IN THIS ARTICLE
Overview
Many of us face a common challenge: we need a tall screen, but the space is limited. Narrow side yards, tight garden beds along driveways, and minimal planting spaces near fences can significantly restrict our choices of screening plants.
Maintenance issues can arise when screening plants begin to bulk up and encroach. In small gardens, they can become intrusive and reduce usable space. And across the fence, your neighbour may not share your enthusiasm, or responsibility, for keeping them in check.
Fortunately, tall and thin Australian native plants rise to the challenge. They provide a vertical structure that does not overwhelm tight spaces and offers aesthetic and functional qualities.
In this article, we’ve compiled a selection of tall plants for narrow spaces that offer more than just vertical height. These plants bring unique forms, rich textures, and seasonal colours, while responding well to pruning to remain dense and healthy.
16 Australian native screening plants for tight spaces
1. Callistemon viminalis ‘Slim’
Callistemon viminalis ‘Slim’ is among the best tall plants for narrow spaces thanks to its compact form, upright habit, and year-round visual appeal. This cultivar is a hybrid between ‘Captain Cook’ and another unnamed selection of Callistemon viminalis.
Reaching around 3 metres tall and just over 1 metre wide, it offers a vertical structure without encroaching on surrounding space. The arching branches and lance-shaped foliage bring softness and texture, while the vibrant red bottlebrush flowers attract birds and add seasonal colour.
2. Banksia integrifolia ‘Sentinel’
With bold and vibrant blooms, distinctive foliage texture, and an architectural form, Banksia integrifolia ‘Sentinel’ stands out among tall plants for narrow spaces. This Coast Banksia (Banksia integrifolia) cultivar is renowned for its resilient nature in tough conditions.
The refined Australian native grows upright with a narrow, compact habit, typically reaching 2 – 4 metres tall and around 1 metre wide. Its dark green foliage reveals a striking silver underside, adding texture and contrast to the garden. Creamy yellow flower spikes offer long-lasting visual interest while attracting native birds and pollinators throughout the season.
3. Syzygium australe ‘Orange Twist’
Syzygium australe ‘Orange Twist’ is an upright, compact, tightly growing lilly pilly. Highly suitable for narrow spaces, this slender native typically reaches 3 – 4 metres tall and 1 – 1.5 metres wide.
The plant features a striking flush of bright orange new growth that contrasts beautifully with the mature deep green foliage, adding a bold splash of seasonal colour. It also produces white, fluffy flowers profusely during the growing season, followed by dark red berries.
4. Syzygium australe ‘Straight and Narrow’
If you have a fertile and moist garden bed, Syzygium australe ‘Straight and Narrow’ is an excellent choice among tall plants for narrow spaces. This slender cultivar typically grows to 5 – 8 metres tall and just 1 – 1.5 metres wide, making it ideal for tight garden beds, side passages, and narrow boundary lines.
Its dense, glossy green foliage, complemented by coppery new growth, creates an attractive year-round screen, while white flowers and pink edible berries add seasonal interest. The variety is known for its psyllid resistance and versatile use in landscaping.
5. Syzygium australe ‘Pinnacle’
Syzygium australe ‘Pinnacle’ excels among tall plants for narrow spaces for its naturally elegant, columnar shape that often requires little to no pruning to maintain. Similar to ‘Straight and Narrow’, it also has lush, glossy foliage that contrasts brilliantly with red brown new growth.
Reaching around 6 – 10 metres tall and over 1 metre wide, this Australian native is prized for its tidy vertical habit, making it particularly well-suited to structured designs, such as framing entrances, flanking pathways, or lining modern fences.
6. Syzygium australe ‘Up and Away’
Syzygium australe ‘Up and Away’ is also one of the columnar, tall plants for narrow spaces. It is a fast-growing cultivar that establishes quicker than most other lilly pillies. The fantastic, coppery red new growth offers a sensational display during the growing season.
Growing to approximately 5 metres tall and around 1 metre wide, this Australian native has a more defined central trunk, with a slightly more upright architectural presence, requiring minimal upkeep to maintain the already tidy form.
7. Syzygium australe ‘Sunset Delight’
Syzygium australe ‘Sunset Delight’ is another colourful and compact option among tall plants for narrow spaces. Typically growing to around 2 – 3 metres tall and 1 metre wide, this native features dense, glossy foliage with brilliant flushes of eye-catching orange-red new growth.
Unlike some taller Syzygium cultivars, ‘Sunset Delight’ is perfect for those seeking a medium-height, high-impact screen that delivers vibrant colour, structure, and a soft, natural presence in tight spaces.
8. Acmena smithii ‘Slim Jim’
Acmena smithii ‘Slim Jim’ is a smaller variety growing to about 2 metres tall and only 0.7 metres wide, featuring beautiful bronze-green foliage. It is highly versatile and can be used to create a privacy hedge or screen, a vertical feature, or just a touch of greenery.
Albeit shorter than most tall plants for narrow spaces, ‘Slim Jim’ is among the most adaptable. This fast-growing acmena thrives in various soil types, tolerates light frost and can withstand coastal conditions.
