Pandanus spp.Screw Pine

Pandanus spp., the screw pines, are the stilt-rooted trees of Old World tropical shorelines, and no photograph quite prepares a specifier for the structure of them. Long spiny-edged strap leaves spiral around the branch tips in tight helices, and the whole plant stands clear of the sand on a cone of prop roots that grow down out of the trunk.

They are planted on beach frontage and around resort landscapes for salt tolerance and for a silhouette that reads instantly as coastal tropics.

Specifications

• Height4 to 10 metres depending on the species, with some reaching 20 metres
• Width3 to 6 metres
• Native toCoastal tropics of the Old World, from East Africa and Madagascar through South and Southeast Asia to Australia and the Pacific
• FoliageLong, strap-shaped, spiny-margined leaves arranged in tight spirals at the branch tips; evergreen
• Growth rateSlow to moderate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers sandy, free-draining coastal soils and tolerates salt and poor ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in tropical and coastal subtropical regions

Additional Features

• FormBranched trunk standing on a cone of aerial prop roots, with leaves in tight spirals
• UsesIdeal for beachfront and resort feature planting, coastal groups, dune stabilisation and windbreaks
• SpacingPlant 3 to 5 metres apart to let the prop roots and silhouette develop
• Low MaintenanceRequires little routine care; the leaf margins and midribs are sharply spined, so keep the planting back from paths and handle with protection
• Pest ResistanceGenerally robust in coastal conditions
• Salt ToleranceWithstands direct salt spray and saline sands in front-line positions
• Drought ToleranceHolds condition on minimal irrigation once established
• Erosion ControlProp roots bind loose sand and hold low dune faces

Screw Pine delivers a coastal silhouette that nothing else in the palette can imitate, and it does it in salt and sand.