How to Plant Golden Tree Daisy – Spacing, Establishment & Aftercare
Golden Tree Daisy (Shawia solandri, formerly Olearia solandri) is a tough New Zealand native shrub, but good establishment still matters. Like many hardy plants, it becomes much more tolerant of wind, dry conditions and exposure once it has developed a strong root system.
Getting the basics right at planting time — particularly spacing, weed control, planting depth and watering — can make a significant difference to how quickly plants establish.
This guide covers planting Golden Tree Daisy as individual garden shrubs, hedges, screens and larger shelter plantings.
Shop - Shawia Solandri - Golden Tree Daisy
Read More: Complete Golden Tree Daisy Growing & Planting Guide
Before planting: decide what you want the plants to become
Spacing Golden Tree Daisy is not simply a matter of choosing one recommended distance.
The right spacing depends heavily on what you are trying to create.
A low, maintained hedge needs relatively close planting so the individual plants knit together into a continuous screen. A larger hedge can be planted farther apart.
Natural shelter is different again. Plants that will eventually be allowed to develop into large, broad shrubs need considerably more room.
This is why we treat hedges and shelter plantings as two different uses.
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy as a Native Hedge
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Shelter & Shelterbelts
Golden Tree Daisy hedge spacing
For most maintained Golden Tree Daisy hedges, spacing will generally fall between approximately 50 cm and 1 m centres.
Closer spacing is useful when you want a relatively low, dense hedge. As the intended hedge height increases, plants can be given progressively more room.
Greenmachine Golden Tree Daisy hedge spacing guide
| Approximate target hedge height | Suggested plant spacing |
|---|---|
| 50 cm | 50 cm centres |
| 75 cm | 60 cm centres |
| 1 m | 70 cm centres |
| 1.25 m | 80 cm centres |
| 1.5 m | 90 cm centres |
| 1.75 m | 1 m centres |
| 2 m | 1 m centres |
These are practical planting guidelines rather than rigid rules. Site conditions, how quickly you want the hedge to close and how regularly it will be trimmed can all influence the final spacing.
Closer planting generally gives faster initial coverage but uses more plants. Wider spacing costs less initially but takes longer for individual plants to meet.
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy as a Native Hedge
How many Golden Tree Daisy plants do I need?
Once you know the spacing, calculating plant numbers is straightforward.
For example:
10 m hedge at 50 cm spacing = approximately 20 plants
10 m hedge at 1 m spacing = approximately 10 plants
For longer boundaries, measure the planting length first and then divide the total length by your chosen spacing.
It is worth measuring the actual planting line rather than estimating it from the size of the property.
Spacing Golden Tree Daisy for shelter
A shelter planting should not normally use hedge spacing.
Golden Tree Daisy grown naturally can eventually become a substantial 4–5 m shrub, with a much broader and less formal structure than a maintained hedge.
For larger natural shelter or rural planting, approximately 2–3 m centres is a useful starting range.
Around 2 m centres will produce a more quickly connected shelter planting.
At 2.5–3 m centres, individual plants have more room to develop their natural broad form.
The objective is not necessarily to create a perfectly solid wall. A somewhat permeable planting can provide very effective wind protection while retaining the natural structure of the plants.
Read more: Golden Tree Daisy for Shelter & Shelterbelts
Choosing the planting position
Golden Tree Daisy performs particularly well in sunny, exposed and reasonably free-draining positions.
It is well suited to sites affected by persistent wind and, once established, can tolerate periods of dry weather. It also performs well in many coastal situations.
What it does not particularly like is permanently wet or waterlogged ground.
If the site stays saturated for long periods, improving drainage or choosing a plant better adapted to wet ground may be preferable.
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Windy Gardens
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Dry Gardens & Drought-Prone Sites
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Coastal Gardens
Prepare the planting area
One of the most useful things you can do before planting is remove competing grass and weeds from around each planting position.
Young plants have relatively small root systems. Dense grass growing right up against them competes for both moisture and nutrients.
