Daisy Bush Hedging

These drought tolerant evergreens are a good hedging choice for chalky soil and by the sea, they thrive in salt laden winds producing masses of creamy flowers in summer.

The Daisy Bush hedge or Olearia is a tough evergreen shrub belonging to the Asteraceae family and named after a 17th century German scholar called Olearius as the first of the species was discovered during that time. There are over 100 species to be found in this genus made up of shrubs and small trees they are commonly found in New Zealand, New Guinea and Australia.

The name comes from the profusion of small, scented daisy like creamy white flowers with their yellow centres that adorn this pretty shrub during the summer months. Daisy Bush hedges are an excellent choice for a windbreak at a coastal site as the plants will tolerate both strong salt winds and exposed sites. This amazing drought resistant hardy evergreen can also be planted in chalky and well-drained soils and full sun is also an ideal position.

The Haastii variety of Daisy Bush hedging is an excellent choice for a low growing hedge with the pretty white felted appearance on the underside of the dark green leaves. A vigorous and stronger variety of the plant is the very lovely Olearia Macrodonta, the leaves are similar in appearance to holly leaves as they are large, dark green in colour and set off the large fragrant heads of creamy white flowers beautifully.

The Olearia plants are easy to grow and maintain making them an ideal choice as a border to a pathway or flower bed with planting at 2-4 plants per metre depending on the size purchased. Both varieties of Daisy Bush hedges grow about 30cm per year with the larger Macrodonta possibly growing up to 50cm per year and trimming should be carried out in spring.