Quick Screen & Habitat: Hakea salicifolia
This is the Willow Leafed Hakea or Hakea salicifolia, friend to Hakea sericea, the reason I think they are friends is that they have a lot in common, plus they were growing so happily together when I took these photos 😉 as you can see in the image below.
Hakea salicifolia is a fast growing large shrub reaching between 4-5 metres high and 3-4 metres wide. It has a large tough leaf and flowers profusely in winter and spring attracting bees and many small birds.
The dense habit provides excellent protective cover for small birds and the flowers offer food sources for birds of all sizes.
Hakea salicifolia is a very quick grower and therefore makes a useful screening plant, an annual prune will ensure it remains thick and bushy and doesn’t get too tall. It prefers an open open, well drained sunny location in an area with moderate rainfall, it is also frost tolerant. So if you are looking for a hedge or back ground screening plant that will also provides for the wildlife why not give it a try?
Beautiful Shrubbery screen plants….easy to grow, hardy survivors in challenging climates in the Central West….Ours have been with us 18 years.
Can you give an indication of their longevity please?
Hi Glenn,
If yours are 18 years old you are doing really well, do you regularly prune them?
If they are looked after with fertiliser, regular pruning and watering they shouldn’t be as susceptible to pests like borers which are often the culprits for killing quick growing native plants.
I would say 20 years would be a pretty good innings 😉
Best Wishes,
Kath
What spacing should they planted at for a hedge please?
Hi,
I would space them between 1.5 and 2 metres apart for a thick screen,
Best Wishes,
Kath
Hi Kath – How fast will these grow? I’ve about to plant mature 2m tall plants and am hoping they’ll grow pretty quickly to block out our neighbour’s house. Any suggestions when planting them? I’m a novice (to say the least).
Hi Claire,
Hakeas should grow about a metre a year, especially in full sun with well drained soil and regular watering. I would keep them tip pruned to encourage a nice dense habit.
Good luck!
Kath
When is the best time to plant them?
How far from my rural fence should I plant them?
Thanks Karen
Hi Karen,
The best time to plant them would be late Winter or Spring, depending when you think you have the kindest weather 😉
If you have lots of room in your garden I would position them 2-3 metres from the fence and the same distance apart.
Happy Gardening,
Best Wishes,
Kath
Hi we have just planted a hedge with tube stock and I was wondering how I should prune them?
Hi Emily,
If you have put them in quite small, an all round tip prune twice a year should give you a lovely dense green,
Best Wishes,
Kath
Could you please advise what fertiliser to use on my hakea salicifolia hedge. I planted tube stock and they have been in the ground maybe 2 years and have gone rather yellow. They are also not thriving. We have soil that is a bit clayey but made a mound and planted them on top. I tried a slow release native fertiliser which seems to have made no difference. Our soils ph is slightly alkaline. It’s in part shade. thanks for your advise. I have some neutron rapid raiser, could I use that? Regards, Gaetane
Hi Gaetane,
Sometimes the yellowing of the leaves can signify too much water? is that a possibility? if its not that then try giving it some iron, it could be an iron deficiency if you have found the native fertiliser to be unsuccessful,
Good luck!
Kath
I have had my willow leaf Hakea in for two and a half years, they were tube stock and are now 2 metres tall and doing well except I have had no flowers, just wondering why . Thank you
Hi Liliana,
Sometimes Hakeas take a while to mature enough to flower, it may take 4 or 5 years before you get a decent flower flush. If you wanted to try to encourage it, you could give it some potash and make sure you are not giving it too much nitrogen, this will just make the plant put on new leaf rather than flower.
Good Luck,
Kath
Growing the willow leaf hakea in Woodside and Balhannah South Australia, I have found that the white or cream tailed black cockatoo loves the seed pod. They found a young three foot tall young plant buried in a thick garden in a small back yard in Balhannah as soon as it had seeds. 6 blackies hanging on a 3 foot stick is a sight to see. I have moved to Lameroo in the Murray Mallee now. I miss the blackies.!!
Oh Yes,
I would plant anything to attract Black Cockatoos, such majestic birds!
It seems the harder the seeds to open the more attractive to them,
Best,
Kath
Regarding age of Hakea salicifolia’ I have 7 now growing as trees in my backyard in Canberra that are well over 30 years old and no signs of dieing yet, although 2 other trees died in the last 3 years.
I write this because there is very little information in the literature about the age of Hakeas.
You mention pruning, mine has sprawled somewhat. What are the best seasons for this and should I even consider moving it to a more spacious setting?
Hi Jane,
The best time for pruning is after flowering, just a 20% all over prune should encourage enough new growth to thicken its habit.
Happy gardening,
Kath
Hello,
Our Salicifolia is about a metre tall now and is one main trunk without any shrubbing. Will it be ok to prune it back fairly hard, so it will become more shrub-like? It is not coping in the wind and without staking is leaning almost horizontally. Otherwise it is healthy.
Advice would be much apprecited here, still learning!
Hi Christine,
Yes, you should be able to prune your Hakea back so it becomes more wind tolerant and thickens up to create a more dense screen. I would recommend a 20% all over prune.
Happy gardening,
Kath
I’ve 40 Hakea Salicifolia been in 7 years at least 4m high and bushy.in 7 years at least 10 have died,were healthy and lush within two days they die.now another one is looking sick leaves in middle are yellow tips are still green.l gave it a dose of season
doesn’t seem to have made any difference.you mentioned iron would that week.hope l can save it
Cheers Trish
Hi Trish,
Did your Hakeas die after a period of extended rain and humidity?
They also are pretty short lived, as they get older they can become weak and prone to attack from pests and fungal disease.
As they belong to the Proteaceae Family they can become deficient in Iron so a does of Iron Chelates or Sulphates is a good idea.
Best Wishes,
Kath