CLAY TOLERANT PLANTS – EP Friendly

Atriplex Nummularia (Old Man Saltbush)

  • Height: 1.5–3m | Width: 2–4m
  • Flowers: Insignificant, cream/yellow
  • Wildlife: Good bird habitat and food source
  • Notes: Excellent stock fodder, salt and drought tolerant, great for erosion control

Atriplex cineraria (Grey Coast Saltbush)

  • Height: 0.5–1m | Width: 1–2m
  • Flowers: Insignificant
  • Wildlife: Good ground-level bird habitat
  • Notes: Low spreading groundcover, handles saline and clay soils well

Casuarina pauper (Black Oak)

  • Height: 8–15m | Width: 4–6m
  • Flowers: Insignificant
  • Wildlife: Excellent — seeds attract Glossy Black Cockatoos
  • Notes: Hardy windbreak tree, drought and frost tolerant, iconic EP species

Melaleuca Halmaturorum (Swamp Paperbark)

  • Height: 3–8m | Width: 2–4m
  • Flowers: White/cream, spring–summer
  • Wildlife: Bees and birds
  • Notes: Thrives in waterlogged and clay soils, great for low-lying areas

Melaleuca Lanceolata (Dryland Tea-tree)

  • Height: 3–6m | Width: 2–4m
  • Flowers: White, winter–spring
  • Wildlife: Excellent for bees and birds
  • Notes: Dense screening shrub/small tree, very drought hardy once established

Melaleuca huegelii (Chenille Honey Myrtle)

  • Height: 2–4m | Width: 2–3m
  • Flowers: Cream/white fluffy, spring–summer
  • Wildlife: Excellent — bees and native birds
  • Notes: Fine weeping foliage, great screening plant, frost and drought tolerant

Eucalyptus camaldulensis (EP Red Gum)

  • Height: 10–20m | Width: 8–15m
  • Flowers: White/cream, summer
  • Wildlife: Excellent — birds, bees, koala food source
  • Notes: Iconic large shade and shelter tree, suits creek lines and clay flats

Eucalyptus camaldulensis ssp arida (Yaninee Red Gum)

  • Height: 8–15m | Width: 6–10m
  • Flowers: White/cream, summer
  • Wildlife: Excellent — birds and bees
  • Notes: Local EP provenance, more drought-adapted form of Red Gum, great for drier inland areas

Eucalyptus camaldulensis ssp camaldulensis (Mount Wedge Red Gum)

  • Height: 10–18m | Width: 8–12m
  • Flowers: White/cream, summer
  • Wildlife: Excellent — birds and bees
  • Notes: Locally-sourced provenance, reliable performer on heavy soils

Eucalyptus Leucoxylon (SA Blue Gum)

  • Height: 6–15m | Width: 4–8m
  • Flowers: White, pink or red, winter–spring
  • Wildlife: Excellent — honeyeaters, lorikeets, bees
  • Notes: One of the best all-round EP trees, handles clay and alkaline soils well

Eucalyptus Petiolaris (EP Blue Gum)

  • Height: 8–15m | Width: 5–8m
  • Flowers: Cream/white, summer
  • Wildlife: Excellent — birds and bees
  • Notes: True EP local, fast-growing windbreak tree, handles alkaline and clay soils

Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum)

  • Height: 15–30m | Width: 8–15m
  • Flowers: Cream/white, summer–autumn
  • Wildlife: Good — birds and bees
  • Notes: Tall reliable windbreak, very drought hardy once established, widely used across EP farms

Eucalyptus Sargentii (Salt River Gum)

  • Height: 8–12m | Width: 5–8m
  • Flowers: White/cream
  • Wildlife: Birds and bees
  • Notes: Highly salt tolerant, well suited to saline and waterlogged clay soils

Callistemon Rugulosus (Scarlet Bottlebrush)

  • Height: 2–4m | Width: 2–3m
  • Flowers: Bright red, spring–summer
  • Wildlife: Excellent — honeyeaters and bees love it
  • Notes: Hardy screening shrub, handles clay and occasionally wet soils

Juncus Usitatus (Common Rush)

  • Height: 0.5–1.2m | Width: 0.5–1m
  • Flowers: Brown/insignificant
  • Wildlife: Good habitat for frogs and small birds
  • Notes: Perfect for swales, drainage lines and wet clay areas, good erosion control

Rhagodia Spinesons (Spiny Saltbush)

  • Height: 1–2m | Width: 1–2m
  • Flowers: Insignificant; produces red berries
  • Wildlife: Good — berries attract birds
  • Notes: Spiny habit good for stock exclusion, handles clay and saline soils

Brachychiton populneus (Kurrajong)

  • Height: 10–18m | Width: 6–10m
  • Flowers: White/cream with red markings, summer
  • Wildlife: Good — birds and bees
  • Notes: Excellent stock fodder tree, drought hardy, beautiful feature shade tree

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