Syzygium rehderianumRed Lip Syzygium

Syzygium rehderianum is a southern Chinese lilly pilly grown for the colour of its new growth. Narrow leathery leaves emerge bright red to bronze and darken slowly to a glossy deep green, so a clipped plant carries a coloured surface over a dark base for most of the growing season.

It clips hard and holds a fine face, which makes it a strong hedging and topiary subject in subtropical climates, and small clusters of red flowers appear along the older wood.

Specifications

• Height3 to 6 metres, commonly held at 2 to 3 metres as a hedge
• Width2 to 3 metres
• Native toSouthern China, from Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan
• FoliageOpposite, narrow, leathery dark green leaves flushing bright red to bronze on new growth; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers free-draining, humus-rich, slightly acidic soils
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate; regular and even through the warm months
• ClimateThrives in subtropical and warm temperate regions and tolerates light frost

Additional Features

• FlowersClusters of small red to pink flowers with prominent stamens, borne along the older wood
• FruitSmall dark purple berries following the flowers
• UsesIdeal for clipped hedging and screening, topiary, and courtyard and streetscape planting
• SpacingPlant 0.6 to 1 metre apart for a hedge
• Low MaintenanceShear two or three times a year; each cut triggers a fresh flush of red new growth
• Pest ResistanceGenerally sound, and less troubled by psyllid than several Australian lilly pillies
• Seasonal AppealRed new growth appears after every trim rather than once a year

Red Lip Syzygium gives a clipped hedge a coloured surface that renews itself every time the shears come out.