Plant Doctor Archive

Wind tolerant plants

WE have one small area on our long driveway that gets a tremendous amount of wind. I have tried growing avocado, jacaranda, melia and robinia, but they continually die or the branches break. Would a feijoa tree survive the southerly wind? I don't want to plant a coastal native that would survive as it would spoil the symmetry of the drive. Any suggestions please?

IF you have very strong winds it may pay for you to put up some sort of shelter belt first and then plant your trees. It would be best to buy from a local garden centre or nursery that has plants that are suited to your climate. Strong coastal winds are a real problem that can cause burning, limb breakage and distorted growth or shape to the plant. Some suggestions are citrus (lemon or ornamental variety), hawthorn, cupressus, hakea, holly, pohutukawa, kapuka, olives and cherry laurel. You may have to experiment to see what is going to suit you and the other parts of the garden design best.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.