Lemon Myrtle Backhousia citriodora

Crush a leaf and the smell is unmistakable: a clean sharp lemon, stronger than lemon scented gum and without the grassy edge of lemongrass. That oil is why it sits behind much of the country's bush food range. Left alone it makes a dense, rounded evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy leaves, pinkish bronze new growth and clusters of fluffy cream flowers through the warmer months. It is planted as an aromatic hedge or screen, and it belongs within reach of a path or a kitchen door.

Lemon myrtle in the ground

It comes from the coastal rainforest margins of subtropical Queensland, which explains what it likes: warmth, humidity and a soil that drains freely but holds organic matter. Full sun to part shade both work, with more sun giving a denser plant and more flower. Moderate, consistent watering suits it, particularly while it establishes. Young plants are frost tender, so in cooler districts keep it against a warm wall or in a large pot that can be moved. For an informal hedge, plant around 1 m apart and let the plants knit together. Myrtle rust is the serious problem and it needs saying plainly. The disease attacks soft new growth across the myrtle family and lemon myrtle is among the more susceptible hosts, showing as yellow powdery spotting on new flushes before the tips distort and die back. Keep plants growing strongly, water at the base rather than overhead late in the day, prune out affected growth and bag it, and inspect every new flush through the warm months.

Lemon myrtle or murraya for a scented hedge

Both this and murraya get planted as fragrant hedges in warm coastal gardens, but the scent works differently. Murraya perfumes a whole garden for a week at a time after rain and does nothing in between; lemon myrtle carries its scent in the leaf, all year, and you can cook with it. Murraya also takes a harder, flatter clip, so it wins for a formal wall. Michelia Fairy White is the pick if you are further south and want flowers on a dense screen with better cold tolerance. Choose lemon myrtle when the plant has to be useful as well as decorative. It sits in our hedges range.

Clipping in warm weather

Prune when the weather is warm and regrowth is quick, usually once the main flowering finishes. Hard cuts made going into cold weather sit open and heal slowly, which is exactly when rust finds them. Tip prune two or three times through the growing season for hedge density and treat the trimmings as a harvest: dry the leaves whole and crush them later, since whole leaves hold the oil far better than crushed ones. A hedge cut hard going into midwinter often sits scarred until the following spring. Feed in early spring with a slow release fertiliser formulated for natives, then mulch. Container plants need feeding more often and at a lower rate.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 12 sizes, from 140mm up to 2000L, priced from $29.95 to $4129.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to hedging plants for Australian conditions.