Kurrajong Brachychiton discolor

The Lacebark is an upright, single trunked tree from the dry rainforests of Queensland and northern New South Wales, with a greenish grey trunk that thickens through the base as it ages. Its leaves are large and lobed, dark above and white felted underneath, which is where the name comes from. In the hottest part of summer it sheds that foliage and covers the bare branches in felty rose pink bells. Planted as a feature or a shade tree, it does its flowering when people are outdoors to see it.

Warmth first, then drainage

Grown in its comfort zone this is an easy tree: full sun, free draining soil, low water once established, and heat and dry spells cause it no trouble at all. It performs through south east Queensland, coastal and inland New South Wales, and the warmer parts of Perth and Adelaide. The leafless period falls in the warm months rather than winter, so a courtyard or lawn tree still gives shade for most of the year.

Cold is the limit, and it is the real failure mode here. Of the kurrajongs in this range the Lacebark is the least tolerant of frost, and a young tree in a cold inland winter can be cut back to the trunk or lost outright. If your site drops below freezing regularly, plant something else from the group rather than nursing this one along. Where frost is light and occasional, get it through the first two or three winters with a sheltered position, a north or east aspect and a good mulch layer, and it toughens up considerably once the trunk has girth on it.

Which kurrajong for a cold or exposed site

If frost or exposure is a factor, Brachychiton populneus is the tougher and more cold tolerant tree, and Jerilderie Red sits between the two, carrying red bells on a frame that copes with inland and western districts. What the Lacebark offers that neither of those does is pink flowering combined with the big felted leaf and a softer, more rainforest look that suits a subtropical or coastal garden. Take the Lacebark for a warm frost free site where you want that flowering at scale, and take populneus where the site is hard and dry.

Pruning and pod safety

Formative pruning is the useful work: set a single leader and lift the lower limbs over the first few seasons while the cuts are still small, working in late winter to early spring ahead of the flowering. Established trees need very little beyond removing damaged wood. Feed in spring with a low phosphorus slow release fertiliser and water deeply through the establishment years, then back off. The woody boat shaped pods split on the tree and drop, and they are lined with irritant hairs around the seed, so keep this one clear of pools, sandpits and outdoor seating and wear gloves when you rake up. More natives sit under natives.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 2 sizes, from 200mm up to 100L, priced from $34.95 to $649.00 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 Australian native trees.