Plant group
Thirteen trees maturing between 5 m and 8 m, with placement distances, planting depth, staking, watering and formative pruning.
Last reviewed 12 March 2027
A tree is the only element in a domestic garden that meaningfully changes the temperature of the space around it. It is also the only element that is expensive and slow to correct if placed badly. Everything else in this reference can be moved, replaced or cut back; a tree at fifteen years cannot.
Suburban blocks have shrunk while house footprints have grown, and the gap between them is where trees have to live. A tree that matures at 20 m needs a root zone and a canopy clearance that most modern blocks cannot give it without conflict — with footings, with paving, with services, with the neighbour's roof. The trees on this page mature between about 5 and 8 m, which fits.
Small trees also deliver the useful part of what a tree does. Shade over a west-facing window in January is worth more than height. A canopy at 5 m gives usable shade at ground level; a canopy at 20 m mostly shades other trees.
Start with distance from structures. As a working minimum, keep a tree at least half its mature canopy width from a building, a boundary fence or a paved area. On reactive clay soils — the cracking clays common across much of inland Victoria, NSW and South Australia — increase that substantially, because those soils shrink as tree roots draw moisture out of them and that movement is what damages footings and paving.
Then think about what the tree will do to the ground beneath it. Agonis flexuosa runs wide shallow roots that lift paving. Elaeocarpus reticulatus drops fruit that stains concrete. Neither is a reason not to plant them; both are reasons to place them thoughtfully.
Finally, consider shade in the season you want it. A deciduous tree on the northern or western side of a house shades the wall in summer and lets sun through in winter, which is a genuinely useful outcome that no evergreen can produce. Lagerstroemia indica and Acer palmatum are the two deciduous options here.
Dig the hole twice as wide as the root ball and no deeper than the root ball is tall. This matters more than any other detail. A tree planted into a hole deeper than its root ball settles over the following months and ends up with its trunk flare buried, which causes slow decline over years that is almost never traced back to the planting. The top of the root ball should finish level with the surrounding soil or a fraction above it.
Do not backfill with a rich mix in an otherwise poor soil. A pocket of improved soil in heavy clay behaves like a container: roots circle inside it rather than pushing out into the surrounding ground, and the pocket collects water. Backfill with the soil that came out of the hole, broken up and free of large clods.
Water in with a full bucket immediately to settle soil around the roots and remove air gaps. Mulch a circle at least a metre across to 50 to 75 mm, keeping the mulch 100 mm clear of the trunk. Mulch piled against bark holds moisture there and causes collar rot.
Stake only if the tree cannot stand up, and stake low. Two stakes set outside the root ball with a broad flexible tie at about a third of the tree's height allow the trunk to flex, and that flexing is what builds trunk taper and strength. A tree tied rigidly at head height grows a thin trunk and falls over the moment the stake is removed.
Check ties every six months and loosen anything that is beginning to cut into the bark. Remove stakes entirely after eighteen months to two years. Stakes left in place for five years are a common sight and consistently produce weaker trees than no stakes at all.
Water deeply and out at the edge of the root ball, not at the trunk, so roots are drawn outwards into the surrounding soil. Twice a week through the first two summers, then taper. From the second year, water at the drip line — the outer edge of the canopy — because that is where the active feeding roots are.
Low-water species should come off supplementary water entirely after two summers. Hakea laurina and Eucalyptus caesia in particular resent constant summer moisture over the root zone and decline for no visible reason when planted into an irrigated lawn.
Formative pruning in the first three years does more for a tree than anything done later. Select a single leader if you want a single-trunked tree, and remove competing leaders early while the cuts are small. Remove branches that cross or rub. Lift the canopy gradually by removing the lowest branches over several seasons rather than all at once, which shocks the tree and leaves large wounds.
Never top a tree — cutting the main leaders back to stubs. It produces a mass of weakly attached regrowth that is more dangerous than the original limb, and the wound rarely closes. If a tree is genuinely too big for its position, the honest answer is removal and replacement with something the right size.
Sizes below are mature height and canopy width in open ground in average conditions. In shallow soil or containers, expect less.
