Anyone got a Eucalyptus?

Eucalyptus are beautiful trees but definitely not for small gardens methinks. They are water hungry trees aren't they?

 

Wildflower, Going on from your remark about Eucalyptus being an insect repellent....a plant we have on our terrace for lazy sultry evenings is Pelargonium citrosum which keep the mosquitos at bay ... ... M-L

 

Luckyboo ...ours survives in a south facing position with temperatures up to 43�° and very little rainfall over the past three years ...as you see from the photo's it is quite happy here .... we prune it on a regular basis otherwise it goes berserk .... M-L

 

Its the smooth mottled bark (or lack of it)that attracted me to them initially.

 

Platty - I can just imagine it! No doubtalong with a few hats with corks, some XXX, and tapes of Neighbours? :D

 

My neighbour across the road has one it was planted by the oringinal owners but the worst tree to be planted.

They are beautiful in the correct garden an dnot this one it is so high it can not be reached and now a branch is so close to there front door.

I do have aa very small bush that was in a container which I did keep contained .
it is now planted in a corner of th egarden and still she gets pruned back still a very samll bush.
I like the new foiliage for making floral arrangements.

 

If you are going to plant a Euc, keep it trimmed every year thus maintaining the more attractive juevenile foliage and keeping it under control.

 

ScotKat, that will probably be Eucalyptus Sp. Gunnii
they are the ones that tend to be suited to coppicing & flower arranging. They are also the subspecies you tend to see most often for sale in the garden centres. The same as the one Wildflower posted a pic of in this thread.

 

My parents have a eucalyptus - but have to keep it in check by cutting back regularly - (it has become a regular nesting place for a family of doves for several years now!). They grow clematis around the trunk too - looks fabulous when it weaves through the branches and foliage!

 

Since I planted this it has only grown about 1-2 inches!! I thought these were fast growing? It looks healthy though.
Do they grow quicker through the summer months?

 

Get some pics up r2oo.

 

When did you plant it r2oo?

Living in a place where our hillsides are covered with them, I can assure you they are fast growing. Two years ago 90% of the forests in our county (and we are mostly forest) were completely destroyed by arsonists. They, along with the Arbutus unedo, have sprung back into life and are several metres tall already.

I had one in Bucks and had no problem with it there. It grew to about six feet tall in a couple of years.

 

Here, you can buy eucalyptus seeds of many different varieties, but they do mention that they grow big and fast!

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/SeedOrders/enter.html?lang=en-uk&target=d3.html&kw=eucalyptus&fl=7917&gclid=CMfO9pvMzooCFRaYQAodlVlfcA

 

Seed sown in late february can makes a 4/5ft plant by the end of summer.

 

Be careful when growing eucalyptus as beautiful as they are they can grow to over a 100ft ok in the correct place.

The house oppossite us has one and it is higher thn the roof of the house now and can not be reached to cut .

Nice if shaped and contained.