Broom makes a fantastic, short-lived nurse tree
A nurse tree is a temporary shelter plant for a newly planted tree
A nurse tree is a fast-growing tree or shrub planted a couple of metres away from a newly planted specimen tree, in the windward direction, normally grown in groups of 2 or 3.
The idea is that the nurse tree takes the brunt of the exposure whilst the specimen tree gets established, and is moved when the specimen tree is large enough.
Good nurse trees include:
- Broom: nitrogen-fixing, fast-growing
- Autuman Olive: also nitrogen fixing & fast growing
- Red Dogwood: Easy to propagate, easy to prune