"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
om...
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
"John T" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 2 Aug 2003 14:59:58 +0100,
(Jim W) wrote:

John T wrote:


Should our Eucolyptus tree be shedding bark, particularly in the
summer months?

if you know please reply by email, taking out "the rubbish"

cheers

John T

Aye, that they do.. Some of em!.. Depends on the species but its one
of
the attractions folk buy 'em for!

Ooh Argh!-)
//
Jim


Cheers.
The only problem now is getting a hydraulic platform through the house
to top the b*gg*r again!

What a way to treat a magnificient tree. [Franz Heymann]

Good on yer, mate! A mature gum-tree is a wonderful specimen, though
distinctly non-British in appearance. (Back in the fifties my mother
was visiting some English friends who asked her what a gum-tree looked
like. She looked about and pointed to a rangy-looking character in the
distance, and said "Rather like that"; "Oh," they said, "that's been
struck by lightning". Well, we thought it was funny, anyhow.)

If it's really too big for your garden -- and, like all my
fellow-Australians, they do like the broad canvas -- you should get
away with cutting it right down in spring instead of topping it. A
gum-tree grown from seed has a thing called a lignotuber at the base,
from which it springs up after bush-fires.

If that doesn't work you can treat it as disposable: some of them grow
so fast (as you've noticed!) that a new one will fill the scene quite
nicely in no time. *Eucalyptus gunnii*, is easy to get in Britain, and
very swift. I find, though, that the best Australian nostalgia comes
from my *E. niphophila* and manna gum (*E. viminalis* if it was
correctly labelled, but I have my doubts: it looks a lot like
*dalrympleana*), whose bark peels beautifully and whose longer leaves
emphasize that languid sunny-weather dangle. My *gunnii* is much more
understated. The snow-gum (*niphophila*) didn't move for about six
years, but then got going well.

European alternatives for roughly the same kind of elegance are silver
birch or, on suitable soil, arbutus.

South Africa has vast plantations of Eucalyptus, ex Oz. They are (or were?)
highly popular as pit-props in the mines. The plantations are a delight to
see in the flowering season.

[Franz Heymann]


Mike.