Acacia cognata
Weeping fine-foliage wattle that makes an elegant lawn specimen and grows quickly enough to give a new garden scale within four or five years. Like most wattles it is not long-lived; plan the bed so that its eventual removal at fifteen to twenty years does not leave a structural hole.
Zones: temperate, cool
Hakea laurina
Dry-country small tree carrying round pincushion flowers through late autumn and winter, on a dense grey-green canopy. It will not tolerate summer irrigation over the root zone, so it belongs in an unwatered bed rather than in a lawn. Prune lightly and only into leafy wood.
Zones: temperate, arid
Banksia integrifolia
The most wind-hardy tree on this list, growing in almost pure sand within sight of open water and holding an upright canopy where other trees lean permanently. Pale yellow flower spikes through autumn and winter. Give it room; it is the largest of the small trees here at maturity.
Zones: temperate, subtropical
Callistemon salignus
Papery-barked tree with soft pink new growth and cream brushes in spring, tolerant of compacted clay and of ground that floods periodically. A sound street-verge and back-boundary choice in wetter districts. Prune after flowering to keep the canopy lifted clear of fences and paths.
Zones: subtropical, temperate, tropical
Eucalyptus caesia
Pendulous mallee with powdery white bark, red flowers in winter and a distinctly sculptural habit. It is brittle in strong wind and drops limbs in exposed positions, so it needs a sheltered courtyard or a position behind a windbreak. Requires sharp drainage and no summer water once established.
Zones: temperate, arid
Corymbia ficifolia
Heavy scarlet to orange summer flowering on a compact rounded canopy, and one of the few eucalypts genuinely suited to a suburban block. It performs best in dry-summer southern districts and poorly where summers are humid, where it tends to decline slowly rather than fail outright.
Zones: temperate
Agonis flexuosa
Weeping coastal tree with a broad low canopy and fine willow-like leaves, excellent as a shade tree in exposed seaside gardens. Its roots run wide and shallow, so keep it well clear of paving, paths and service trenches. Frost-tender when young; protect it for the first two winters.
Zones: temperate, subtropical
Syzygium australe
The standard evergreen screening tree in warm districts, holding dense cover right to the ground and clipping into a tall hedge without going bare at the base. Glossy foliage with coppery new growth. Needs regular water in its first years and shelter from frost in cold districts.
Zones: tropical, subtropical, temperate
Melaleuca linariifolia
Paperbark that copes with wet feet in one season and dry ground in the next, which makes it an unusually forgiving choice for a poorly drained corner. Covered in fine white flowers in early summer, hence the common name. Multi-stemmed by habit; select leaders early if you want a single trunk.
Zones: tropical, subtropical, temperate
Lagerstroemia indica
Deciduous summer-flowering tree with smooth mottled bark and good autumn colour, giving shade when you want it and letting winter sun through when you do not. It needs full sun and open air to flower well and to keep foliage clean. Prune lightly in winter to shape the framework.
Zones: subtropical, temperate, arid
Backhousia citriodora
Dense rainforest tree grown for its strongly scented foliage and clusters of small cream flowers in summer. Slow for the first few years and intolerant of dry roots, so plant it in a bed you actually irrigate rather than in an outer boundary planting. Trims well into a tall screen.
Zones: tropical, subtropical
Elaeocarpus reticulatus
Narrow upright tree that suits tight side boundaries where a spreading canopy will not fit, with fringed white or pink flowers in spring followed by blue fruit. The fruit stains paving, so keep it off paths and driveways. Prefers a sheltered position with reliable moisture.
Zones: subtropical, temperate
Acer palmatum
The classic deciduous courtyard tree for cool and cooler temperate districts, with fine layered branching and strong autumn colour. Leaf margins scorch in hot afternoon sun and dry wind, so position matters more than soil: give it morning sun, afternoon shade and shelter from wind.
Zones: cool, temperate
Removing an established tree is often regulated by your local council, including on private land, and the rules differ between councils. Check with your council before committing to a position where a tree may later need to come out. Also check that the species is not declared in your region, and check biosecurity restrictions with your state or territory service before moving plants or soil between regions.