This competition becomes particularly important during dry weather.
For a hedge, preparing a continuous weed-free strip can make maintenance easier.
For widely spaced shelter plants, individual weed-free circles around each plant work well.
You do not need to create an elaborate planting bed. The important thing is to give each young plant some clear ground in which to establish.
Plant at the correct depth
Dig a hole wide enough to comfortably accommodate the root ball.
Remove the plant carefully from its pot and position it so the top of the root ball sits approximately level with the surrounding soil.
Avoid burying the stem deeply.
Backfill around the root ball and firm the soil gently enough to remove large air pockets without heavily compacting the ground.
Greenmachine plants are supplied in 7 cm square pots, so the planting hole does not need to be enormous. Good soil contact around the root ball is more important than digging an unnecessarily large hole.
Add fertiliser tablets at planting
One of the most effective things we have found for improving the establishment and early growth of Golden Tree Daisy is adding slow-release fertiliser tablets at planting time.
For normal garden conditions, we recommend adding approximately 3–4 fertiliser tablets per plant. Placed into the soil around the root zone when planting, they provide a steady supply of nutrients as the young plant establishes and can continue feeding the plant for up to two years.
The difference can be substantial. Young Golden Tree Daisy plants are being asked to establish a much larger root system, produce new foliage and adapt to their new site all at the same time. A long-term nutrient supply gives them a useful boost through this establishment period and can noticeably improve both establishment and subsequent growth.
Because the tablets are slow release, nutrients are supplied progressively rather than as a concentrated dose. This makes them very different from applying a large quantity of fast-acting fertiliser around a newly planted root system.
Poor soils and difficult establishment sites
On particularly poor or depleted sites, we have found that increasing the number of slow-release tablets can make an enormous difference.
While 3–4 tablets is our normal recommendation, in extremely poor conditions we may use around 10 tablets per plant to provide a considerably greater nutrient reserve during establishment.
Because the fertiliser is released gradually, additional tablets can be used without the same risk of fertiliser burn associated with applying excessive quantities of readily soluble fertiliser. They should be distributed through the surrounding soil rather than concentrated directly against the stem or root ball.
For difficult sites, this relatively small addition at planting can be a genuine game changer — particularly when combined with good weed control, adequate establishment watering and proper soil preparation.
Shop: Greenmachine Fertiliser Tabs
Water thoroughly after planting
Give each plant a thorough watering immediately after planting.
The aim is to wet the root ball and surrounding soil properly rather than simply dampening the surface.
This helps settle the soil around the roots and gives the plant access to moisture while it begins establishing into the surrounding ground.
Watering during establishment
Golden Tree Daisy becomes relatively tolerant of dry conditions once established. That does not mean newly planted Golden Tree Daisy should be treated as drought tolerant from day one.
Young plants have only the root system contained within their original pot plus whatever new roots they have produced since planting.
During prolonged dry weather, check the soil around the root zone and water deeply when required.
A good soaking that encourages moisture deeper into the soil is generally more useful than repeatedly wetting only the surface.
As roots spread into the surrounding ground, the plant becomes progressively less dependent on supplementary watering.
Golden Tree Daisy for Dry Gardens & Drought-Prone Sites
Mulching around Golden Tree Daisy
Mulch can help retain soil moisture and suppress competing weeds during establishment.
Apply mulch around the planting area but keep it away from direct contact with the stem.
Piling mulch tightly around the base of a shrub can keep the stem unnecessarily damp.
Mulch is useful, but it does not replace watering during genuinely dry establishment conditions.
Keep grass and weeds away
Weed control is one of the less glamorous parts of establishment, but it is also one of the most useful.
Do not allow grass to gradually grow back around young plants and compete directly with their root systems.
Maintain the weed-free area while the plants are establishing. As Golden Tree Daisy becomes larger and develops a more extensive root system, this competition becomes less significant.
When should I start trimming a Golden Tree Daisy hedge?
