Eremophila "Big Poly"
When I first came across Eremophila Big Poly (E Bignoniiflora x E Polyclada) I thought of it more as just another addition to my collection and just grew it in a pot for about 2 years. It wasn’t until I planted it into the ground though, that it actually came into it’s own.
The first thing I noticed was it grew very quickly to about 3m tall (in about 2 years). The other thing I’ve discovered is it does respond very well to harsh pruning, so my initial conclusion about this Eremophila is that it is ideal for someone who wants to grow a quick growing, dense hedge.
Most of the flowers fell off after yesterdays thunderstorm. But it's covered in buds so it will flower up again over the next few days. Melaleuca linariifolia (dwarf) is in the foreground.
Sounds pretty good really but this Eremophila has some other great features as well. First of all it is very drought tolerant. The first two years after it was planted it grew very quickly and this was despite receiving very little rainfall and practically no extra water from me. Another feature is that you can plant it areas that suffer from inadequate drainage, as it naturally grows in areas that flood after rainfall and then dry out during summer.
Eremophila Big Poly flowers in late spring and then into summer and this year it’s putting on a spectacular flowering display as it’s the first winter it’s experienced some reasonable rainfall, which as I write this, is now continuing into spring and hopefully early summer.
The flowers are a soft creamy/purplish colour which I must admit aren’t as spectacular as some of the flowers colours of other Eremophilas but nevertheless they make a welcome contrast to some of the deep reds, purples, blues and yellows of other Eremophilas. And as I said if does get some extra rainfall it is very floriferous.
It will continue to flower for the next couple of months and then it will get it's annual prune.
So there you have it, an Eremophila that will grow quite a bit larger than most of the others. It is very drought tolerant, responds best to sunny areas, is fairly wind tolerant, will except badly draining soil (at least for short periods), grows quickly and can be hedged easily (after flowering) into a hedge or a screen.
Sounds too good to be true really as it could be a solution to lots of problem areas you have in the garden. So I suppose the next question is, what are it’s drawbacks?
Well the biggest negative about this Eremophila is that it isn’t readily available in nurseries. In fact the day I purchased it was the only time I’ve ever seen it in a nursery. As such, specialist Australian Plant Nurseries and Markets may be the only place you’ll find it, if you’re lucky.
This I think is a shame and unfortunately is the case for many other very garden worthy Eremophilas as well. I’ve often wondered though why this is the case and have come to a very obvious conclusion, but I’ve decided I will leave this for my next post, so stay tuned.
In the meantime though if anyone is interested in growing Eremophila Big Poly (or any of the other Eremophilas in my garden) and lives in Melbourne (or is willing to travel) I’m more than happy to give away cuttings and if you’re not sure how to propagate from cuttings I’ll also give you a quick lesson. Just send me an email message from my contact form if you’re interested.
So if your looking for a quick growing, drought tolerant plant you can hedge then Eremophila Big Poly may be your answer. That is of course if you can source it from somewhere.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Eremophila Images
- How to Grow a Windbreak
- Eremophila "Eyre Princess"
- Eremophila Calorhabdos
- Eremophilas
How to Grow a Windbreak
Growing a windbreak can help drought proof your garden and one of the quickest ways to achieve this result is to water the plants you’ve selected as your windbreak much as possible. So what I’m doing is using water and in the case rainwater to ultimately save water in my garden.
One of the things that I’ve noticed in the hotter months is that hot winds can dry out your garden a lot quicker than the sun just on its own. The way I’m going about solving this problem in my garden is to grow a hedge as a windbreak along the northern (for the southern hemisphere) boundary of my backyard.
The first important thing to consider in doing this is to select the correct plants to start off with. I’m using Callistemon Salignus, aka the Willow Bottlebrush and here are the reasons why.
Firstly it won’t grow too large if you restrict the amount of water you give it after it’s achieved the desired height to block the wind. That way it won’t become a problem on a small suburban block. My mother has a 3 metre Callistemon Salignus growing in her back garden amongst some other trees that are on a slope. It survives only on rainfall and as a consequence the soil is nearly always dry which means it’s growth rate is now very slow, so it is possible to keep this tree at a height you’re happy with.
Secondly it is also fairly drought tolerant tree. Last summer my hedge of Callistemon Salignus withstood some fairly strong, hot, drying winds without any extra water so they’re ideal as a windbreak.
Thirdly and most importantly for me they can withstand water logging. This means that during winter and spring when you may have excess water in your rainwater tank you can direct it straight to your hedge of Callistemon Salignus. I direct rainwater from the overflow of my rainwater tank straight to my hedge so when my tank is full the excess rainwater doesn’t go down into the stormwater, but into the soil where it is stored for when the trees need it during spring and summer. This means that the trees get rainwater from the sky and the overflow from my rainwater tank at the same time.
This fits with what most gardeners know. Less frequent deep watering is much better that more frequent shallow watering.
Another great feature about Callistemon Salignus is that it is reasonably quick growing and also very hardy. Both of these qualities are very important when growing a hedge. How many times have you seen hedges that have been grown with plants that look great but aren’t necessarily very hardy. Quite often these types of hedges always seem to have one or two plants in them that have died. It really can detract from your hedge. Also most hedges are normally grown for a reason such as privacy or as in this case a windbreak. Therefore being able to grow fast and establish quickly is a definite requirement. Callistemon Salignus will certainly grow fast but what I’ve discovered is that if you give them lots of water not only during winter and spring but also during summer, when rainwater is scarcer, they will also grow a lot faster as well.
This means that the more I use my stored rainwater to increase the growth of my windbreak then the faster it will protect the rest of my garden from hot drying winds during summer. Once your drought tolerant windbreak is then established and at a height where it is shielding those hot summer winds you can then back off on the watering and start saving on your water usage on other less drought tolerant parts of your garden such as a lawn.
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