local weather patterns
- Soil type and what your limits are as far as amending it
- Sunlight levels and what areas get sun at what time of day
- Drainage, tree cover, and proximity to the house
- Use of the areas and who will be accessing the yard
- What your realistic time restraints are for the upkeep
- What your flowering hedge ideas are, and what you find attractive
- Maximum size of the mature plants and size of the hedge
- Seasons for blooming, fruiting, trimming, ect
- When and how pruning and shaping need to be maintained
- Any special tools needed to plant, trim, and maintain plants
- Fertiliser considerations for plants and hedges as a whole
- What your desired look is, and where you need your hedge
- How easy you can access help with plant care when needed
Flowering hedges are a practical addition to the landscape for the above reasons. But in addition to this, many hardy plants work well as flowering hedges. These plants can easily be trimmed and maintained to the desired size and shape. They can be used as accent plants, hedges, barriers, screens, and privacy plantings.
So, spruce up your landscape and enjoy the benefits of flowering shrubs and hedges today with this stunning list of plants hand-picked by our garden experts!
FAQs
1. What is the fastest-growing flowering hedge?
Every plant has its own specifications for growth size and speed. Environmental factors such as sun, soil, and water levels can impact how fast a particular plant will grow in a given area.
2. How do I care for my flowering hedge plant?
All hedges need their basic soil, sun, and water needs met. The amount of pruning needed will depend on the plant’s location in the landscape and your specific size and shape needs.
3. Can I grow flowering hedge plants in pots or containers?
Most hedges are made up of larger plants stretching for a longer range along the perimeter or other yard areas. Potted plants usually cannot reach the size needed for an effective hedge or plant screen.