There is no need to force newly planted Golden Tree Daisy immediately into a perfectly clipped shape.
Allow the plants to establish and begin producing healthy new growth.
Once plants are actively growing, light formative trimming can encourage branching and gradually develop the density required for a hedge.
The objective during the early stages is to build a well-branched plant rather than simply cutting everything back to a predetermined finished height.
As the individual plants begin to meet, progressively shape the overall hedge.
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy as a native hedge
What about natural shelter?
The approach is different if you are planting Golden Tree Daisy as natural shelter.
There is usually no reason to repeatedly clip the plants into hedge form.
Allow them to develop their naturally loose, layered and somewhat irregular structure. Individual plants will vary slightly in height, width and shape, and that variation is desirable in an informal shelter planting.
Pruning can still be used where necessary, but the objective is a large sheltering shrub rather than a formal hedge.
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Shelter & Shelterbelts
Establishing Golden Tree Daisy on windy sites
Exposed sites deserve a little extra attention during establishment.
A mature Golden Tree Daisy can cope with substantial wind, but a newly planted shrub still has a very small root system.
Make sure soil is firm around the root ball and monitor moisture carefully because persistent wind can increase moisture loss.
Keeping the planting area free of competing grass is particularly useful under these conditions.
As the plants develop larger root systems and denser growth, their tolerance of exposure improves considerably.
Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Windy Gardens – A Hardy Native for Exposed Sites
Establishing Golden Tree Daisy in cold areas
Golden Tree Daisy is generally frost hardy, making it useful through much of New Zealand, including many colder South Island gardens.
However, establishment conditions still matter. Severe frost pockets combined with persistently damp ground can be considerably harder on young plants than ordinary winter frost in a reasonably free-draining position.
In colder areas, site selection and drainage can therefore be just as important as minimum temperature.
Link: Read More: Golden Tree Daisy for Frosty & Cold-Climate Gardens
How quickly will Golden Tree Daisy establish?
Golden Tree Daisy has a moderately fast growth rate, but establishment speed varies with site conditions.
Warmth, soil moisture, competition from grass, exposure and the time of year planted all influence early growth.
A well-prepared plant that receives adequate moisture and little root competition will generally establish more quickly than the same plant planted directly into dense grass and left unattended.
The aim should not simply be maximum growth in the first few months. Building a healthy root system is what ultimately allows Golden Tree Daisy to become the tough, relatively low-input shrub for which it is useful.
Golden Tree Daisy planting checklist
Before you finish planting, check that you have:
- Chosen spacing appropriate to hedge or shelter use
- Removed competing grass and weeds
- Planted at approximately the same depth as the original root ball
- Firmed the surrounding soil
- Watered thoroughly
- Mulched if appropriate without burying the stem
- Planned for watering during dry establishment periods
- Allowed enough long-term room for the intended size of the plants
Once established, Golden Tree Daisy can become a remarkably resilient part of a New Zealand garden, hedge or shelter planting.
Golden Tree Daisy: one plant, several different uses
The important thing when planting Golden Tree Daisy is to think beyond the size of the young plant in front of you.
A maintained hedge may ultimately be kept around 1–1.5 m.
A garden specimen may develop to approximately 2–3 m.
A largely natural shelter planting may eventually reach around 4–5 m.
Spacing and early management should reflect which of those outcomes you actually want.
For a broader look at the plant, its growing conditions and different landscape uses, see our Complete Golden Tree Daisy Growing & Planting Guide.
Read More: Complete Golden Tree Daisy Growing & Planting Guide
Or, if you're ready to plant:
Shop Golden Tree Daisy – Shawia solandri - Olearia Solandri
A note about the botanical name
Golden Tree Daisy has long been widely known as Olearia solandri. Its current botanical name is Shawia solandri.
You will therefore still see both names used in New Zealand horticulture. At Greenmachine we predominantly use Shawia solandri, while retaining references to Olearia solandri to help gardeners recognise the plant they may already know.