Trees for Coastal areas

South Africa is known for its beautiful coastline, but with this comes quite harsh windy and salt spray conditions for our plants and trees.

Knowing which tree to plant in your area will be the difference between your tree just “hanging on for dear life” or thriving. We’ve put together a list that will help you narrow down the options.

Even though you might love the dainty look of a Leopard tree, if you are living near the Western Cape coast, the South-Easter wind will just blow it to pieces and it will never become great in its true form. We believe that planting the correct tree species for the correct conditions is better than forcing a species to try to adapt to conditions that it can’t cope with. 

Since many of our clients in Cape Town live close to the sea, we’ve put together a list of suitable tree species. Remember that factors such as prevailing winds, soil types, other buildings or trees that offer screening and how close to the sea you are located, must also be taken into consideration.

Below is a list of our tree species suitable to plant in coastal conditions.

Click on the names to read more about the tree’s characteristics.

Top trees for harsh coastal conditions:

• Sideroxylon inerme – Milkwood/ Melkhout 

  

• Tarchonanthus camphorathus – Wild Camphor bush / Wildekanferbos 

  

• Brachylaena discolour – Coast silver oak/ Kusvaalbos 

  

• Metrosideros excelsa – New Zealand Christmas tree 
• Araucaria heterophylly – Norfolk Pine
• Lagunaria patersonia – Norfolk Island Hibiscus
• Phoenix canariensis- Canary Date Palm 

  

• Phoenix reclinata – Date Palm
• Washingtonia robusta – Fan Palm
• Washingtonia filifera – Desert Fan Palm
• Pandanus utilis – Screw Pine
• Pinus pinea – Stone Pine / Sambreelden 

  

• Buddleja saligna – False Olive / Witolien 

  

• Plumeria rubra – Frangipani 

  

• Euphorbia ingens – Euphorbia 

  

• Quercus ilex – Holly Oak 
• Aloidendron (Aloe) barberae – Tree aloe/ Boomaalwyn 

  

• Aloidendron (Aloe) ferox – Bitter Aloe/ Bergaalwyn
• Aloe arborescens – Krantz aloe / Kransaalwyn 

  

• Ficus carica – Fruit fig/ Vrugte vy
• Psidium guajava – Guava/ Koejawel 

Trees for milder coastal climate rated from hardiest to less hardy:

• Apodytes dimidiata – White Pear / Witpeer
• Diospyros whyteana – Bladdernut/ Swartbas
• Kigelia africana – Sausage tree / Worsboom
• Rapanea melanophloeos – Cape Beech / Essenhout
• Loxostylis alata – Tarwood / Tierhout
• Vachelia (Acacia) karroo – Sweet Thorn/ Soetdoring
• Quercus suber – Cork Oak/ Kurk-Akker
• Ficus rubiginosa – Port Jackson Fig
• Erythrina caffra – Coastal Coral tree
• Harpephyllum caffrum – Wild Plum/ Wildepruim
• Syzygium cordatum – Water Berry/ Waterbessie
• Syzygium guineense – Waterpear/ Waterpeer
• Syzygium paniculatum – Australian brush cherry
• Olea africana – Wild Olive/ Olienhout
• Olea europeae – Fruiting Olive / Vrugte Olyf
• Ficus microcarpa – Laurel Fig
• Ficus natalensis – Natal Fig/ Natal-Vy
• Ceratonia siliqua – Carob / Karob
• Punica granatum ‘Bhagwa’ – Pomegranate / Granaat
• Trichilia emetica – Natal Mahogany/ Rooiessenhout
• Nuxia floribunda – Forest elder/ Bosvlier
• Afrocarpus (Podocarpus) falcatus – Outeniqua yellowwood/ Outeniekwageelhout
• Afrocarpus (Podocarpus) latifolius – Real Yellowwood/ Opregte geelhout
• Magnolia grandiflora- Southern Magnolia
• Vachelia (Acacia) sieberiana – Paperbark Torn/ Papierbasdoring
• Vachelia (Acacia) xanthophloea – Fever Tree/ Koorsboom
• Senegalia galpinii – Monkey Thorn/ Apiesdoring
• Combretum kraussii – Forest Bushwillow / Bosvaderlandswilg