THE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Large-leafed plants the answer to a quick filler says Leigh Bramwell
ANYONE WHO HAS ever started a large garden from scratch will know the pressure to get it filled up. It’s an especially challenging task if you’ve built a new house and are dealing with piles of builder’s rubble — not the ideal environment for tender new plants.
On a number of occasions this has led me to some most unsuitable plant choices and explains why our first new house was surrounded by wattles. They were cheap, easy to look after and grew like wildfire. What I didn’t know until they’d grown a bit was that they were also fine-leafed, spindly and see-through, and consequently not very good at covering anything up.
Now, if I want to hide something, or just quickly fill up some space, my go-to is lush plants with big leaves. Four tractor plants will quickly block the view of an unfinished garage and pile of leftover building materials and cost quite a lot less than a dozen camellias.
There are numerous large-leafed plants to choose from and they’ll give your garden an exotic, subtropical look.
Monstera deliciosa
You’d have to be brain dead not to know that Monstera deliciosa has been flavour of the month for, well, months. Actually, flavour of the year or even the decade is probably a more appropriate title since we’ve been obsessing about them for ages. They’re one of our favourite indoor plants and have crept into wall art, on tea towels, on china, in fabrics and wallpapers.
Happily, they will grow outside too, and you can propagate them, which is just as well since their prices have risen in tandem with their popularity. Take cuttings just after a leaf node, and root them in water before potting into soil.
Give them moist, humus-rich soil, sun or part-shade, and protection from frost.
Water regularly during hot periods but make sure they have good drainage. They’re known as the fruit salad plant because the fruit tastes like a salad of bananas and pineapple. They’re also called the swiss cheese plant because the mature
leaves resemble Emmental cheese.
Ligularia (Tractor Seat)
I’ve probably mentioned a few hundred times that I’m not a fan of yellow, which is why I’ve not been keen on tractor plants. But the weedy-looking yellow flowers can be cut off (no, it’s not cruel) leaving just the striking foliage which will grow into a large clump. They like a moist but welldrained position in sun or semi-shade and they don’t sulk when you mass-plant them. Keep them well-watered in hot weather or they’ll tend to wilt. The Landscaper has split ours up and replanted them several times and after a few days of sulking they get a grip.
They’ll grow anywhere between half a metre and a metre tall so be selective about the size of plants you marry them up with. Mine are hooked up with Lomandra Tanika which is a substantial grass that doesn’t get overwhelmed, and the contrasting foliage is a good look. If you want to plant something smaller in the front row, there are several other varieties of lomandra grass that will work.
Philodendron Austentatious
New Zealand has a great contribution to make to the list of large foliage plants with its own Philodendron hybrid. Producing really big leaves, Philodendron Austentatious (great name) is a standout plant that will enjoy partial shade outside. It’ll grow to about three metres and is reasonably easy care, asking only for moderate watering, indirect light, good drainage and fertiliser in spring and summer.
Colocasia esculenta (Elephant Ear)
Grown mostly for its huge, heart-shaped leaves of unique colours, variegations and patterns, Elephant Ear varieties are grown from tender summer bulbs in spring. When it comes to coverage, these guys are brilliant, growing about two metres tall and wide in full sun to part shade, and tolerating medium to wet soils.
Fatsia japonica
It’s such an unfair name for a valuable landscaping plant. It’s a lush, tropicallooking evergreen that you can grow by layering, taking cuttings or planting seeds, and it’s common so you’re bound to know someone who has one. Fatsia grows in most soils, in anything from full sun to full shade, and is easily cut back if you want to keep it lower than the two or more metres it’ll grow if you let it. If you get one, make sure you boost its self-esteem by telling it every time you walk by that ‘no, of course you’re not fat’.