Eucalyptus
 

I have a Eucalyptus (er indoors choice not mine) its about 3 yrs old around 5inch girth and centre grew up 12ft with other side branches around 6ft.
Ladder job to cut the main centre branch and one side branch all done last week beginning Sept. Now heard I could have made it more manageable as a bush form just pruning vigorous branches off to keep the growth in check.
Can I do it with this by cutting the trunk down to 4feet and training new growth or is it too late?.
Many thanks.

Eucalyptus
 

On 08/09/2013 14:47, Charlie2 wrote:
I have a Eucalyptus (er indoors choice not mine) its about 3 yrs old
around 5inch girth and centre grew up 12ft with other side branches
around 6ft.
Ladder job to cut the main centre branch and one side branch all done
last week beginning Sept. Now heard I could have made it more
manageable as a bush form just pruning vigorous branches off to keep the
growth in check.
Can I do it with this by cutting the trunk down to 4feet and training
new growth or is it too late?.
Many thanks.





I'm sitting here looking at a 60 ft version in next door's garden. I
remember the guy planting it when it was 6" high. Get rid of it while
you still can!

Eucalyptus
 

On 08/09/2013 16:14, stuart noble wrote:
On 08/09/2013 14:47, Charlie2 wrote:
I have a Eucalyptus (er indoors choice not mine) its about 3 yrs old
around 5inch girth and centre grew up 12ft with other side branches
around 6ft.
Ladder job to cut the main centre branch and one side branch all done
last week beginning Sept. Now heard I could have made it more
manageable as a bush form just pruning vigorous branches off to keep the
growth in check.
Can I do it with this by cutting the trunk down to 4feet and training
new growth or is it too late?.
Many thanks.





I'm sitting here looking at a 60 ft version in next door's garden. I
remember the guy planting it when it was 6" high. Get rid of it while
you still can!
+1... I made that mistake and planted one on my patio and within three
years had to cut it down as it was easily 12', had to wait for the
pigeons to vacate their nest first.
Cut it down or buy a few Koala bears.

Barry

Eucalyptus
 

"Corporal Jones" wrote in message ...

On 08/09/2013 16:14, stuart noble wrote:
+1... I made that mistake and planted one on my patio and within three
years had to cut it down as it was easily 12', had to wait for the
pigeons to vacate their nest first.
Cut it down or buy a few Koala bears.

Barry

Well - we had two die on us recently in hard winters.(:-(
They are not very happy in the North (Cheshire) it
would seem.

Pete

Eucalyptus
 

"Charlie2" wrote in message
...

I have a Eucalyptus (er indoors choice not mine) its about 3 yrs old
around 5inch girth and centre grew up 12ft with other side branches
around 6ft.
Ladder job to cut the main centre branch and one side branch all done
last week beginning Sept. Now heard I could have made it more
manageable as a bush form just pruning vigorous branches off to keep the
growth in check.
Can I do it with this by cutting the trunk down to 4feet and training
new growth or is it too late?.
Many thanks.

You dont say what sort of eucalypt it is, but generally, you can cut it off
at the ankles or anywhere in between that and 60 ft up and it'll resprout
new growth and regrow lushly.

Eucalyptus
 

"Peter & Jeanne" wrote in message
...

Well - we had two die on us recently in hard winters.(:-(
They are not very happy in the North (Cheshire) it
would seem.

Eucalyptus pauciflora (aka the 'snow gum' which is native to alpine areas of
SE Australia) should survive hard winters quite well.

Eucalyptus
 

On 2013-09-08 17:26:58 +0100, Peter & Jeanne said:


"Corporal Jones" wrote in message ...

On 08/09/2013 16:14, stuart noble wrote:
+1... I made that mistake and planted one on my patio and within three
years had to cut it down as it was easily 12', had to wait for the
pigeons to vacate their nest first.
Cut it down or buy a few Koala bears.

Barry

Well - we had two die on us recently in hard winters.(:-(
They are not very happy in the North (Cheshire) it
would seem.

Pete

There was a very good Eucalyptus nursery in North Wales (Celyn Vale)
and I'd have throught that if they could grow and survive there, they'd
do anywhere. After they've settled in for a couple of years, all anyone
needs to do is take the top out every so often to keep it to the
desired height. My old house, which I left nearly 14 years ago has a
eucalyptus hedge planted by me and it's always received that treatment
from the new owners. It looks beautiful and rewards the very short time
the job takes. Some varieties look better than others following this
treatment and I think mine, as recommended by David Poole, was E.
perriniana. There's another nursery specialising in eucalyptus in Wales
http://www.uklyptus.co.uk/
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Eucalyptus
 

In article , times says...

"Peter & Jeanne" wrote in message
...

Well - we had two die on us recently in hard winters.(:-(
They are not very happy in the North (Cheshire) it
would seem.

Eucalyptus pauciflora (aka the 'snow gum' which is native to alpine areas of
SE Australia) should survive hard winters quite well.

I think what usually does them in, is being planted in deep rich
loam then subjected to high winter rainfall and wind; the heavy
topgrowth then rocks the roots loose in soggy soil.

They do better planted in rocky poor soil which holds less water and
where the roots can get between rock for an anchor grip. There are some
huge specimens here, growing in poor soil over rock. But in windspeeds
we get here, not a tree for close to houses or roads.


