eucalyptus

Last year I bought three eucalyptus about 8ft tall. They are planted in a very windy part of the garden and I staked them - one with a thin cane and two others with tree stakes. I have subsequently read that you should not stake eucalyptus and if you do it should be for a maximum of one year.

Today I removed the stake from two of them and went out for an appointment to arrive home and find them lying almost flat on the ground. These trees are now about 15 ft tall. I had cut the growing tips a couple of times to encourage them to bush out but they are obviously too top heavy. I really don't want to cut them right back and wondered if anyone had had a similar experience and whether the trees strengthened after a few years.

Ann

 

I think the moral of the story is dont buy 8ft gum trees, they will be unstable without a stake.

Its a bit late now but I would have thought cutting them back by at least half in May might have helped, as you know, they grow very fast, too fast for the roots in this situation.

Planting smaller plants is a good idea. Particularly with eucalyptus.

 

I was told by a gardener at Ventnor botanics that she found if you planted large Eucalyptus trees they would sulk and take much longer to recover an gain size then planting small plants

 

Trees don't generally fall over unless a weakness occurs around the root plate. Sounds to me like the roots haven't taken properly in the soil. This could be partly because the steak was supporting the tree's weight so it didn't put down a good root system as it didn't need it. Tree's need to be buffeted about by the wind to develop strong trunks and root systems. This is why trees should never be staked unless absolutely essential.

A couple of pics would be of help if it's at all possible for you to post some? I'd say that if the trees are properly flat on the deck then either get rid of them as the damage has already been done, or re-stake but use one that's no higher that 1/3 if the tree's height. Check it again after a year and reassess the tree's health and stability then.

 

I presume that these were pot grown and that unless you tease the roots out when planting the roots will not be encouraged to spread out.

Its possible that these were also pot bound - mass of roots gpoing round in a circle - especially if these were 8' high.

Leave them where they are until the Autumn and then dig them up and replant after sorting out the roots.

The most important question is why did you buy eucalyptus?

 

I have a very large garden and needed some screening at the end. I already have several eucalyptus, a variety of species dotted around, some I have kept short and others let go. These three I bought from a local nursery . They didn't appear to be root bound but were quite 'skinny'. I have kept chopping away at the heads to get them to bush out and had hoped that by now they would be able to stand on their own. This is why I removed the stakes yesterday. It is a very windy site and I have them staked about a quarter of the way up with a solid diagonal support but also have a thin cane supporting the upper part but very loosely attached. I was very surprised when they went over as the trunks are now about an inch and a half thick.

I am wondering if I should cut them back even more severely or wait until next year in the hope that by then they will strengthen up. I have never had this problem with eucalyptus before.

 

My 2p worth is that eucalyptus may be rather brittle for a windy spot, and that's only assuming that my ageing memory is playing tricks!

 

My last garden was very big Silver and we had Eucalyptus in several varieties.
One variety grew very big very rapidly and had far too much top weight for the amount of root they had. 2 of them blew over in quite a light wind. In the end we chopped them up for firewood. They burned well.

 

I would leave them where they are, we are almost at the end of the growing season (although not sure if eucips have agrowing season), and sort it out in the autumn. But I would restake them in the when re-planting. I think the advice about not staking applies to maidens and whips ( I know what I mean!!!)

 

."I think the advice about not staking applies to maidens and whips ( I know what I mean!!!)" :hehe:

I have just cut about 4ft of the top of each. I am hoping that by the spring they will have thickened enough to support themselves. Last year I also bought some baby eucs - rather unusual, only 1ft high. They are now going away very nicely with no staking involved

Yes - I do want to live in the middle of a forest:D