Spanish Cherry Mimusops elengi

Spanish Cherry is a tree for people who plant for the long run. It is slow and long lived, with a dense, rounded dome of dark, glossy, leathery leaves whose edges are slightly wavy, and timber so hard that the tree is also known as bullet wood. What sets it apart is scent. The small, creamy white flowers are star shaped, with a fringe of narrow petals, and easy to overlook among the foliage, yet a tree in flower perfumes the air around it, most noticeably in the evening. The fallen flowers keep their fragrance for days after they dry, which is why they are gathered for garlands in South and South-East Asia.

Its natural range runs from India and Sri Lanka through South-East Asia to the tropical north of Australia, so this is a tree built for heat, humidity and seasonal rain. The flowers are followed by oval fruit that ripen to orange. They are edible, with sweet, mealy flesh around a single hard seed, though the tree is planted for its shade and perfume far more than for its crop, and fruit eating birds usually find them first.

Heat, salt wind and no frost

Plant it in full sun or light part shade. It is at home in tropical and subtropical gardens from far north Queensland down into northern New South Wales, and it is worth trying in frost free coastal gardens further south, where it grows more slowly still. Frost damages the foliage of young trees, and a cold inland garden is the wrong place for it. Where winters are cooler and a dense evergreen street tree is wanted, Brush Box is the safer choice. Spanish Cherry's firm, leathery leaves stand up to salt laden wind, so it also suits a coastal garden.

Because the crown is naturally dense and evenly shaped, it needs little formative work, which makes it a good candidate for a street verge, a long driveway or the middle of a lawn where a round canopy and deep shade are wanted. Slow as it is, it becomes a medium sized shade tree in time, so give it clearance from the house, overhead wires and neighbouring trees. It is evergreen, so the shade holds all year, which is what a patio in the tropics wants. Soil can be sandy or loamy as long as it drains. It tolerates dry spells once established but does not like water lying around its roots.

Patience is the trade

Speed is what you give up. A small Spanish Cherry puts on height slowly, year after year, so shade within a season or two means planting a large one; the biggest trees are in Super Advanced Trees 200L and Over, beside other established trees in Advanced Trees. A large rootball still needs careful planting and regular deep watering through its first summer, as the guide to planting an advanced tree explains.

Expect a steady drop of spent flowers and soft orange fruit under the crown. On concrete or tiles the fruit is trodden into sticky marks, so allow for the full spread of the mature crown when you set the trunk back from a path or patio.

Little pruning, steady water

Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, then taper off. An established tree rides out ordinary dry spells, though it holds a thicker, glossier canopy with a deep soak every couple of weeks when the rain fails. Feed in spring with a slow release fertiliser for trees, and keep a good layer of mulch over the root zone, pulled back from the trunk. Pruning is mostly a matter of lifting the lower branches for clearance while the tree is young, done gradually over several years, and removing any crossing or damaged wood. Avoid heavy cuts, because the tree is slow to close over large wounds. It has few pest problems in Australian gardens; check the new growth for scale now and then and treat it early if it appears.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 5 sizes, from 300mm up to 400L, priced from $139.00 to $2489.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to Australian native trees.