9. Acmena smithii ‘Pencil Red’
Another popular tall, slender plant is Acmena smithii ‘Pencil Red’. This lilly pilly cultivar is valued for its lush foliage, upright habit, and resistance to psyllid, making it a fantastic addition to the tight garden bed. It can attain 3 – 4 metres in height with a 1 – 1.5 metre spread.
Distinct from other tall plants for narrow spaces, Acmena smithii ‘Pencil Red’ features striking red new growth that contrasts beautifully with its deep green mature foliage. Its vertical, slender shape and structured appearance are ideal for urban gardens.
10. Acmena smithii ‘Green Screen’
Acmena smithii ‘Green Screen’ is an excellent option for quickly establishing a solid and dense green screen. The cultivar is known for its neat, formal and consistent year-round appearance, with a subtle mix of bronze and lime colour variations arising from the new growth.
Typically reaching over 7 – 10 metres tall and about 1 – 2 metres wide, this fast-growing variety offers a clean, uniform look with a strong vertical habit. It is highly suitable for establishing a green wall as a privacy screen or for wind protection.
11. Acmena smithii ‘Long Island’
Acmena smithii ‘Long Island’ is a sleek performer among tall plants for narrow spaces, combining dense growth with soft ornamental appeal.
Typically growing to around 3 – 4 metres tall and 1 – 1.5 metres wide, this native features fine, glossy green foliage and subtle flushes of bronze to red new growth. Its naturally upright, columnar habit is ideal for tight side yards, along fences, or as a refined screen in contemporary gardens.
12. Acacia cognata ‘Waterfall’
For those seeking to establish a more natural, graceful, flowing screen in a tight space, Acacia cognata ‘Waterfall’ offers an unbeatable alternative. This grafted, dome-shaped acacia can reach 2 metres in height and 1 – 1.5 metres in width.
Its lush, lime-green foliage cascades beautifully, creating texture with movement. Small, lemon-colored globular flowers appear in spring, adding seasonal colour. While not as tall as other screening plants, ‘Waterfall’ brings a unique ethereal quality unseen in other tall plants for narrow spaces.
13. Leptospermum petersonii ‘Lemon Hedge’
Leptospermum petersonii ‘Lemon Hedge’ is a selected form of Lemon-scented Teatree (Leptospermum petersonii). It has a narrow, upright habit, growing to 3 metres tall and 1 – 1.5 metres wide. Hardy and fast-growing, ‘Lemon Hedge’ is a practical choice among tall plants for narrow spaces.
Its lush, crisp green foliage releases a pleasant lemon scent when brushed, adding sensory enjoyment in outdoor spaces. Masses of small white flowers emerge in spring and summer, attracting birds and bees.
14. Leptospermum lanigerum ‘Seclusion’
Leptospermum lanigerum ‘Seclusion’ is a beautiful, versatile, and adaptable native cultivar of Woolly Teatree (Leptospermum lanigerum). With exceptional hardiness, it tolerates wet or dry soils, frost, and coastal conditions. Living up to its name, ‘Seclusion’ provides great privacy or enclosure when planted for hedging or screening.
‘Seclusion’ grows to around 2 – 3 metres tall and 1 – 1.5 metres wide, perfect for forming a solid, tall, tight screen. Its foliage is grey-green or dark green and hairy, giving it a strong silvery hue. Its dazzling display of bright pink flowers adds spectacular seasonal colour to the garden.
15. Melaleuca nesophila ‘Narrow Nessie’
Melaleuca nesophila ‘Narrow Nessie’ is a dwarf cultivar of Showy Honey Myrtle (Melaleuca nesophila). With a compact and narrow form, this plant is highly suitable for small, tight garden beds. It is hardy and adaptable, tolerant of various soils, frost, drought and seaside conditions.
Growing to around 3 metres tall and 1 metre wide, this compact and narrow shrub forms soft, bright green foliage that is dense and aromatic. A profusion of pom-pom-like, pale purple or mauve flowers emerges seasonally, attracting native birds and insects.
16. Melaleuca armillaris ‘Space Saver’
Melaleuca armillaris ‘Space Saver’ is a selected cultivar of Bracelet Honey Myrtle (Melaleuca armillaris). ‘Space Saver’ lives up to its name, growing to 3 – 4 metres tall and 1 metre wide, naturally slim, compact, and upright, well suited to gardeners seeking tall plants for narrow spaces.
‘Space Saver’ is known for its resilience, adapting well to drought, frost, wind, various soil types, and coastal conditions. The plant features vibrant lime-green new growth that contrasts brilliantly with its fine, dark green foliage. Masses of fragrant, cream flowers emerge in spring and summer.
Final words
Striking the right balance between vertical impact and limited horizontal space can be a real landscaping challenge. But with the right plants, it becomes an opportunity for smart, creative design.
These tall plants for narrow spaces highlight the versatility of Australian natives. They are space-efficient, low-maintenance, and rich in ecological value. They prove that limited space doesn’t mean limited potential.
With thoughtful plant selection for your local conditions, you can establish a spectacular screen even in the tightest garden space, offering privacy, texture, and structure with little compromise.
