Plant Care Guides / Outdoor & Coastal / Trees
Indigenous | Easy Care | Tree
The coastal silver oak is one of the best all-round trees for a coastal garden in this area. It is fast-growing, evergreen, and has striking two-toned foliage: the leaves are dark, glossy green on top and covered in a silvery-white felt underneath, which gives the whole tree a distinctive silvery-blue shimmer, especially on a windy day when the leaves flip in the breeze.
In summer it produces large sprays of creamy-white, thistle-like flowers that almost make the tree look like it is covered in snow. It handles wind, salt spray, drought and sandy soil with ease, and its non-invasive root system means it is safe to plant near paving, walls and structures. It has been used for decades to stabilise dunes along this coast.
4 to 10 m in a garden. Can reach 27 m in a forest, but that will not happen in your garden.
Fast. Well over a metre a year in good conditions.
Windbreak, boundary screen, hedge, shade tree, dune stabilisation. One of the best screening trees available for coastal properties.
Full sun to shade. It is adaptable and grows well in both, though it is denser and more vigorous in sun.
Grows best in sandy to loamy soils and handles the alkaline coastal sand here without issue. Add compost and mulch well for faster growth.
Water regularly while establishing. Once settled, it is drought-tolerant, though it grows faster with some water.
Feed in spring with a balanced fertiliser while young, especially if you want fast screening. Mature trees in reasonable soil need little.
Tolerates hard pruning and makes an excellent formal or informal hedge. Can be shaped into a single-stemmed tree or left as a multi-stemmed shrub.
Ask about availability. We keep a changing range of trees and large shrubs. WhatsApp us to check what is currently in stock, or visit the nursery and we will help you choose the right tree for your spot.
