Aussie Gardening

[Bushranger]

Hi all,

I am very very green to gardening.....and I don't mean I have a green thumb! I recently had a landscaper plant several lilly pillys around the front and rear of my property in order to act as a future hedge (see attached photos). On the rear side of the property they have been planted approx 1.5 metres apart. Its my understanding that they will grow to approximately 3-4 metres. However, as I live in a pole home on a slope, I now think I would like to block out my neighbours completely by having something taller. Hence Ive come across a couple of similar, yet taller, Lilly Pillies called Acmena Smithii aka 'goodbye neighbours' (apparently 8 - 10 metres high) and Syzygium Luehmannii (4 to 8 metres high). Both are reportedly resistant to psyllids. Not too sure about my Aussie Compacts resistance to psyllids though.

My question is this - : Rather than transplanting my existing lilly pillies elsewhere (I don't even know if this is feasible or where I would put them anyway ?!), I would prefer just to plant some Acmena 'Goodbye Neighbours' or Syzygium Luehmannii in-between them.

1. Given that the existing Lilly Pillies are planted only 1.5 metres apart, is this plan possible/feasible ?
2. Will there be any major problems if they are planted too close together? i.e root damage, lack of growth, etc? if so, is there anyway around it:?:
3. Are the roots on the Acmena Smithii and Syzygium Luehmannii invasive to building supports in anyway?

Cheers

[Correa]

1. If you want a quick neighbor blocker 1.5m isn't really close enough! So If you want a quicker hedge defiantly inter-plant with the other species

2. The only problem with inter-planting with a larger species, is that in 5 years or more, the larger plants will shade out and severely reduce the size of the small lilly pillies. When that happens you can just cut them out and replace with a shade loving plant.

3. You won't have a problem with the root structure, the root systems of lilly pillies aren't particularly strong or invasive.

4. If you garden has recently been a construction sight, which I think it has been by the soil in the first photo that is going to be your biggest problem. You going to have a lot of trouble establishing plants in it and some will die. The soil looks really dry and lacking organic matter. Plus the soil next to the concrete retaining wall is going to be highly alkaline.

On the other hand, i love your front fence! Looks fantastic!