I know Bougainvillea is not a shrub but I never water mine very much and Plumbago is another one I never water they are both as tough as old boots.. and both very pretty if you are after flowers.....Cheers...MM.

Shelley tough problem and one I can relate to. Here's what I would do if it was me. Mulch the ground down there really heavily, about 2 inches thick of mulch all over. Buy a bag of gypsum (very cheap) and scatter that liberaly all over the area. Run the sprinkler on it to water everything in.

Now go and buy several Tecomaria capensis (Cape honeysuckle). They come in yellow but the most common colour is a bright orange/red. They are very hardy, grow up to 5 meters tall and can tollerate drough very well once they are established.

The suggestions Misty made above are also very good, tough plants.

Oleanders are another possibility - they are impossible to kill. Think they come with different shades of pink & also white flowers.

Have you hought of getting something dual purpose like Passionfruit vines? Then you get fruit too. Or a grapevine - a bit slower to get going though. The grafted passionfruit grows quickly and seem to love the heat. I put one in in December and it is well over my head up the fence - finds its own anchors and can be trimmed without it being too precious. Oleanders are poisonous to kids.

I doubt that either passionfruit or grape vines would survive in such a position. Have you thought of putting something infront of the fence? Perhaps some of that brushwood you can buy in rolls from garden supply stores? That might help insulate the plant from the heat of the fence, even if you only put it on the section immediately backing the plant. Also give the plant a deep mulch of well rotted compost and straw to help keep the root run cool.

one way to help your trees of choice survive is to cover the fence (both sides) with hesian or cheap shade cloth - I think you might find the problem is the reflected and retained heat in the metal - - sparaxis idea of brushwood is great

I think yor problems with the natives are not the hot fence. There are many many natives which would grow there. You mention you have alkaline soil - most natives prefer acidic soil. Perhaps you should focus on this, and select something for full sun, well drained soil. I dont know of anything off hand, but a search on the internet may come up with something.

Thanks so much to everyone's suggestions. I will try out some of the tips.

Shelley

Lots of great ideas here, I like the Oleander suggestion. Fantastic, tough plant that one.

Thanks Janus.

Shelley

Hi,
We also live in SA and suffer those incredibly hot days as well as corregated iron fences! We have one fence that we have painted dark blue and is north facing (so you imagine how hot it gets..ouch!) Anyway, we have found that star jasmine grows magnificently on it. Its evergreen, covers it from top to bottom and has the most delightfully perfumed white flowers.
Might be an option for you,
Cheryl