Segment: Landscaping with Ruck
Episode: Autumn 2020, Ep 4
Presenter: Nigel Ruck
TX Date: 14th March 2020

If you’re looking for a great feature to add to your garden, a lilly pilly hedge can provide you with protection and privacy from busy roads.

• There are many varieties of lilly pillys, with these being syzygium austral select – a cultivar of a native rainforest tree.
• This variety is fast growing, and is known for its beautiful white flowers and edible berries you’ve probably seen in some fancy restaurants.
• Lilly pillys do best with reliable moisture, so planting them at the bottom of a slope will be great for them.
• The hedge responds well to pruning.
• There are a couple of pests to look out for with your syzygium – notably the lilly pilly beetle, a small green bug that can cause a lot of damage to the new growth.
• You can treat them with a granular lawn grub killer – sprinkle it onto the soil, as that is where they live.
• You also want to look out for scale, which should be removed from branches by hand. You may want to cut branches off.
• The lilly pilly’s growth may be stunted by trees planted in the same area, as they end up competing for water. To combat this, add more water to these sections of the hedge.
• Once the flowering has finished, you can give them a solid prune. Pruning is an important part of your hedge maintenance, as it helps to thicken them up, and remove some of the holes.
• The flowers are an excellent source of food for bees.