Melaleuca cajuputiCajuput Tree

Melaleuca cajuputi, the Cajuput or Paperbark, carries thick, layered, papery white bark that peels in sheets, narrow grey-green aromatic leaves and cream bottlebrush flower spikes heavy with nectar. It is one of the toughest trees in the trade: it will take seasonal flooding, saline ground, poor infertile sand and coastal wind, sometimes all at once.

That range is why it turns up in coastal rehabilitation, low-lying park planting and windbreak rows as often as it does in ornamental schemes.

Specifications

• Height10 to 25 metres
• Width5 to 10 metres
• Native toNorthern Australia, New Guinea and Southeast Asia
• FoliageNarrow, lance-shaped grey-green leaves, aromatic when crushed; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilTolerates a very wide range including seasonally waterlogged, saline and infertile sandy soils
• LightFull sun
• WaterModerate; tolerates both periodic flooding and dry spells once established
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical regions, including coastal and low-lying sites

Additional Features

• FormPapery, layered white to cream bark on a trunk that is often characterfully crooked
• FlowersCream bottlebrush spikes, heavily worked for nectar
• UsesIdeal for windbreaks, coastal and low-lying site planting, shade and avenue rows and land rehabilitation
• SpacingPlant 5 to 8 metres apart for avenues, or 3 to 4 metres for a windbreak row
• Low MaintenanceMinimal pruning; tolerates hard cutting back where clearance is needed
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient
• Salt ToleranceTolerates saline soils and direct coastal exposure
• Wildlife AttractionNectar-rich flowers draw birds and bees in quantity

The Cajuput Tree is the answer where the ground is wet, salty or both and a real tree is still required.