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The previous owners of our house planted several yuccas in the garden. They’re great for the privacy they offer to the very close neighbouring house however, it looks like the roots are going to start pushing over the fence so we want to get them out as soon as possible. What’s a good alternative for them? We’re looking for something that would have a similar height/privacy with the small footprint they take up at ground level and without taking too long to grow. A native would be preferable.
Thanks!
Hello @bh357
If you like the “upright column” look and the privacy yuccas give without a big footprint, the best native-like swap in a lot of Australian gardens is a narrow lilly pilly cultivar. Syzygium australe ‘Straight and Narrow’ is specifically bred to stay slender, and it’s commonly used as a tight screening hedge where space is limited; it’s typically described as reaching about 5–8 m tall while staying around 1–1.5 m wide, and it’s also noted as psyllid resistant.
If you don’t need quite that tall, Syzygium australe ‘Resilience’ is another popular native screening option because it fills in quickly and handles pruning well, but it generally ends up broader than the pencil-slim types, so it suits slightly more space along the fence line. It’s often described as a fast-growing, dense screening plant in the roughly 3–5 m range (and then kept tighter with regular trims).
For a different look (and a bit more bird-attracting colour), a narrow bottlebrush is worth a serious look. Callistemon viminalis ‘Slim’ is promoted specifically for tight spaces as a slender hedge or screen, giving you year-round foliage and those classic bottlebrush flowers when it’s happy. It can be a really practical “privacy plant” where you want height without the bulk.
A quick way to choose between them is to think about the height you truly need and how close you’ll be planting to the fence. If the neighbouring windows look straight into your yard, the very narrow lilly pilly option usually gets you the closest “yucca-like privacy” outcome, just softer and greener. If you mainly want a medium-height visual barrier, you can go with a slightly shorter native hedge and keep it neat with light, regular pruning so it stays dense from the ground up.
Let me call on our experienced member @Noelle for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
