Indian Hawthorn Rhaphiolepis indica Maximus (Raphiolepis indica)

Maximus is the exception among the Indian hawthorns sold in Australia. Most are dwarf selections that stop at knee height; this one builds into a larger rounded shrub and fills the gap between groundcover and screening plant. The leaves are the tell, broad, thick and leathery, heavier than any dwarf form and unbothered by salt wind or heat off paving. White to blush pink flowers open in spring, followed by blue black berries. It is used for taller informal hedging and mass planting on batters and verges.

Site and soil for a larger hawthorn

Full sun to part shade both suit it, and it holds its rounded shape in either without much intervention. It wants free draining soil more than rich soil, tolerates sandy coastal ground and clay that has been mounded or improved, and once established runs on low to moderate water through a normal summer. Growth is moderate, so a hedge closes over a season or two rather than in a few months. For a clipped run kept above knee height, plant roughly 80cm to a metre apart. For mass planting on a slope, a wider grid still knits together. Plant in autumn or early spring and keep water up through the first summer while roots move out into the surrounding soil.

The problem to plan around is leaf spot. Warm humid weather and evening irrigation that wets the foliage bring on purple black blotches, and the plant then sheds from the base upwards, which is exactly where a hedge cannot afford to thin. Irrigate at soil level, keep the row open enough for air to pass through, and clear fallen leaves out from under the plants instead of leaving them in place.

Maximus against the dwarf hawthorns

Set beside Rhaphiolepis Hot Tips, the difference is scale and purpose. Hot Tips is chosen for the red and copper flushes on a low, tight dome and is happiest kept short. Maximus is chosen for height, weight of foliage and the ability to hold a hedge that actually blocks a view, and its berries bring birds into the garden in a way the dwarf forms rarely manage. If the run you are planting is shaded and the soil is acidic, a camellia such as Showa No Sakae is better suited to that position, though it asks for more water and will not take reflected heat off concrete the way this will. Other options are grouped in the hedging range.

Pruning after the spring flowers

Prune once the spring flowers have finished, taking the whole face back evenly rather than chasing single long shoots, and repeat with a lighter tidy in late summer if growth has run away. Cutting in late autumn or winter costs you the coming flower display. An older plant that has gone open and woody can be cut back hard in early spring and will reshoot. Feed in early spring with a controlled release or general garden fertiliser, water it in, and keep a coarse mulch layer over the root zone through summer, pulled back clear of the trunks.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 2 sizes, from 200mm up to 300mm, priced from $31.95 to $92.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to coastal planting.