Leopard Tree Caesalpinia ferrea

The name comes from the bark. Smooth grey bark flakes away in irregular patches to leave a mottled camouflage of cream, grey green and tan, and it reads from across a lawn as well as up close. The crown is high, open and spreading, carried on fine bipinnate leaflets, so the shade underneath is filtered rather than solid and turf usually keeps going below it. Yellow flowers open along the outer branches in the warmer months. It is a shade tree for big spaces: acreage, wide lawns and open landscapes.

Room for a leopard tree

Warm climates only. It grows quickly, wants full sun to part shade, and takes regular water through summer while it is putting on that growth, then asks for much less once the root system is out. Soil is not a sticking point, since deep free draining ground is ideal but it copes with ordinary suburban clay provided water moves away from the trunk. Shelter young trees from frost. Placement is where this tree fails, and it fails predictably. Roots run near the surface and lift paths, driveways, pool surrounds and kerbs, which is why it was planted heavily as a street tree through Brisbane and why so many of those trees are now a maintenance problem. Self sown seedlings also turn up in bushland across south east Queensland. Plant it well back from paving, services and boundaries, in ground where roots can run and where seedlings can be mown or pulled. In a wide open landscape it is a genuinely good specimen; against a footpath it is a mistake.

Leopard tree or tipu for a big lawn

Put it beside Tipuana tipu, because buyers cross shop these two constantly and both carry the same root reputation. Tipu gives more canopy volume, apricot flowers and a lot of pod and leaf litter; the leopard tree gives lighter, dappled shade and the bark, which is the actual reason to choose it. If the tree is going into a lawn where you still want grass underneath, the leopard tree is the better of the pair. Where the space is small or flowering is the whole point, drop both and look at golden penda, which stays contained enough to sit near a house. Big stock is listed under super advanced trees.

Shaping a young leopard tree

Do the formative pruning in the first few years, in late winter or early spring before the growth flush starts. Settle on one leader, remove crossing and rubbing limbs and lift the crown in stages so the bark is displayed on a clean trunk. Because it grows fast, a job left too long turns into a large wound on a mature tree, and big cuts on this species invite decay. Feed young trees in spring with a complete fertiliser and keep water up through their first two summers. Keep mowers and line trimmers away from the young trunk, because the bark marks easily and the marks stay. After that, mulch over the root zone does most of the work.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 8 sizes, from 140mm up to 200L, priced from $16.95 to $1209.00 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 when to plant in Australia.