Michelia gracipes - 4 Litre

Michelia gracipes
Botanical name: Michelia gracipes

Add fragrance and year-round greenery to your garden with Michelia gracipes, a popular evergreen for hedging and screening in NZ. In spring it's covered in masses of small, creamy-white, star-shaped flowers with a sweet fragrance that fills the garden. The flowers sit against neat, glossy dark green leaves that keep it looking smart all year round.

Michelia gracipes has a dense, compact habit and responds very well to trimming, which makes it ideal for formal hedges, pleached hedges, screens, topiary and espalier. It's hardy, easy to grow and quick to establish, and makes a fragrant, low-maintenance alternative to traditional hedging plants.

Plant details

• Botanical name: Michelia gracipes
• Common name: Michelia
• Flowers: Masses of small, fragrant, creamy-white star-shaped flowers
• Flowering: Mainly spring, sometimes with a light flush in summer
• Foliage: Small, glossy, dark green and evergreen
• Habit: Dense, compact and bushy
• Mature size: Approx. 3–4m high × 2m wide if left untrimmed; easily kept smaller with clipping
• Position: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Free-draining, enriched with compost; prefers slightly acidic soil
• Hardiness: Hardy and tolerates light frosts once established
• Uses: Hedging, pleached hedges, screening, topiary, espalier and specimen planting
• Feeding: General or camellia fertiliser in spring
• Care tip: Trim after flowering to keep a dense, tidy shape. Water well while it establishes.