In my view you could not go past one of the smaller growing lilly pillies (Acmena smithii). It is fast growing, hardy, dense and can be hedged if you want to but doesn't have to be. There are some grevilleas that could do the job too.
Cheers,
Dee.

Hmm, Melbourne - bitterly cold in Winter, fiercesomely hot in Summer :)

I agree with Dee, although I'm not sure exaclty how frost tolerant the average lillypilly is. You might like to look at something like Pittosporum - if it will grow in Nz, itll grow in Melbourne. Please note the warning re bushland invastions ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Pittosporum Undulatum

Artiew,
I think that (judging by the heading) Indus would like to grow a native. I am in Melbourne and lilly pillies do just fine here.
Indus,
Another possibity for you is Calistemon. The suggestion of pittosporum is a good one if you don't particularly want native.
Cheers,
Dee.

pittosporum undulatum is from east gippsland. However, it is a nasty weed in melbourne area, readily taking over bushland (probably due to the introduced blackbirds spreading the seed).

Whereabouts in melbourne? What sort of clay (yellow, grey or black)?

Lillypillies will do fine. I suggest you take a trip to kuranga and see if there is something there you like.

Alogyne hueglii is a good hedge, with interesting foliage, bright bluey purple flowers and it is very drought tollerant. It is from W.A.

Kangaroo apple is another good choice, if you prune it regularly to stop it getting leggy. Purple flowers followed by yellow or orange fruit. Again, bulletproof, but tends to die off after 5 years or so.

grey Zieria is very dense, and long lived. It will also reshoot from being pruned back to a stump if it gets leggy. Grey leaves, nice smell, boring white flowers.

Finally, westringia fruiticosa is being used as a hedging shrub everywhere these days, and is also bullet proof.

All of these grow at my parent's house, which is on yellow clay.

Indus - are you after a hedge or a mixed group of plants? I have tried a hedge with correa alba, but it is very upsetting when one of them packs up and leaves for no apparent reason.

So on that basis, I suggest a mixed group - that way, if one of them packs it in, you won't notice.

I assume by northfacing you mean it is pretty sunny? By clay soils (which I haven't had to deal with) - do you mean poor drainage?

I suppose the plants which I have used which have grown for me, with little to no care, and which have attracted the birds include:

grevillea olivacei (sp) which can be bigger than 2 to 3 metres but loves a good shot back and sides;

wedding bush (WA native) which has lovely fine dark green soft foliage and is covered with showy star flowers and which again responds to pruning (it grows down south, which is pretty cold);

albany woolly bush (adenanthos, WA native) which has soft upright foliage and has small, red flowers;

banksia ericafolia (which a neighbour has, and is growing very well) - I have about 8, but are all recent tubestock - but if they grow to potential, they will be delightful;

leptospermum cadwell - which has a semi-weeping habit, and is covered in small white flowers - it is lovely too.

Hello Indus,

I have a Wedding Bush (Ricinocarpus pinifolius) growing (Toowoomba district). I was taken aback by Agnes'statement that it was a WA native, because I first saw it in its full magnificent bloom on North Stradbroke Island some years ago.

So I did a web search and the following statement comes from the SGAP article attached below:

"Ricinocarpos is a genus of about 15 species, occurring in all States with one also found in New Caledonia."

Mine has somewhat brittle branches that have on a couple of occasions been broken off by passers-by (I grow it just inside the front fence). I suspect that if grown as a hedge to resist a strong wind, it might suffer a little. The strong beautifully honey-scented flowers remind me of Tasmania's leatherwood honey. I was looking at it today and the buds are starting to form in spite of the drought.

I also have Grevillea olivacei - as the name suggests, the foliage is olive-cloured - quite attractive, a strong vigorous grower that I have pruned a few times to keep it to the height I want. It forms a very good dense screen and has apricot-coloured flowers. I think it would probably be a better choice that the Wedding Bush for a hedge, and is also fast-growing.

I also support Dee's recommendation for choosing one of the many varieties of Acmena smithii. I have a variety called "Hot Flush".

A tree to consider is Lemon-scented Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) a beautiful densely-foliaged tree that would be easily pruned into a hedge (I have thought of using it as a hedge but am too lazy to consider pruning it, so it would grow taller than what you want unpruned).

Similar statements would apply as for the Backhousia for what used to be called Pittosporum rhombifolium (no longer a Pittosporum, but can't remember the new name) and any number of species of Bottle Brush (Callistemon).

Have fun choosing.

Cheers,
Frank

Here is a link that might be useful: Wedding Bush

If possible, its always a good idea to plant an odd number of plants in a screen or hedge. This way, if you want to plant them close together for quick coverage, you can always remove every second plant if and when they grow too large, without leaving a gap at one end.

I agree with the idea of mixing up you species. It can look really nice. Plants like Callistemons, Lilly-pillies, Westringias, and a few of the Grevilleas, (although lots of Grevilleas do not like Clay soils) would be fine. If you are planting against a timber fence then you do not need a shrub to be a screener right down to the ground.

Kuranga Native Plant Nursery at Ringwood are fantastic and they will tell you exactly the plants that will do well in your area.

Actually, Kuranga have moved to Lilydale, their Ringwood shop is still there, but they are focussing on their new site on york road.

Frank - thanks for clearing that up ... for some reason, up until now obviously, I have always laboured under the (mis)apprehension that the wedding bush was WA native.

And I would also agree with your suggestion of a bottlebrush.

Cheers
Aggie

Nathan,
Does this mean the Ringwood nursery is going to close down now? I knew the Lilydale (or is Mt. Evelyn?) one had opened but thought it was 'as well as' not 'instead of'.
Cheers,
Dee.

My understanding is that the lease is nearly up, then the ringwood shop will close.

In relation to Kuranga in Ringwood, they will be closing in December 05 and moving their staff and plants to the Mt Evelyn branch (which is 118 York Rd, Mt Evelyn. Vic.), for those of you who don't have the address,
I just received their newsletter yesterday (30/08/05)in the mail and thought I'd share that info with you.

Thanks Gunga and Nathan,
I must say that is most dissapointing for me as they are in my neighbourhood....still it's not that far to Mt. Evelyn from here. Good excuse to go for a bit of a drive.
Cheers,
Dee.