Time to think pink! - Mar 18, 2010
I have fallen in love with a relatively new plant called Syzygium Cascade. This fast growing pink flowering Lilly Pilly has been planted in a garden just behind Subway in Camden. It has been planted as a hedge to screen the waste bins and it is growing brilliantly despite getting little or no maintenance. This fast growing Lilly Pilly is perfect for small gardens because it has a narrow upright habit. It only grows about 1200 mm wide and up to 3 metres high.
What’s so exciting about this plant is it has pink flowers while most other lilly pilly flowers are white. The flowers are like pink pom-poms and they form on the ends of the branches in spring. They are full of nectar so they attract honey eating birds to your garden.
The pink flowers are replaced by bright pink berries in summer, and they stay on the plant for months. These also attract native birds to your garden.
But apart from the pink flowers and pink berries Syzygium Cascade also has the most spectacular pink new growth. It is worth growing just for the foliage colour alone.
Syzygium Cascade can also be grown in large pots on patios and it looks great all year round. It will thrive in full sun or part shade and it can be clipped to any size and shape. So far it seems resistant to psylids, which is an insect that attacks the new growth of other Syzygiums.
You will find Syzygium Cascade in your local garden centre now.
Tim Pickles is a CNP horticulturist and director of Tim’s Garden Centre 2 Queen St Campbelltown 46267022.