Janet (Arran)

Eucalyptus
 

"Janet" wrote in message
In article , times says...

"Peter & Jeanne" wrote in message
...

Well - we had two die on us recently in hard winters.(:-(
They are not very happy in the North (Cheshire) it
would seem.

Eucalyptus pauciflora (aka the 'snow gum' which is native to alpine areas
of
SE Australia) should survive hard winters quite well.

I think what usually does them in, is being planted in deep rich
loam then subjected to high winter rainfall and wind; the heavy
topgrowth then rocks the roots loose in soggy soil.

They do better planted in rocky poor soil which holds less water and
where the roots can get between rock for an anchor grip. There are some
huge specimens here, growing in poor soil over rock. But in windspeeds
we get here, not a tree for close to houses or roads.

Which E. pauciflora sub species are you were describing?

E. pauciloras are most commonly stunted and can live well in soggy soil.

We have a very ancient one growing on a drainage line where it would have
always had wet roots. Although the butt of it would be 20 ft around it'd
never have been more than 25 ft high.

It's also had to cope with rich soil since this land was cleared in the
1960s as the cattle will settle round it as a cattle camp with all the
resultant dung that can provide if they are allowed access to that paddock.

Sadly, that tree is now in the last stages of it's life and about 10 years
ago threw up a growth about 30 ft out from the main trunk and that has now
grown like a willowy teenager adn reached what we stronly suspect will be
it's final height of about 25 ft. Hopefully it will now start to fill out
and take the place of our ancient one.

Eucalyptus
 

In article , times says...

"Janet" wrote in message
In article , times says...

"Peter & Jeanne" wrote in message
...

Well - we had two die on us recently in hard winters.(:-(
They are not very happy in the North (Cheshire) it
would seem.

Eucalyptus pauciflora (aka the 'snow gum' which is native to alpine areas
of
SE Australia) should survive hard winters quite well.

I think what usually does them in, is being planted in deep rich
loam then subjected to high winter rainfall and wind; the heavy
topgrowth then rocks the roots loose in soggy soil.

They do better planted in rocky poor soil which holds less water and
where the roots can get between rock for an anchor grip. There are some
huge specimens here, growing in poor soil over rock. But in windspeeds
we get here, not a tree for close to houses or roads.

Which E. pauciflora sub species are you were describing?

niphophylla.

Janet

I'm sorry to tell you that you were pruning it at the wrong time of year, about as wrong as you could be. Since Eucs never go completely dormant, the risk of pruning it now is that it will have enough activity for the buds to shoot now, and then those shoots won't get ripened and so will be vulnerable to frost. I wouldn't touch it any more now, but adjust the pruning as appropriate next Feb/March in accordance with the proper pruning instructions here.
Eucalyptus: pruning / Royal Horticultural Society

The alternative approach, which will prove to be less work in the long run, is to source a smaller kind of Euc - these do exist but can be harder to source as the commonly supplied ones are mostly monsters. Then you can rip out your monster and grow that instead. Euc. gregsoniana is a notable small eucalypt (max 20 ft in normal garden conditions - though there is a much bigger one a Wisley) and very attractive. Euc. crenulata is a little bigger but is probably my favourite. E. pauciflora and its variants are a bit bigger still, but are easier to source than other non-monstrous ones. Here is a source on hardy eucalypt species describing their properties. The Hardy Eucalyptus Page

Eucalyptus
 

On Tue, 10 Sep 2013 00:56:01 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article , times says...

"Janet" wrote in message
[]
Eucalyptus pauciflora (aka the 'snow gum' which is native to alpine
areas of SE Australia) should survive hard winters quite well.

I think what usually does them in, is being planted in deep rich
loam then subjected to high winter rainfall and wind; the heavy
topgrowth then rocks the roots loose in soggy soil.

They do better planted in rocky poor soil which holds less water
and
where the roots can get between rock for an anchor grip. There are
some huge specimens here, growing in poor soil over rock. But in
windspeeds we get here, not a tree for close to houses or roads.

Which E. pauciflora sub species are you were describing?

niphophylla.

Janet

I finally had a chance to check my garden book for names. I have 4
eucalyptus from the sadly departed Celyn Vale nursery Sacha mentioned
earlier. They were all planted in spring 2006, and so have survived the
very hard 08/09 winter where we saw -23C (and I lost many maples that are
rated hardy for the UK). In the bizarre snows of this spring, 45cm in
March, they were also unfazed. I'm not up on current taxonomy for the
species, my list has them (presumably how the nursery did) as

Eucalyptus archeri
Eucalyptus debeuzevillei
Eucalyptus niphophila
Eucalyptus perriniana

The first two are in exposed positions, in shallow, poor soil.

Debeuzevillei was the most difficult to establish and didn't grow much
for a few years, but is now the prettiest with a white and peeling brown
bark in winter. It's quite an elegant form. Niphophila is also
attractive with a large bushy form. The other two... perriniana has a
lot of dead wood and is quite stalky, I'm thinking of cutting it back.
Archeri is OK in an small-leaved and upright way.

The main point I'm making is that these at least did survive some pretty
tough conditions, with only a little dieback (mostly on archeri) in 08/09.

--
Gardening in Lower Normandy