As the end of the year approaches and thoughts start turning to the festive season, nurseries and other shops are filling up with all sorts of trees, real and plastic, Australian and exotic, tempting people to buy now. Many of the living trees have immense 'shelf appeal' but it's also worth thinking about their future.
Like puppies, a tree isn't only for Christmas – you also need to consider what you'll do with it for the rest of the year and how well it will adapt to life on your deck, patio or balcony. Even some of the Australian native options available aren't that well suited for the Illawarra climate, and the Albany Woolly Bush in particular dislikes clay soils, and can get quite distressed during damp, humid summers.
Luckily, there are a couple of local native options that will serve well and grow happily in a pot for a few years at least. The obvious choice is actually a conifer, the Illawarra Plum Pine (Podocarpus elatus), a slow-growing and outstandingly tough tree with beautiful green foliage, bright green or coppery orange-green new growth and (on the female trees) yummy plum-type fruit. Illawarra Plum Pine tolerates very low light levels in natural settings, so it can be kept indoors for extended periods – we have one that's inside most of the year.
The other option is more an outdoors-all-year one: the NSW Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum), which is widely grown across the region already. This tall bush or small tree is well-known for its colourful display during late November or early December, as the small white flowers die off and the sepals behind them enlarge and turn beautiful shades of pinkish red.
It can be kept in a pot for a few years, and potted up once a year. NSW Christmas Bush requires plenty of sunlight, and shouldn't be left indoors for more than a couple of weeks at a time. If you have a garden to grow one in, it's perfect for decorating with fairy lights in December.
If you're still on the hunt for a living tree, the good news is that you can find these plants locally. The Illawarra Plum Pine is one of many local native species available at the Wollongong Botanic Garden GreenPlan sale this Friday. The NSW Christmas Bush is more elusive but may be available at specialist nurseries such as the Sydney Wildflower Nursery in Heathcote.
