I'm afraid there's not much you can do about the rust in the franie, Alan; it came into the country about 15 years ago and now affects all that variety. If the leaves have all fallen, spring will bring on a new lot rust free until autumn when again it will be devastated. I've not heard of any companion planting that will prevent it. However, there is a frangipani that is unaffected, it is the 'hammer head' frani; Plumera podica'. The flower is white, though other colours may now be available, but unfortunately the trade off with rust is that it has no scent. Nice bush though, grows to about 4 - 5 metres and should flower all year where you are. I had two, one, suffered badly during the last remnant cyclone, 'Oswald', I think they called it, and I had to dig it out. So, where you are, it might need a little protection. I've includd here a pic. of P. podica.

Thanks Mistymorn. Misty I know the bauhinia. I have an orange one and the lady a couple of doors up has the pink one - it's leaves head my way at this time of the year - (must send the guy next door completely mad - he hates leaves). Goldhills, I think you are right about Noelene. Old fashioned plant I think. I have lots of mock orange already - have weedy tendencies I believe (not noticed in my garden), but the perfume is gorgeous. They don't seem to do too well on my soil. I'm going evergreen for the feature tree - though it will be in the north facing front yard - I hate the view of the road and other houses. I may go for a grevillea hedge (will pop over to the natives forum later). ... I may change my mind a hundred times, then plant something and change my mind again ... too much choice - that's the problem.

I would trim it back a bit to give it a fighting chance. I have moved heaps of trees, even when I lived North of Townsville I moved trees 3mts tall and they survived in the heat, did you cut the roots of nice and neat with the secateurs you could give it a feed with seasol thats should help the roots. Cheers..MM.

Aaah, the eternal question : where can I get a plant that will screen out the neighbours / view / clothesline in 12 months or so ? As steveqld has already pointed out, this very much depends on where you are, what soil you have to work with and sheer luck. Experienced gardeners will probably raise an eyebrow at the last 'factor' but this is how I see it: 1. Position is everything. Each plant needs a certain amount of sunlight + moisture + soil nutrients - the right plant in the wrong spot is useless. 2. There is no substitute for good soil. If you dont have it, invest the time in building up what you do have. Yes, some natives do thrive in poor soil, but Acacias, Grevilleas and Banksias all present their own set of challenges - do your homework. 3. Some plants thrive on neglect (once established). The canoncial example is the Bougainvillea - I hacked mine back to a stump, had the tree loppers cover it in two feet of woodchip and it burst forth at the first hint of Spring looking more vibrant than anything in the garden. Realy hate that plant ... OK, specifics. In my last garden, I planted lillypillies *everywhere*, just about every commercially-available cultivar you can name (including exotic varieties such as Syz Jambolana) - about 65 all up. They ranged in size from tubestock to 10" pots, and the majority were planted over a 6 month period from the day I moved in. I left after 18 months, and regularly stick my head over the fence to see how they are getting on with the new house as a 'rental'. To date, I havent seen a single dead plant, but that could change if we dont get some rain soon. - attrition : the Rocky sun tore into the majority of the smaller-leaved varieties, particularly the small ones. Very few of the tubestock survived, as they didnt have enough foliage to protect the plant. - relocation : I was able to relocate several of the smaller plants without issue, but I did lose one of the larger Acmenas ($30 = ouch !) after an abortive attempt to relocate it - growth rate : whilst they all put on wonderful new growth after rain, the most spectacular growers were the Aussie Southerns. When an advanced (10") plant exceeds a 100% increase in size in the first 12 months, I'm very happy indeed. They are easily the bushiest and glossiest of the lillipillies I planted, and their light green new growth contrasts nicely with the claret shades of other varieties. The lillipillies werent the fastest growing in the garden, but they gave me the best frame of reference as a single genus. I'm not proud of the fact that I perserved with a pepper tree (Schinus isnt seen as a weed in Rocky, to my knowledge), but it blew everything else away - 6" pot to 3 metres (x 4 metres wide) in under 18 months. Among the plants that I treasured, the standout was my Golden Penda - 6" pot to over 2 metres in 14 months, and bushy to boot. What made these plants (the Aussie Southerns, Penda and Pepper Tree) outgrow everything around...